Bento Photo Dump

It's a well-documented fact that I hate to cook. Haaaaate. I get around this some by having a husband who loves to cook and handles all dinners and weekend meals, but the authorities say I still have to give my kids lunch while he's at work. In light of this fact, it's somewhat surprising I'd jump on the bento bandwagon, no? But, in fact, creating cute lunch boxes makes the food preparation process much more pleasant for me. And the kids are crazy about it.

So, here's a photo dump of my first attempts at bento (and not-so-bento-but-still-decorated) lunches and snacks.

These are the first bento-specific supplies I purchased. Plum District had a great coupon available for Bento USA, an online retailer with a huge selection of BPA-free bento accessories. We've since added a number of cutters, picks, food markers, bento boxes, and silicone cups to our collection - some scavenged from the kitchen drawers, some purchased from Target or HomeGoods or other local stores.

My first sad little attempt. Grape tomatoes, black grapes, cucumber stars, peanut butter and honey on whole wheat with a sprinkle-filled star cutout, string cheese stick. (Meg)

Grape tomatoes, raisins, carrot sticks, cottage cheese, cheese tortellini. (Meg and James)

Grape tomatoes, turkey roll-ups, whole wheat star, string cheese, apple section with happy face drawn on, turkey and hummus on whole wheat with crusts cut off and star cutout. (James)

Frozen peas, "cheesy beans" (kidney beans with melted cheese, crumbled whole wheat crackers, and Italian seasoning), mango. (Meg and James)

Apple, grape tomatoes, peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat cut into puzzle pieces and topped with green sprinkles. (Meg and James)

Whole wheat crackers with food marker initials, black grapes, carrots, Happy Panda cookies, (Not pictured: shaped hard-boiled eggs the kids just couldn't wait for me to finish before they started their lunch. The eggs bombed spectacularly anyway, because I put them in the egg molds the wrong direction.) (Meg and James)

Cucumber hearts, grape tomatoes, cottage cheese with pink sprinkles and strawberry heart, peanut butter and honey on whole wheat cut into a heart and drawn on with a food marker. (Meg)

Snack of strawberries, cucumber slices, grape tomatoes, and veggie straws. (Meg)

Plum, frozen peas, grape tomatoes, Happy Panda cookies, veggie straws, peanut butter on whole wheat cut into animal shapes and embellished with food markers and shaped sprinkles. (Meg and James)

Dyed egg snack. I just submerged boiled and peeled eggs in food-colored water and put them in the fridge overnight. The dye bled through part of the white inside, leaving neat rings of color, white, and yolk when the eggs were sliced into circles. (Meg and James)

Frozen peas, cucumber stars, apple slices, olives, hard boiled eggs, Happy Panda cookies. (Meg and James)

Giant strawberry, frozen peas, large grape tomato, cheese tortellini. (Meg)