Anyone do Bento lunches?

[Moxie]

I think they look like a fun way to get my kids to try new things. I'm curious if anyone here does Bento style lunches and how they work in a busy day. I've also Muffin Tin Mondays on some blogs and they are cute but they look more time consuming.

[MamaSheep]

Ok, so.....I don't even know what that means, but it sounds fun. Enlighten me?

[gingersmom]

There was just an article last week in the New York Times (with pictures) of bento lunches.

 

When my kids were little it did not matter what shape you cut the food in they still were not going to eat it. It could look like mickey mouse or the eiffel tower, made no difference.

[Tangerine]

My daughter is going to have an activity on Saturdays soon that will require a packed lunch. I'm positively thrilled to start bento lunches.

 

MamaSheep:

 

http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/05/08/17-amazing-bento-food-art-creations/

 

http://www.hemmy.net/2008/04/09/creative-japanese-bento-art/

[Moxie]

Those are really cool but I was thinking of something simpler like this:

 

http://www.laptoplunches.com/LaptopLunchPhotos.html

[ChristusG]

I've attempted it.....but my kid is waaaay too picky and sees through the cute packaging LOL

[Tangerine]

Those are really cool but I was thinking of something simpler like this:

 

http://www.laptoplunches.com/LaptopLunchPhotos.html

 

 

Well, those would be much more my speed. I'm not going to be sculpting hello kitty heads. ;)

[angela in ohio]

I used to make dh's lunches Bento-ish (wihtout a pretty box, just in various plastic containers.) I still have the little tiny shapes I used to cut his cheese into little hearts for his salads. I quit because of busy days :D but now life has slowed considerably, and I should get back to it. Dc and I have to pack lunch three days and dinner one, plus dh's lunches for work, so I could get a lot of practice.

 

I made them for the dc sometimes, too, and they were a great way to get variety in their diet. They would have a few of this veggie, a few of that, a few berries, some meat, some cheese, some bread, some more fruit. I would try to get as many colors as possible in each one. It did help to have a day to cut up fruits and beggies and wash them each week.

 

ETA: Oh, and I saw Bento-style boxes in pretty inexpensive plastic at Meijers (like a Super Wal-Mart) with the lunch boxes.

 

ETAA: When I was in sixth grade a family moved to town from Japan. We went over to the girls house one day, and her mother made us take our shoes off in the house, and she made us food in the shape of little animals. It was culture shock (our moms opened a bag of chips, LOL.) :)

Edited September 17, 2009 by angela in ohio

[MamaSheep]

Oh those ARE fun! My daughter would really enjoy something like that. In fact, she might enjoy it so much she'd play with it and never eat a bit...lol. My son probably would not. He's always been strangely uncomfortable with the imaginary. Costumes and other creative ways of disguising reality or making it look like something else just really irk him. I don't get it, but I try to respect it and he tries to tolerate his sister's flights of dress-up fancy in return...sigh. I might have to try it some time, though, and see how it goes over. I wonder if I could get dd to eat rice if it was shaped like a snowman or something...hmmm...

 

ETA: Oh! More links added while I typed. Those laptop lunches look interesting. Probably that would go over better around here than the sculpted rice.

Edited September 17, 2009 by MamaSheep

[kalanamak]

Those are really cool but I was thinking of something simpler like this:

 

http://www.laptoplunches.com/LaptopLunchPhotos.html

 

I used to do this for my ex. I never found a plastic box that could handle my hot dishwasher, FYI, nor that loved the microwave. I had nice ones with four corner containers and a smaller center round one. I've been using it to teach kiddo division.

[Danestress]

I did once try to make bento lunches. I loved getting them in Japan. Making rice balls the right way, though, takes practice, and you can't buy some of the ingredients I wanted (umeboshi, for example) at a normal grocery. So my enthusiasm waned pretty rapidly.

[LibraryLover]

According to some friends and my sister, the plastic ones don't close well, and drip.

 

I do like packing fun & nice looking lunches, however. We have some nice containers, so I don't need to spend more money. I have some stainless steel containers from India, and tin enamelware from camping supplies stores that were very inexpensive and work well.

[LibraryLover]

I did once try to make bento lunches. I loved getting them in Japan. Making rice balls the right way, though, takes practice, and you can't buy some of the ingredients I wanted (umeboshi, for example) at a normal grocery. So my enthusiasm waned pretty rapidly.

 

 

Umeboshi balls are pretty easy to make, but you need to use the sticky rice, so maybe try sushi rice...? You put the plum in your palm and squash the sticky rice all around it as you would make a mini snowball.

 

I have had good luck with brown rice, but it has to be sticky, so more water and cook it longer and pack it when it's still warm. Cold rice is not as sticky. I have to wet the nori to make it adhere. I am glad I am not being judged on the pretty -ness of my kids' lunches, is all I can say. I have a friend who lives in Japan, and she says teachers will send notes home warning the parent to shape up if they don't think the lunches look nice for the child. I just slap that nori on however it will stay. lol

 

I can get the plums in any southeast Asian store, or Whole Foods market, but not in the regular market. My tiny healh food store often carries them, as there is a small macrobiotic community in the area that asks for them.

Edited September 17, 2009 by LibraryLover

[Moxie]

I did once try to make bento lunches. I loved getting them in Japan. Making rice balls the right way, though, takes practice, and you can't buy some of the ingredients I wanted (umeboshi, for example) at a normal grocery. So my enthusiasm waned pretty rapidly.

 

 

Hmm, I guess I'm thinking of a more Americanized bento ;). I thought that maybe the cute little compartments would make my kids try new things or maybe just make me put more thought into lunch then "strawberry or grape jelly on your sandwich". Plus, we'll probably have about 3-4 activities/month that require packed lunches and I never remember to have juice boxes and other packaged food in the house so I end up running to the store the night before--I hate that! If I had cute little containers, I could feed them our regular lunch on the go.

[LibraryLover]

We make lunches as well. I have to say that we love Klean Kanteens. You can get them for a good price at LL Bean. They are a bit cheaper, but they have the LL Bean logo. They are KK, however.

 

I have a little wicker basket in which I pack our food. I don't always have time to put together individual lunches, but I do toss the KKs in there, a jar of nut butter, a box of crackers or rice cakes, a bag of bread, some seeds and nuts, a few pieces of fruit, a block of cheese, a container of hummus, a couple of knives and spoons in a baggie, some cloth napkins etc etc and go. We can pull together what we need when we need it.

 

I've seen other hs friends toss in canned tuna and a can opener in their lunch boxes. lol

[Irene Lynn]

My dd makes her own sometimes. She is the one who has done all the research on bento boxes. We still haven't bought a real bento box, but maybe she will get one for Christmas. She has had to make do with containers that we already had. I love the concept of the cuteness and balance of the meals. She has packed bento style snacks for ds and me, when we are going to the museum. He eats it pretty well.

[KristineinKS]

Bento lunches were a major obsession around here for awhile last year - before we started homeschooling. I spent hours every evening making lunches and ordered tons of cute boxes and accessories directly from Japan (WAY more than we ever used). Honestly the boxes and accessories were the most enjoyable part for me - it can be quite addicting to collect all the pieces in the various sets.

 

While it is a lot of fun (and challenging to pack the boxes "just so" - so that they don't leak or slide around), it can be VERY time consuming. I would probably still enjoy it if I didn't have four children, but packing four lunches plus my hubby's was way too much work. I eventually burned out, then decided to homeschool anyway, so now all of our bento stuff is sitting around unused - but still as cute as ever. ;) Every now & then I think that I'll use it for field trips, but so far that hasn't happened.

[AuntieM]

Our lunches resemble this - little dabs of everything - towards the end of the month when we are parsing out leftovers before the next big shop ;)

[Danestress]

When I was trying to make them before, I lived in Southeast Georgia. The nearest Asian market was a hike. If the rice didn't seem right, it was several months before I could try another brand.

 

I probably live less than 3 miles from the nearest jar of umeboshi now, lol. I just hasn't thought to try in so long, but I really did love those balls back in 'then day.' There is something about that combination of perfect balled rice with that pungent center that just really sent me over the edge.

 

You've reinspired me! I'm going to try again.

[missmoe]

I use the laptop boxes for my two oldest and husband. I like them because they really do hold just the right amount. I also like that I can use small amounts of leftovers in them. We like them here. I try to pack them as I make supper. I use leftovers and also try to include the same ingredients prepared in a slightly different way.

[lisasaysto]

Have you seen this one: http://www.goodbyn.com/

 

Or this: http://www.planetbox.com/

 

I bring my lunch to work, and I've been thinking about getting a compartmentalized box to help me control portions. I pack way too much in individual containers when I'm hungry.

[abbeyej]

I pack small "tiffins" (like the ones at HappyTiffin.com or to-goware.com, though theirs are very large and dh complains that his is actually too large) for us several days a week. Ours have two small tiers, and I fill one with a salad with roasted garbanzo beans and a tiny jar of dressing and the other with sliced or small washed fruits, or I put a little sandwich in one and sliced raw veggies in the other, etc. I keep thinking one of these days I'll do a more traditional bento-inspired menu, but so far ours have been more recognizably American. I tie a cloth napkin on the handle, and on days when I want them insulated, I drop them into an insulated lunch bag (the to-goware two-tier fits perfectly in a Kelty ToTo carrier), and maybe add a fork, depending on the contents.

 

I love that my tiffins can go in the dishwasher. They're stainless steel, so no microwaving (but we don't have a microwave at home anyway, and that hasn't been an issue). They can leak if very wet ingredients are used and they're left sideways, though we haven't had a problem given the types of foods we include.

 

My favorite place to look at inspiring Bento photos is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35552506@N08/

Sherimiya makes really beautiful but mostly fairly simple (occasionally she goes all out with obento cuteness - kawaii! - but usually it's just cute little touches) and generally healthy obento with a mix of Eastern and Western-style foods.

 

Vegan Lunchbox and Vegan Lunchbox: Around the World are also good starts for ideas for packing lunches. (Even if you're not vegan -- the menu suggestions are flexible, and one can easily include animal products if one chooses.) The Manga Cookbook is great fun for any family interested in Manga or even just learning a little about Japanese culture, and includes notes and recipes on more traditional Japanese style bentos. (My kids are now disappointed when I don't cut our apple slices into usagi ringo!)

[Kate in Arabia]

I also use tiffins here for picnics. I have a few sets, several that are just the tiffin, and one that has its own insulated case. I've never put more liquidy things in there (like soup), so I've never had a problem with leakage.

[HomeschoolCarol]

I am not new to reading this forum, but I am brand new to posting, so I hope you don't mind a few questions on this subject.

 

We love sushi....but I've never packed it as a go-away lunch, only fresh made for lunch/dinner. How do you keep the rice from being hard? Anytime I have tried to save leftovers from our sushi in the fridge it's little pellets, not appetizing at all.

 

Some of the foods pictured appear to be warm items, how do you keep them warm all day? And for that matter, how do you keep the cold items cold? None of the bento boxes I saw had ice packs nor seemingly space for it unless you take up one of the compartments??

 

Anyone willing to share some ideas of what you put in there? Our to-go lunches often have little bits of many foods in baggies, but I'd love to find something different! Cheese cubes, fruit chunks, sandwiches cut with cookie cutter (and the leftover bits too, lol), those are typical of our lunches.

 

Thank you for all the great reading I've done for the last many months!

 

Carol

[Mel in K-zoo]

Bump! I am curious as well.

[i.love.lucy]

http://www.planetbox.com/

 

 

 

LOVE these! Too bad they are so expensive! Maybe I can get one and then another one later. Very cool, thanks for sharing!

[Miss Peregrine]

 

This is cute blog of someone I used to know online. She doesn't update anymore but the pics are cute. She used American food.

[Mothersweets]

How do you all know what is going through my head?! I was just looking at bento boxes this morning on some different sites!

 

Some of these bento boxes for kids are so darn cute!!

 

I love the idea, but I think the novelty would wear out quickly with my kids. I don't really have a lot of time, either.

 

Has ANYONE done with consistently with several kids? And by anyone I mean someone like me who is pretty lazy about fixing meals (it is a CHORE) but would love to get my kids to eat more veggies.

[Mothersweets]

I am not new to reading this forum, but I am brand new to posting, so I hope you don't mind a few questions on this subject.

 

We love sushi....but I've never packed it as a go-away lunch, only fresh made for lunch/dinner. How do you keep the rice from being hard? Anytime I have tried to save leftovers from our sushi in the fridge it's little pellets, not appetizing at all.

 

Some of the foods pictured appear to be warm items, how do you keep them warm all day? And for that matter, how do you keep the cold items cold? None of the bento boxes I saw had ice packs nor seemingly space for it unless you take up one of the compartments??

 

Anyone willing to share some ideas of what you put in there? Our to-go lunches often have little bits of many foods in baggies, but I'd love to find something different! Cheese cubes, fruit chunks, sandwiches cut with cookie cutter (and the leftover bits too, lol), those are typical of our lunches.

 

Thank you for all the great reading I've done for the last many months!

 

Carol

 

I believe the laptoplunches.com site has ice packs that go with their bento boxes. I don't know what you would do to keep your food warm? Maybe put the box in a thermal sleeve thingy?

[lisabees]

Thanks for asking about ice packs. I am curious as well! ;)

[lisasaysto]

In one picture I saw a sandwich that was folded in half and then crimped/ sealed along the edges. Where would I get something that does that?

 

 

I think Pampered Chef sells a gadget that does that. Or, it could have been an Uncrustables sandwich (sold in the freezer section).

[lisasaysto]

It looked like half of an uncrustables. I will check pampered chef, thanks. (I am totally addicted to kitchen gadgets, this is a bad, bad thing. :D)

 

I just checked, and the one Pampered Chef sells makes round sandwiches. Instead, do a google search on empanada press. Tupperware and other places sell one that looks like it might make 1/2 sandwiches. Fun!

[helena]

We use them. In fact we're ready to find some bigger ones. I can pack them pretty quick, if I don't want to get all artsy. I just cut the crust off the sandwich and cut it with a cookie cutter, or do cucumber sandwiches and use a 2" circle cutter. For fruit berries or grapes, a cookie or 2, maybe something crunchy too like sesame sticks.

[mom to 3 boys & 1 girl]

I have never tried bentos but I have discovered a way to get my boys to try new foods at lunchtime. I saw the idea online somewhere (I can't remember where) for number lunches. 1 sandwich, 2 apple slices, 3 cheese cubes etc. My boys request number lunches almost everyday. They love figuring out how much of each food they have.

 

What I have done is to use the new food as #1. When we are working on something new I make sure that their lunch is very small. We have a rule in our house that you have to finish your plate before you are allowed seconds of anything.

 

Our first success was carrot sticks. Their lunch would look something like this: 1 very small carrot stick, 2 whole wheat crackers with peanut butter, 3 cheese cubes, 4 banana slices and 5 pretzels. They would always save the carrot for last but it would still get eaten. I think it helped that they were still hungry and wanted more food...LOL

 

I served carrots everyday for lunch until they would all eat their one carrot stick without complaint. They didn't always eat their new food joyfully, but it did get eaten. My middle son, Tyler, was my worst eater. He now eats carrot sticks, apple slices, grapes, and cucumber slices. All because of number lunches! Next up is broccoli. Wish me luck!;)

 

The bento lunches do look like more fun, and they might even work to get them excited about trying new foods. I just wanted to share what worked for us. It was a really huge success to get Tyler eating better. We still have a long way to go but number lunches gave us the start we needed. :D

[Stacie]

My daughter is going to have an activity on Saturdays soon that will require a packed lunch. I'm positively thrilled to start bento lunches.

 

MamaSheep:

 

http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/05/08/17-amazing-bento-food-art-creations/

 

http://www.hemmy.net/2008/04/09/creative-japanese-bento-art/

 

 

These look really fun, but if I had the extra time to create meals that looked like them, I think I'd rather take a nap! :D

[Mothersweets]

I have never tried bentos but I have discovered a way to get my boys to try new foods at lunchtime. I saw the idea online somewhere (I can't remember where) for number lunches. 1 sandwich, 2 apple slices, 3 cheese cubes etc. My boys request number lunches almost everyday. They love figuring out how much of each food they have.

 

What I have done is to use the new food as #1. When we are working on something new I make sure that their lunch is very small. We have a rule in our house that you have to finish your plate before you are allowed seconds of anything.

 

Our first success was carrot sticks. Their lunch would look something like this: 1 very small carrot stick, 2 whole wheat crackers with peanut butter, 3 cheese cubes, 4 banana slices and 5 pretzels. They would always save the carrot for last but it would still get eaten. I think it helped that they were still hungry and wanted more food...LOL

 

I served carrots everyday for lunch until they would all eat their one carrot stick without complaint. They didn't always eat their new food joyfully, but it did get eaten. My middle son, Tyler, was my worst eater. He now eats carrot sticks, apple slices, grapes, and cucumber slices. All because of number lunches! Next up is broccoli. Wish me luck!;)

 

The bento lunches do look like more fun, and they might even work to get them excited about trying new foods. I just wanted to share what worked for us. It was a really huge success to get Tyler eating better. We still have a long way to go but number lunches gave us the start we needed. :D

 

Great idea - I will have to try that out!

[Riverfront Headmistress]

Abbeyj, I love the stainless steel dishes. Would a small or medium be good for lunches? Thanks!

[angela in ohio]

I went ahead and made Bento lunches for my 3 dc for lunch out on Friday. I didn't know if littlest would eat them, as he frowns on pitas with turkey and cheese, but he polished it off. I think presentation is everything! :001_smile: I bought cheap containers at Walmart that came in a 3-pack. I think they were from Ziplock. They were divided plastic good storage containers. I used muffin papers to further divide, and I bought fake-Tupperware small containers with lids to put pudding in. It worked out well, and it was inexpensive.

 

They had the pitas, three mini-pita halves each, a muffic cup of kiwi sliced with a grape in the center (looked like a flower,) a muffin cup of grapes, and I put the pitas in a bed of lettuce with cherry tomatoes around them. I also added a cup of chocolate pudding with mini-marshmallows and crumbled graham crackers on top. It took me about 20 minutes.

 

If I keep it up, I will reward myself with some real Bento containers. :D