Bento Box Lunches

Hap Hap Happy Friday! I am so glad it's the 'tippy top' (as our 5 yr old would say) of the weekend. I have so many big plans to... clean the house! :P I hope you have bigger, more exciting plans than I do! lol

It's Friday, which means a fantastical post depicting my best finds for the week. This week my find is a no-brainer. We've just finished our first full week of school and already I'm wishing for more lunch ideas for the kids. Bento Box lunch ideas are circulating the web this week, and I'm taking full advantage!

If you're not familiar with bento boxes, they are basically a traditional Japanese home-packed meal.  Japanese style bento usually consists of rice, fish or meat, and vegetables packed into a box with various compartments.  At times they are organized into a theme or faces and caricatures are made by combining foods.  Take a look:

Phot Credit

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

 Of course, in North America, the majority of people won't pack a traditional bento box lunch, but we can make our own version and stock it with bright and delicious food that our kids will love.  And the following sites have done just that.  Take a look at the variety of bento box lunches that some moms pack for their kids - and by the end of this post, I can almost bet you'll be creating bento box lunches and snacks of your own!

Although the photos above are beautiful and show elaborate fixings for a lunch, I'm waaaayy too busy and would never have the patience to make such fancy schmancy lunches for my kids.  But I can see myself making Bentos like these on Monday morning:

Photo Credit: Lunches Fit For a Kid

Photo Credit: Fawn In BC

Photo Credit: Lunch In a Box

 How do you get started?  I would first take a look at   Lunch In a Box for a big list of frequently asked questions about Bento Boxes, which will give you all the information you'll need to get started.

Then visit these sites for North American kid-style Bento Box lunch and snack ideas:

Lunches Fit For a Kid 

Not Exactly Bento 

Bentobloggy

And then visit these sites for eye candy - Bento style:

Happy Little Bento

Ohayo Bento

Bentolicious

And THEN, come back here (or go to our Facebook Page) and tell us what you're planning to feed your kids come Monday for their school (or homeschool!) lunches.

PS - I am happy to be blamed for your newly found addiction!  :D