Bento Love

The new thing around here is Bento. Yep, we've caught the Bento bug and he looks like a panda bear.....

I bought this container on Amazon and Nuala is in love. She insisted on taking him to school for snack time but I told her she had to learn how to put him together by herself first. Sealing him shut with the little black elaastic strap isn't as easy as it seems, but she was determined and spent the greater portion of an entire morning practicing and practicing until she had mastered the process.

Initially I thought that the panda was sort of small for an entire meal, but you could easily fit a sandwich in the bottom portion and if you pack it just right (really cram the food in tightly) there is more than enough room for lunch. I already ordered another one for next year when she'll be taking cold lunch to school on a regular basis. This same company also makes these containers in frog and pig shapes, so if you don't like pandas (although who doesn't?) there are other options available.

Up until now we've been using our old Tupperware 3 sectioned containers for snacks, and they work just great, but are an odd size to try and keep flat in a lunch box. Since they don't use lunch boxes this year it hasn't been an issue, and the lids are easy for them to manipulate (meaning Oscar isn't quite ready to devote an entire morning to panda practice).

I've also been playing around with little cookie cutters and cute shapes. I know it seems silly, but we're all enjoying it and sometimes the little stuff really is what you wind up remembering at the end of the day.

Dried Fruit and Nut Balls rolled in sesame seeds found here

Ever since I found out I'm pregnant I've been very food oriented (oh who I am kidding, it's always been that way!) which was fine in those first few weeks when the food looked something like this.....

Chicken Stew with Squash and Quinoa found here.

Unfortunately I seem to have strayed from the cutting board lately, trading in squash for peanut butter cups and bowls of hearty stew for bowls of Captain Crunch. So my challenge this week will be to get back to a healthy lifestyle, one with more whole foods and less high fructose corn syrup. Wish me luck, this isn't going to be easy after all the recent bonding with the Captain.