Those of you who've been following along for a while may remember that in honor of Earth Day 2010 and my desire to create waste-free lunches after seeing how much trash was being generated in the school lunch room, that I decided to go Bento for my son's lunches. Actually, it may have been my son's idea come to think of it! I had a great response from readers, other moms, teachers, and even the children in my son's class who referred to me as "the cool lunch mom" and "Mrs. Perfect Lunch-Maker!" I like to think that I'm making healthy, mostly-organic, fun lunches.
My bento boxes of choice were and still are, made by
Laptop Lunches. Since purchasing my first set, the 2.0 system, I've purchased a 2nd for my daughter and several extra container sets & water bottles, which all mix & match. I also bought a slew of extra water bottle tops so that I can just change out the tops. (My personal preference - I find that I use more of the lidded containers than the others, so when I buy extras, instead of getting a set, I buy the lidded containers individually.) It's colorful and fun! Everything has held up pretty well too. (I've noticed that the prices have gone up since I first purchased my sets, so here's a money-saving tip: if you follow @LaptopLunches on
Twitter, they announce sales & discounts on there from time to time.) If you get free shipping from
Amazon.com you might also make out better buying from them, as shipping runs just over $5 from Laptop Lunches.com.
Like it was in the beginning, it still takes me a little longer to make lunches. That's because I'm doing prep work, cutting, running outside to pick fresh stuff right out of the garden when it's in season, and trying to make it creative. I also love to use cookie & sandwich cutters to make shapes with the food and my little ones think it's great.
Without further ado, I present some of my favorite Bento lunches (at least the ones I've remembered to photograph - because I don't actually remember to do that very often. In fact I'm noticing that the lunches with things like thai dumplings and other things I serve with chopsticks are all missing from my photo album - whoops!) For the record, all the flowers I use are edible from my garden, and my kid gets "oohs & ahhs" when he eats them at the lunch table! I still put fresh organic citrus slices in his water bottle fairly often for a little extra zing.
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| Cucumber, rolled jam sandwich, mango, french crepe cookies |
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| Apple fritter & apple slices, tuna & carrot "sushi", fig newtons, mandarin orange & strawberry |
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| Chicken salad sanwich, cheese & fruit leather butterfly, oatmeal banana muffin, cucumber slices |
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| Jam sandwich, strawberry mountains & mango, oatmeal banana muffin, carrot & cucumbers |
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| Turkey, hummus & cucumber sandwich, blueberry muffin, pretzel rod, blood orange, ginger cats |
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| Kiwi, raisin bagel w/cream cheese, pomegranate seeds, brownie |
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| Carrots w/hummus & dip, crepes w/kisses, raspberries & kiwi, cheddar crackers |
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| Pain au chocolat, jam sandwiches, carrot & cucumber, tortilla chips |
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| Tuna & lettuce sandwich, carrots, blueberry muffin |
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| Raspberries, chicken salad sandwich, carrots, lemon bundt cake |
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| Special cupcake for dessert |
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| Mixed dried berries & power berries, wheat bagel w/nutella, carrots & cucumber slices, cheese |
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| Tuna sandwich, pretzel rods, star-shaped rice krispie treats, cucumber slices, orange slice & raspberries |
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| More tuna, blueberry muffin & pretzel rod, watermelon & raspberries, carrots & cinnamon schoolhouse cookies |
Other favorites include things like Greek spanikopita triangles which pack nicely, cold salmon with lemon wedge, goat cheese on baguette, and lately anything chocolate :)
Happy Lunching!
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