Thursday, September 10, 2009

My First Bento

Totally inspired by this lady & her "Week in Bentos" blog posts, I packed my very first school lunch EVER for Zoey this morning. Though I haven't had a chance yet to order some adorable bento boxes or other bento accessories from places like Ichiban Kan (who I hear is closing or maybe already closed their online shop?) & I'm bummed that the closest Daiso is in Lynwood, Federal Way & Seattle, I made do with what I had. Oh, I could go crazy with all the wonderfully cute supplies out there!

The pink plastic "bento" boxes are just Strawberry Shortcake containers I found at the dollar store. I already had some silicone cupcake liners & I just decorated the sliced peaches & cubed apples with vintage birthday candle holders picks. And though I lacked the sweet little food separator sheets , I used parchment paper that I scalloped with decorative scissors. The giant ham-n-cheese heart sandwich was made using a cookie cutter.

For a snack I made her some cinnamon crisps. I just spread butter on flour tortillas, sprinkled them with cinnamon-sugar & baked 'em in the oven on a super high heat (I was in a hurry this morning!) until it bubbled & got all melty & yummy looking. Slice the tortilla in strips or wedges & you're done!

It all packed up nicely--along with a juice box & a sweet floral cloth napkin--in her cupcake lunchbag that I have had for over a year. I got it on clearance at Fred Meyer & KNEW it'd be perfect for my 1st grader! And, hey, I only get to do this once a week so you better believe I'm going "all out".
I'll let you know what Zoey thought of HER first bento.
I had a thought this morning & wondered if any of my local Asian markets would carry bento supplies? Maybe I'll make a morning field trip of it next week.

18 comments:

  1. what a nice lunch! I found some shape cutters for sandwiches at the dollar tree, they have pancake ones also. anyway, what a great lunch!!

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  2. wow, so beautiful first bento!!! good lunch to you ^_^

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  3. There's a Japanese dollar store chain called Daiso - don't know where you live but they have them in the LA area, Seattle, Vancouver BC.

    (Okay, a little detective work tells me you are in WA, so Daiso might be an option for you).

    Everything's $1.50 there, and they have a whole bento section. AWESOME store, you will love it.

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  4. wow! would you send me a lunch?! Hey, I came across a bento inspired lunch box system for my boy last year after seeing it in Parents magazine (I think). I LOVE it and use it often. Kinda "pricey", but so worth it because I think it will last quite a while. Check out their story and this particular product if you like http://secure.laptoplunches.com/AMAZING/items.asp?Cc=SYSTEMS&iTpStatus=0&Tp=&Bc= Also, google "muffin tin mondays". It should bring up several blogs that do this idea. Kinda has the same "bento" feel. think you might like it, too.

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  5. I wanted to let you know I recieved my bug catcher neclace today...it is adorbale..thanks so much...

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  6. great job! I sell packs of bento supplies and can make up a custom pack if you are looking for anything specific. Drop me a line if you are interested :o)

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  7. So I had to Google "Bento" :) Thanks for teachig me a new thign today!

    Also, ran into Mr WhiMSy love @ the store :) Hope to get together soon!!

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  8. Bentos... Bentos... is that like tupperware?
    Mine is only two and a half, she has lunch at home and then we're off to kinder school... but I'm already thinking about lunch and snack for her in 4 years time!
    Cheers!

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  9. btw, did you get my email about felt pompons?
    cheers!

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  10. Cute! I think bento lunches are so great for kids. I try to pack some bento-style boxes for my son, but he complains that crispy things (crackers, etc) get soggy when in the same box with veggies/fruit even when I separate them with silicone cups, etc. Advice from any bento box veterans out there?? :)

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  11. I think your first bento is wonderful. Who needs to visit a Daiso when she has that *awesome* camel pick? That is rockin' my little world over here.

    I'm gonna have to make some of those tortilla strips too. I haven't had those since I was a little kid.

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  12. Greetings from the land of the original Obento! We are in Tokyo, Japan. In summer, we put bento-box-sized icepacks with the packed food so that the food stays fresh & don't get soggy.

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  13. I would definately eat a lunch that looks so pretty!

    I read your blog every day and your girls are so lucky to have a mommy like you. You always bring a little laughter to my morning coffee and a whole lot of inspiration. Thanks!

    K

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  14. Nikki, I went on laptoplunches.com yesterday to reorder some inner parts (the containers) and replacement silverware (that got lost!). They have some for 50cents! Also, on regularly priced orders, I came across the coupon code "Ideal55" that saves you 20%. So, if anyone orders on there, use that code at check out! Also, this lunch system keeps my kiddo's food the way it should be (crispy crackers ;-))!

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  15. Try laptoplunches.com, they have awesome bento box systems. I'm trying to decide for myself which one to get. They also have recipe and lunch ides.

    Michelle

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  16. I'm from Hawaii and this is like a normal thing for us here. I love it. They actually have bento boxes that have 3 layers. 1 for rice, 1 for the meat or whatever, and 1 for chopsticks. I'm sure you could switch those around to work with mainland foods =)

    http://www.allthingsforsale.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=92_104&osCsid=2d1de164849b8660f364ac7192984ae3

    Some great authentic japanese bento boxes!

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  17. Love this idea. I just caught up on the last 22 posts (yes! that's how long I've been away from blogs!). I wrote about my daughter going to school the other day too. A little bittersweet, isn't it?

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  18. thanks for the intro to daiso!
    http://crafty.littlerockmamas.com/index.php/2009/11/07/bento-box-obsessed/

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