Bento Boxing 101 - huh?

I was recently turned on to the world of the Bento Box. What the heck is that??

I first learned about it from my new favorite website Mysmallpotatoes.com. 

Wait a second - back up. It actually ALL started because a friend of mine was telling me about “busy bags.”

“What the heck are those?” was my response. She showed me - and I was off. Like a rocket. Totally Allie LeBaron style up-until-1AM-researching-it style. Ooops.

Anything that helps me be a better mother, a more nurturing mother, a mother who doesn't want to kill children at 5pm kind of mother, that is something worth 1AM research.

Anyway, in my journey to figure out this new and exciting area of my mothering career I was spending some time on Pinterest (my other new favorite way to spend my downtime!) creating an idea board for preschool busy bags. And while doing THAT I came across the word “sensory bins” which seemed closely related. 

What the heck is a sensory bin?! Another new word/idea! I was EXCITED!! What else didn’t I know?? And in my search to understand sensory bins that lead me to the beautiful & inspiring website - MySmallPotatoes. She is the master of the sensory bin, the busy bag, and many other child related things. I love her. To death. The kind of love to death that isn't creepy or weird. Promise.

Upon reading up her site I stumbled upon, completely by accident (or was it?) her whole “What’s in YOUR Bento” series and away I went….

Phew – that was exhausting to explain. But kind of fun to follow how cool & inspiring ideas form in my rabbit chased kind of a way…..

Back to the Bento Boxing!!!

What is it?? 

The following is an excerpt from a fantastic article at LunchInABox.net called "Bento FAQ"

What is “bento”? Is it the style of packing? Is it the box? Is it the food?

A bento lunch is a compact, balanced, visually appealing meal packed in a box. Historically, it’s a Japanese box lunch, similar in concept to the Indian tiffin, the Korean dosirak, or the Filipino baon lunch. In Japanese, “bento” or “obento” refers to the packed meal, and “bento-bako” refers to the bento box itself. See the Wikipedia entry on bento for more details.

What are the benefits of packing a bento-style lunch? Is it healthier?

Bento lunches seem to be becoming more popular in North America recently.

• Packed in reusable containers, they reduce lunch waste such as plastic baggies and disposable containers, and allow you to pack a wider variety of food for lunch.
• Portion control is also easy if you follow the general packing rule of thumb of 3 parts carbs, 1 part protein and 2 parts fruits and vegetables, without candy, junk food or oily foods. Packed this way without gaps, a 600ml box holds a 600-calorie meal — a simple method for weight loss without counting calories.
• Picky eaters may be tempted by an attractive presentation of a variety of foods.
• Save money you might have spent on restaurant meals by bringing food from home; the savings from less than a week of eating packed lunches makes up for the initial cost of a bento box or lunch container.

Hopefully that handles any initial confusions. Anyway - one look at the first picture here from MySmallPotatoes and I was hoooooked. I went on to Amazon for my first set of Bento Boxes and matching little containers and then a few days later went to the website she recommends for supplies, AllThingsForSale.com and I was like a kid in a candy store. This was so exciting!!!!!

Here are my very first Bentos & the results......

This is C's snack bento. Not all that pretty - but super fun!

Strawberry & grape "people," acovado slices w/ a bunny food pick, orange slices, dried mango slices w/ some cereal.

This is W's snack & lunch bento. 

L's snack bento. Even a 10 year old was flipped out.

 

 Star shaped cucumbers and carrots - to die for right??

Response.......SUCCESS!!! The second pic is him chastizing me for putting in something alive - oranges. The nerve of some moms!

His response to the star cucumbers...."Ninja stars - how cool mom!!!"

Even though I have NO problem getting C to eat a variety of things - she's a girl. Girls love cute things. She was FLIPPPPED out by the whole idea.

But the true test was going to be W. The pickiest eater on planet earth. Our very own "breath-a-tarian." The child that survives on.....we don't even know! 

So I packed him his school lunch with a Bento and talked about it on the way to school.

Looks pretty much how it always does...container is new - but nothing drastic. He probably wouldn't go for drastic. I wasn't there for the big reveal at lunch time - but when I picked him up I asked how he liked his lunch. 

His response "More Bento momma??? I want eat more Bento lunch"

WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY???? 

When we got home he was so happy about food in general he ate some cereal (my standards are really low with this guy) from a regular bowl.

Happiness!

I then branched out and bought a few more food picks and sandwich cutters and this hard boiled egg mold! SO FREAKING CUTE! My pictures are totally copied to look like Arlee's from MySmallPotoatoes :) 

Step 1 - the molds. Too cute.

Step 2, place a warm hard-boiled egg in mold

gently smoosh them into the mold, close & place in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes

Voila. Pure awesomeness. 

I am a total Bento Boxer now. My kids talk about them ALL THE TIME. They are always checking up on me to see if I am making them for the next day. It has cut down considerably on the pickiness and saves me time! Why do I bento box if I am "home all day homeschooling." Because 1) I am not always home all day 2) It saves me precious time in our school day that I don't have to waste at the counter when I should/could be helping a student 3) It handles the "what should I eat" and tells them exactly what to eat and in what quantities. 4) I really enjoy making their food cute and it makes them immensely happy. It's win win.