All Abuzz About Bento – New School Lunch Craze
Posted at 6:25 am on August 30, 2010 by ShawnC
I remember when my oldest went off to first grade and I got to pack his special little lunch. I would always write notes, add some stickers, sneak in a little treat. Now that he’s going into junior high….let’s just say the novelty (for me) has worn off. Sad part is that he has a younger sister and little brother that might still like a note from mom, some stickers or a special lunch. Well there’s a new trend in packing lunches that just might get me to kick it into gear this school year – heard of Bento lunches? You will!
Here’s the official Bento Lunch definition:
The term Bento is a Japanese art of making a packaged lunch. They have taken a meal and turned it into an occasion,
with beautifully designed lunchboxes and food that is so fun it resembles culinary art. Traditionally in Japan a Bento consists of rice, fish, and seaweed. In recent years Americans have taken the concept of the Bento lunch and run with it. New American Style Bento lunchboxes have hit the market and kids all across the country are eating Bentos at school. Gone are the days of boring brown paper bag lunches… here comes the Bento!
Ok, well, hmmm….I’ve never really approached lunch as “art” but if it gets me excited about making cold school lunch and my kids excited about eating cold school lunch, then we’re giving it a try. So, I purchased a cute cute cute lunchbox for my dear daughter at TJ Maxx ($16.99) last week that came with Bento-like containers. She’s my adventurous eater and aspiring chef so I know that whatever mess I make of her lunch, she’ll at least try to eat it.
We just did a test run for the first day of school and my daughter LOVED every minute of helping to create her little lunch. We did the best we could with what we had on-hand.
Our 1st Bento Menu☺
- Heart-shaped watermelon pieces
- Blueberry and cherry fruit kabobs
- Pretzels with cheese cutouts
- PB&J
My dear daughter is so excited and it was fun to work with her to create this little lunch (dare I say) masterpiece!
Need some ideas to get you started on your own Bento lunch creations? Check out these sites. Lunch in a Box and Bento Lunches and OhDeeOh: Bento Toddler Lunches
Do the individual containers have their own lids, or is there just one lid for the entire box? I am excited to try this! My kids love getting the Whole Foods lunches that are packaged like that, but it would be great to be able to do it at home!
I think this is such a great idea. I never loved eating a smushed sandwich and bruised apple for lunch. How much more fun to be able to be creative with it!! I saw on a bunch of those pages that some moms are re-creating leftovers as kids’ lunches. Brilliant! Almost makes me excited to pack lunches…. Almost!
That’s adorable!
Wow, that’s impressive. My kids are still home and even so, my lunches have that “short-cut-barely-got-it-on-the-table” feel to them. I think I’m already falling behind!
I recently saw these on apartment therapy’s website and fell in love. A very cute idea!