Bento

Sample Picture of Bento Box on Flickr. Very cute!

Here is my first Bento Box I made for my 2 year old. I know the turkey breast sea horses look a little scary! But she loved it. I've been fascinated with bento for a while and kept putting the thought aside. Because I want to buy official "bento" containers and cutesy items. But really you can use anything in your kitchen and try your best to make it look fun and attractive.

What's Bento? Bento boxes are lunchboxes, much like the type of box you take your lunch to school in. They are made out of plastic and come in many different shapes, like squares, circles, or ovals. The box usually has many smaller sections inside that keep different foods apart. In Japan , children bring their food to school in these boxes. In America, you will often see a type of bento box at Japanese restaurants and take-out bento boxes are available in grocery stores selling Japanese food. Typical bento box fare includes rice, meat, salad and pickles. Long ago in Japan, lunches were wrapped in oak, magnolia, bamboo leaves. Later, wooden boxes were used. More info here.

Bento has become such an art! There are so many beautiful and creative bento's on the web. Here is a large group on Flickr.