Bento - A single-portion takeout or home cooked meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional Bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and vegetables in a boxed shaped container.
I love ordering Bento-style meals at Japanese restaurants because it gives you such a great variety of food. At one of my favorite sushi restaurants I order the chicken teriyaki Bento which gives me jasmine rice, teriyaki chicken, wontons, and 1/2 sushi roll all separated in a square Bento box.
On Pinterest (go figure) I found great ideas for kids Bento-style school lunches. I was a cold lunch girl and the envy of all my classmates. While they were eating their "beige meal" of chicken nuggets and cold crinkle cut fries (sorry if that was you), I was eating a fresh homemade sandwich, crackers, string cheese, fruit and veggies, and a cookie. Ella will be a cold lunch girl as well because I will at least know she is eating healthy.
Here are a couple Bento ideas I have found (what kid wouldn't want to eat these lunches?):
Also, I found these on Pinterest which would be perfect in a Bento-style lunch. Sushi Sandwiches? Shut the front door! So cute.
Fun ideas, huh? I heart Pinterest. It is making me a little more creative everyday (well, I feel more creative anyway). If you want the how-to on any of the pictures above, just click on the description below the picture.