A few weeks into the school year, I had a mother pull me aside. I was concerned my first grade daughter had done something to provoke her son and in turn prompt this private conversation. To my surprise, she started asking me about the lunches I pack. She went on and on about how my daughter had the cutest lunches and how do I find the time. Funny thing is, I just started packing bento lunches for my daughter this year. Bento lunch making can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it: for now I focus on the nutritional aspect with just some small special touches. With the rise in concern in the quality of school lunch, packing lunch is an easy way to control exactly what your child is consuming.

I was introduced to bento lunch making a couple years ago when my husband traveled to Japan for a film shoot. One of the gifts he returned with was a bento box for our daughter. I had heard of bentos before, but wasn’t really familiar with them. In Japan bentos are used as lunch boxes. If you do enough hunting around the web, you’ll find amazing bento creations. Once bentos become a part of your life, you’ll want to make beautiful lunches.

Beautiful lunches? Yes. Beautiful lunches.

With the arrival of our first bento (in the photo) my initial reaction was, but it’s so small!?! Is it a snack bento? No it wasn’t a snack bento.  After using it a few times I was actually amazed at how much food a bento can hold. Packing a bento lunch is truly going against the grain of how I was raised. Everyday in my lunch box, my mother would pack a sandwich in aluminum foil, small bags of things in ziploc plastic bags, or fill a thermos with soup. For some reason when packing a bento, lunch just feels more special. Maybe it’s the cutters I use to turn a simple slice of carrot into a flower or it’s the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I cut into two pieces with a bunny cookie cutter. It’s all very simple steps, but they have a delightful impact.

With a bento, the possibilities are endless. A bento is a container that has compartments. The bento pictured has a lower compartment and an upper compartment. The lower compartment has one open space and the upper compartment has a divider in it. Typically I would pack a sandwich or quesadilla in the bottom of the bento, then in the upper compartment pack a fruit, vegetable, or a grain. My main go-to’s are grapes, berries, mandarin oranges, carrot slices, cheddar bunnies, veggie straws, or crackers. I always try to pack fruits and vegetables that are in season, but definitely rely on canned fruit packed in fruit juice during winter months. Our bento collection has grown.  Now we have Laptop Lunches, a panda bento, a stainless steel bento, and a few others from Japan. Beware, bento lunch making becomes a passion. Soon the chore of making a lunch in the morning will be a distant memory.

Why Bento? Bonus of bento lunch making: eco-friendly (no need for plastic bags or aluminum foil for that matter), small portions to create a variety of foods to offer our children allowing them to indulge in more food groups without being bored, and it’s fun, easy, simple. Bentos bring whimsy into a world that we all know can turn dull within weeks of the start of school. Bentos aren’t just for kids. I pack my husband bentos as well. Trust me, once you start packing bentos for lunch, there’s really no turning back. It becomes a hobby.

Celebrate food: pack a bento!

Denise has called Colorado home since 1994, the summer she packed up her car and headed west from her native home New York. In 2003 she left her job as a fifth grade teacher, to stay home to raise her daughter. Now she has two girls, ages 6 and 3, and finds delight in the adventures of motherhood. When she isn’t packing bento lunches she can be found pursuing her hobby of blogging at Eat Play Love and Colorado Bento. (Photos by Denise.)

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Edited:
Resources on where to buy bento lunches can be found here, including a local Colorado shop that carries bentos.

Please go here if you need some inspiration on what to pack in a kid’s bento.