Bento Box Fever!

[sara]

Oh boy, my son would love me to pack his lunch like this. He does not like to buy lunch at school.

 

[JennsPeeps]

You have inspired me! I'm going to hit the Asian supermarket in Seattle a grab a bento box for myself!!!!

Wow. i wish the bento boxes came with Ninjapoodle's packing though.

 

[Henrietta23]

I just made onigiri with shrimp. They're not beautiful but I think my son will eat them. I'll have him try one at dinner. I made them while the rice was hot but ow! How hot is hot supposed to be??

 

[Backyard Buddies]

I just read through all 17 pages of this thread. It kind of reminds me of the lunch version of the "Hey Grandpa" thread, but with lots of fancy do-dads!

OK, some thoughts and comments and questions . . . .

I assume most of you are packing these lunches the night before, right? How long does it take you to prepare these meals?

What is the age (OK, not of yourselves and your hubbies

) for whom these lunches are made? My kids are 10 (girl) and 13 (boy) so the cutsie things would be out the window, but I know they'd love the Asian inspired meals, rolled sandwiches, hummus and pitas, and the fresh fruits and veggies. Do those of you with the younger kids also have older kids that still like the Bentos?

I hate putting things in the landfills, so reusable containers sounds good to me!

Love the Totoro! We're huge Miyazaki fans here. I'm pretty certain we have every single English version of his films.

Ninja - I'd LOVE to learn how to make soap. I picked up a couple of books this summer at the library but I didn't think either of them were the right direction I was seeking. One was more about the milling process (great pictures!) and the other was more "farmsteadish", using rendered fats from the farm (not sure at all what THAT one was doing here in OC!). Can you recommend a book with good recipes and such? Now that both kids are back in school, this is my fall project.

Great thread guys!

 

[asher]

Quote:
3, 6, 9 and about to be 11. The olders like them just as much as the youngers. They oldest doesn't like the shapes except thinks the octodogs are cool! heh


Forgot to say, it doesn't take me long at all, but depends how many things I have to cook to put in it. I generally do four at once (b/c the tot wants one, too, dontcha know?!). Mine aren't nearly as creative as the op and others, though.

I searched bentos on flickr. It's like food porn! heh

 

[Henrietta23]

My son is 6 in first grade. He's a very picky eater but this will work for him because he likes to eat a few bites of a lot of different things. Right now he's getting small Gladware containers stuffed in his lunch box. No trash in the landfill! It doesn't take me more than half an hour to make his lunches right now. But I do only have the one child! A sandwich, organic baby carrots, apple slices, some whole grain crackers, cheese cubes, scoop out some yogurt from the bigger container. It's mostly a matter of cutting up a few things and putting together the sandwich. The onigiri didn't take all that long. I did the rice in my rice cooker, bought two shrimp at the grocery store and chopped them into smaller pieces. I've got some books coming in the mail (

this thread is a bad influence!!) and I'll branch out some soon!

 

[blue90292]

i just found this. it says it's an ice cream sandwich maker but i thought it could be used for the rice ball mold. i thought the rooster was particularly cute.

http://www.thisnext.com/item/054AFF60/Tovolo-Ice-Cream-Sandwich

and i finally broke down and bought this for my son.

http://bentocrazy.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=2718824

 

[menageriemama]

Silkieluvr: Petit fours are tiny little bite size cakes. I have made them in the past when I had the time to do futzy baking, but now I get them from this fantastic German bakery in Madison WI called Clausen's. They have 4 layers of cake and layers of both jam and chocolate buttercream on the inside, and are then enrobed in a layer of dark chocolate . They are divine.

Henrietta: So how did your son like his onigiri? They sound yummy

Backyard Buddies: I pack my bentos in the morning, but I do some of the more detailed stuff the night before (if I am doing detailed stuff at all

.) It takes me about 10-15 min to pack my son's bento before I get him off to school. Then I pack my husband and daughter's. My school age son is 8 and in 3rd grade. My daughter is 4 and my youngest son is 21 months. They all love bento!!

Blue: Ooooh, cool sandwich molds!! I really like the pig too. Your son is going to love his Pikachu box

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
Yumm, that sounds good! The rice should be hot enough to almost burn your hands. I have a bowl of water nearby, dampen my hands, and lightly sprinkle them with salt before shaping each ball (the salt helps keep moisture in the ball, too). But yes, it's like working with taffy or mozzarella--ouchy!

My daughter took these pictures, and you can see how red my hands are!

 

[menageriemama]

Hey ninja- your daughter is an awesome photographer!!!! I have never tried the salt on the hands thing- guess I am going to have to fire up the ricecooker