Oh, bento!

Having four school age children means that I am super busy in the morning when everyone needs help getting ready to go. I'm always working on my time management skills and have it down now.

I get up before 6:00 to make the kids' school lunches and then I spend some time with my DH, having breakfast with him before I see him off to work. Then, I wake up the girls first (they take a little longer to get moving) and then Tommy, getting them all to the table for some sort of homemade breakfast (I bake a lot and freeze half so there's always something ready with a minute of microwave time).

Then, it's the mad rush of finding school clothes (why are there never enough matching socks when you're running late?), making sure everyone has backpacks, homework and clean faces and teeth.

It's an adventure every single morning.

The lunches give me a special kind of grief because, no matter what kind of sandwich I send, there is always at least one child who brings the whole thing back. I got up early to fix that thing and she/he didn't eat it?! Ugh!

The root of the matter is that they are sick and tired of sandwiches every day and can you blame them? They go to lunch with their classmates who have a different menu every day because they eat hot lunch. Meanwhile, their only surprise is what kind of cookie or flavor of juice pouch I've sent them that day.

It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for the kids!

Recently, I've been really curious about trying out bento boxes. The Japanese do so much artfully and lunch is no exception.

In Japan, they are called obento, which refers to the packed meals (usually lunch) that are carried in boxes that have internal, sometimes removable, dividers. The base of the Japanese bento is usually rice but I wasn't sure that my kids would go for that right away.

So I cruised the fount of knowledge (ie, the internet) and found that lots of western parents are packing bentos for their kids. These boxes, some of which are pictured here, contain everything from mac and cheese to corn on the cob, dried fruit to fruit kabobs. My kids (and I) could really get into this!

I went online to a bulk retailer and bought a container of bento boxes. I got five blue, stackable bentos (these ones) for about$28.oo, after tax and shipping. Compare prices and you'll see that the costs on these gorgeous little boxes can vary widely. One of the biggest benefits having a big family is that we will use all of the boxes, one for each kid and a spare if DH decides he wants to take lunch to work. If you don't have a large family, maybe a friend or neighbor is interested in bento. Ordering the boxes in bulk is definitely the way to go for beginners!

The girls helped me pick the boxes out and are excited to start "bentoing" so, while the boxes won't arrive until next week, I have told them that I'll put together "practice" bentos with our ikea plastic storage stuff. Now I'll finally have a use for the smallest boxes that are perfect for dips for veggie sticks!

Probably the coolest part of the bento box is that it is really filled with, in many cases, leftovers or pre-homemade items. Not only are you feeding your kids a healthy meal with more variety that your typical brown bag. It's a wonderful way to save money and be environmentally conscious at the same time. I really love that we can teach our kids that little things can make a big impact, both at home and globally!


I mentioned that bento making can be a kind of an art form and I wasn't kidding. In Japan, many homemakers try to "outdo" their friends and neighbors by making a better bento. As far as competitions go, I really don't think there's a loser here. The kids get to eat like (really healthy) royalty and the moms get to express themselves creatively.

That's what I try to do every time I set out to come up with a new recipe.

Of course bento making appeals to me!

I'll be keeping you up to date on our bento making adventures but you should really check out a few blogs by people who know what they are doing: Lunch in a Box, Leo's Lunch Box and Adventures in Bento Making. That's where I found the beautiful pictures on this blog.

One more thing I noticed while cruising around the 'net: bentos can be made in those cute little snack boxes and containers we usually reserve for things like a buncha grapes or goldfish. You probably already have the perfect, snack-size bento box in your cabinet. Give it a try!

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah