Bento boxes - Make healthy lunch more appealing
Categories: Eating & nutrition, Playground bureau, Mealtime
Our school lunch menu goes like this: Monday -- pizza and french fries. Tuesday -- hot dog and french fries. Wednesday -- sloppy joe and french fries. To say that I was disappointed to discover this is putting it mildly. Though schools across the nation are slowly starting to offer students more nutritional meals that are far lower in fat and salt content than those listed above, it's a huge system that will take time to overhaul.
The obvious solution is to pack a lunch instead, and many parents have turned to the kid-friendly idea of bento boxes. Bento, which originated in Japan, is a single portion meal consisting of rice, fish or meat, and vegetables, packed in a box in an often visually appealing manner. Though parents can choose foods their kids like to put into their own bento boxes, the idea is to make food fun, finger-friendly, and nutritious.
Parents of younger children can find plenty of inspiration on Mary Mia's (of Do They Have Salsa in China?) Flickr set. Mary has two-year-old twins and spends time experimenting with bento-style meals for her girls. Her results are fun, interesting, and easy for her toddlers to eat.
Kids of all ages, as well as moms and dads too, might like the recipes Biggie has at Lunch in a Box or some of the meal ideas from Laptop Lunches. Other popular sites include Vegan Lunch Box and What's For Lunch at Our House. Don't have time to read and research recipes? Get handy tips from BentoTV instead. And if you're going to give bento boxes a try, try not to miss Biggie's top 10 tips, sure to make your transition go much more smoothly.
Finally, Maggie over at DIY Life has some how-to tips to help you get started. Your kids will look forward to lunch when you use these creative ideas, and you'll have peace of mind that they're getting solid nutrition every day.
The obvious solution is to pack a lunch instead, and many parents have turned to the kid-friendly idea of bento boxes. Bento, which originated in Japan, is a single portion meal consisting of rice, fish or meat, and vegetables, packed in a box in an often visually appealing manner. Though parents can choose foods their kids like to put into their own bento boxes, the idea is to make food fun, finger-friendly, and nutritious.
Parents of younger children can find plenty of inspiration on Mary Mia's (of Do They Have Salsa in China?) Flickr set. Mary has two-year-old twins and spends time experimenting with bento-style meals for her girls. Her results are fun, interesting, and easy for her toddlers to eat.
Kids of all ages, as well as moms and dads too, might like the recipes Biggie has at Lunch in a Box or some of the meal ideas from Laptop Lunches. Other popular sites include Vegan Lunch Box and What's For Lunch at Our House. Don't have time to read and research recipes? Get handy tips from BentoTV instead. And if you're going to give bento boxes a try, try not to miss Biggie's top 10 tips, sure to make your transition go much more smoothly.
Finally, Maggie over at DIY Life has some how-to tips to help you get started. Your kids will look forward to lunch when you use these creative ideas, and you'll have peace of mind that they're getting solid nutrition every day.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jenn 7-30-2008 @ 11:37AM
I love Biggie's website (Lunch in a Box) I've used it for suggestions for my husband's lunches, and now that DD will be starting preschool, will be using it for her too!
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Nicola 7-30-2008 @ 11:39AM
We very nearly went this route when my guy was starting school last fall. Until I realized that you can produce EXACTLY the same "fun lunch" with a neat (lead free of course!) lunch box and a selection of various sized tupperware (safe plastic, clear #1 is what we use). I bought a big pack of nice tupperware that had easy to open lids, meaning that we always have extras on hand, plus lots more for Mommy's tupperware cupboard. What was it about becoming a mother that instantly makes us NEED a tupperware cupboard? But, I digress. The whole pack was about 1/2 the price of one laptop lunch box and included something like 90 pieces! My son selected his lunch box of choice and we include a Thermos brand straw container for his drink. We have many days worth of lunch containers, plus lost more for my collection, all for 1/2 the price of one trendy Bento/laptop lunch box...
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mamaloo 7-30-2008 @ 12:31PM
I've been thinking about tiffin boxes. I still have a year to go before my son is in school full time, and we will have two lunch periods to deal with (two smaller lunches instead of one large one - it's a new school teaching schedule that we've gone to). So, the idea of having multiple sections that screw in to each other that I can label and fill with whatever really appeals to me.
If we go the bento route, I'd have to have two. The thing that would be nice about that would be all the little tiny compartments for lots of variety.
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Judy 7-30-2008 @ 1:18PM
The little Bento boxes do look lots of fun to me.
I must say, though, that a good part of the reason we are choosing to homeschool is the horrific quality of school lunches available. That's not all, of course, but I remember what was served in our school lunches, and then there was the big recall recently (where most of the meat had already been eaten).
Yes, I know they could bring their lunches, but we tried that with my daughter (who now lives with her dad), and she got made fun of constantly for bringing healthy stuff and not having lunchables and other crap.
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Sabrina 7-30-2008 @ 1:42PM
Ok, you've solved my lunch quandry. Thank you. However, I blew off vacuuming the house to search Ebay all morning until I found a PINK laptop lunchbox, which DD loves, and I bought. I didn't bother buying the kit with the waterbottle and outer lunch box (it was $13 more!!) since she likes her juice boxes, and wants to pick a character themed outer lunch box.
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Tash 7-30-2008 @ 2:36PM
We use the laptop lunch system and it's excellent. It's teaching our daughter portion control and the importance of eating all food groups plus it's nice to look at! A few other children in her class have the same system also - no complaints and would recommend :)
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Ku 7-30-2008 @ 8:46PM
Since my husband is Japanese this has always been apart of our life both here and in Japan. So. No brainier for me. I simply LOVE making bento. Just one more way I can be creative and give my son healthy meals.
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Leslie K 8-01-2008 @ 12:04AM
Excellent idea. We have always packed lunches, but admit they have gotten very boring lately. Thanks for all the suggestions.
Leslie K
http://www.supplementinfo.org
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Jennifer 8-20-2008 @ 11:23AM
I have to say that the expense of the LLB was a great investment. We usually go through two lunch boxes a year and this one is in great condition after my son used it last year. We're going for year #2 this go round and he still thinks the LLB is cool. I always add a small treat(Anpanman chocolate/mini box of Asian cookies) for him to find. His friends think it is neat and he does, too. We do have another lunch bag for the days he wants hot foods and several Thermoses which I bought on clearance.
The system can really help a parent who wants to pack a better lunch, but struggles with ideas. There are so many ideas available on Flickr and the Laptop Lunchbox website that the supply of options is endless!
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