"it's almost the weekend" bento boxes

grapes | apple slices w/ cookie butter | string cheese | dried cranberries | pork bao [siopao]

This lovely LA Times article reminded me that not all school lunch has to be "American" (but really, what is that anyway?).  Realized I had some frozen siopao (pronounced: "show-pow," this is the Filipino version of the Chinese steamed bao bun and is hands down one of my favorite foods in the world to eat) in the freezer, hollered over to Sporty who was in her room, "Hey, would you eat siopao if I put one in your lunch?"  She said yes, so in the bento it went along with the usual suspects.  Extra bonus of the day?  A dollop of that infamous, but oh so addictive/bad-for-you/delectable Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter.



pb&j on hawaiian rolls | mini carrot strips | dried cranberries | string cheese | veggie sticks | chocolate chips | apple slices

The one above is more of our usual, everyday fair....  PB&J with some other treaties.  Isn't everything better on Hawaiian bread?

And just for fun, Sporty in disguise as I have no idea what.  Someone from Adventure Time I think?



the "crap, we just got home from softball & hula and it's 9pm" bento

string cheese | grapes | carrot sticks | chicken breast strips | veggie sticks | homemade chocolate chip zucchini bread

Soccer (& fall ball, oh my) season is upon us and I haven't gone grocery shopping for a week and a half. Thank goodness I was still able to cobble together a semi-balanced lunch!

why i bento

I started making bento box lunches for my then 2nd grader midway through last school year.  Not because my oldest, let's call her Sporty, is super picky and won't eat anything unless it's in the shape of a zebra, but because I was appalled at the number of plastic baggies I seemed to be using every time I made her a lunch to take to school.

As I started researching reusable lunch containers online, I stumbled upon the cuteness of the bento lunch box craze.  I've always loved Hello Kitty and Japanese kawaii stuff.....  Combine that with this environmental thing I was feeling at the time?  Tah-dah!  The kiddie bento box.

Now as a working mom, I absolutely do not have the time to get too fancy schmancy.  I strive for minimalist cute in not a whole lot of time. You'll also notice that I reuse a lot of the same containers and silicone cups and that I don't do a lot of the animal picks, egg molds, etc.  When I saw all those animal skewer and pick things that lots of folks use in their bentos, the first thing that popped into my head was, "Super cute, but my kid is so gonna lose all that!"  So again, for me minimalist is better.  Enjoy!

multigrain crackers | dried cranberries | chicken deli slice roll ups | tangerine sections w/ flower-shaped carrots | cookie crisp cereal | string cheese