Bento your lunch!
by Mylien Miyata
As I sit to write this article, I think to myself that this is as much about encouraging you to start making your children’s lunches as is it is about my creating a blog without actually blogging in order to express my joy of making “bento” style lunches for my two girls.
What is Bento and what does it have to do with your child’s lunch you ask? In Japan, Bento or o-bento is a packaged, single-portion, portable meal that is usually eaten at lunch time, but also comes in larger sizes meant for use at picnics, dinner, and parties.
 Bentos really grabbed my attention when spending a summer in Japan, I noted all the details the Japanese mothers would put into their child’s lunches and then looked at my own daughters drab looking lunch. You see bento is an art form in Japan. Japanese mothers spend a good deal their mornings preparing bento for their families – you may even call it competition among mothers to see who can make the cutest, appetizing, and healthy lunch for their children. The vast array of designer bento boxes, food liners, cookie cutters, egg molds, food picks, and other bento-ware used to create these mini-culinary delights is amazing and can be quite overwhelming.
Besides the fact that my children are half Japanese, my interest in bentos became a way to make packed lunches fun again. I enjoy going through my supplies and deciding how and what to prepare each day. While I rarely get to eat bentos myself, I do send bentos to school four days a week for my 6 year old daughter Mika. The bentos I pack are not as elaborate or fancy, but I enjoy food presentation and like to make her bento as cute possible, but as a busy mom that gets mauled by our hectic family schedule, I don’t have the time necessary to prepare a super-bento lunch. However, I’ve found that preparing healthy and visually appealing bento lunches in the mornings is quite doable – especially with good planning and a well-stocked pantry and freezer, including the above mentioned bento-ware.
If you haven’t attempted making bento yet, you should give it a try! You’ll enjoy hearing the empty bento boxes when your child comes home from school and your child telling you about all the oohs and aahs it received. Check back often, as I hope to share more ideas that inspire you to start preparing an “American” bento for your child at least once a week or on special occasions, such as birthdays and holidays. Just think of all the memories you’ll be creating for your child.
|