Korean Doshirak (bento)

I packed Korean food for the kids today. I considered making a really pretty bibimbap presentation for them, but the thought of them trying to stir it all up in these tiny boxes and making a huge mess changed my mind. Instead, I just packed some brown rice and ban chan (side dishes).

In the lower tier there is brown rice, seasoned fish cakes, cuttle fish, and pickles in the yellow silicone cup. Bean sprouts and seaweed in the red cup...yummy!

In the smaller top tier, I packed some red grapefruit slices sprinkled with a little sugar.

Side by side view and bento boxes:)

Miso glazed pork bento

Today I pulled out the Laptop Lunchboxes again.

I filled one of the boxes with miso-glazed pork strips, an elephant shaped rice ball, a yello cherry tomato on a bed of lettuce.

In the other boxes, I put a sliced nectarine (this box comes with a lid to seal in the juices), cucumber slices with Ranch dressing in the little cup, and Korean cream cake in the last container.

Here they are side-by-side.

I always include an oshibori (moist small washcloth) for them to wipe their hands before they eat and use as a napkin during their meal.



Here it is folded up into the oshibori case.

And this is what it looks like all packed up in the case. There is an ice pack tucked into the top along with a juice box.

N.Y. Steak Bento

I've had these Laptop Lunchboxes for over a year and rarely use them. It is a shame because they are so cute and really convenient to use. It's just that for my kids, they hold too much food. And being the krajee woman I am, I can't stand to see empty spaces in their boxes. So I am packing this lunch, knowing that they will not finish it. But one can always hope, right?


Today's bentos consist of N.Y. steak slices, rice balls wrapped in Korean seaweed, corn on the cobb and grapes.

There is some edamame and a cherry tomato thrown in to fill up space and add some more color.

And these are the cases that the boxes come in. Aren't they adorable?

These are the perfect size if you have big eaters.

Chef's Salad Bento

Since it is still very warm, I thought a nice, light lunch would be nice for the kids. They don't eat a whole lot of salads (except for Caesar drenched in dressing), but they promised they would give it a shot.



I used Romaine lettuce, chopped cheese, ham flower cut-outs, and a roast beef flower with cherry tomato center. Occasionally I will throw in a boiled egg, but they didn't want eggs today.

Also, not pictured, I included a bag of parmesan pita chips and Ranch dressing in a separate container.

Second day of school lunches and snacks:)

I feel like I am always making the kids the same things over and over again. And for these boring repetitions, I appologize. But they like what they like and the whole point of all of this work is to get them to eat. So once again I bring you: Spam Musubi!


Musubi with cherry tomatoes and edamame in the top tiers.



And even more Spam Musubi in the second tiers (because they LOVE it).




In my personal bento (which was considerably larger in size today) are peaches.



And a rather sloppily arranged second tier of Spam Musubi.





Here are the cute boxes used today. Devin's pink one actually has a handle.





















Mine has a handle too and you can tell how much bigger it is when all three are placed next to eachother.







Here are their snack bentos.










Salami skewers and grape with swiss cheese skewers.











And their snack bento boxes:)

First Day of School!!!!

Yay!!! School has officially begun:) My kids are in a new school which starts almost an hour later than their previous school, which means? I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to make their lunches!! Double Yay!!!!

Moooooo!!



Lunches consisted of their favorite, salmon, a cow rice ball, two quail egg chickies, and cherry tomato lady bug and some green grapes:)

Whoops! The chick's eyes got a little lopsided.




We also broke in some new, awesome bento boxes...LOVE!


Appologies for the excessive use of exclamation marks!

summer bento

My favorite part of summer is the availability of fresh local produce. This summer marks my second participating in a CSA (community supported agriculture). If you're not familiar, you pick a CSA farm, pay in advance for shares, and get a box of produce from the farm every week. It can be risky. Some natural disaster might make the crops fail and then you're just out of money. You don't get to pick what comes in your box so it's probably not the best choice for picky eaters. The other side of that coin is you'll probably be introduced to some new veggies (I ate kohlrabi for the first time last year and saw my first-ever lemon cucumber). The veggies couldn't be fresher and you support your local economy and local business owners. Many farms will let you visit too.

Just look at this produce! So pretty.



1. zucchini flowers, 2. purple cauliflower, 3. purple cauliflower, 4. zucchini flowers


Some photos from a June visit to my CSA, Dunlooken Farms in Glencoe, MN.



1. farm, 2. chicken, 3. asparagus, 4. goat, 5. chicken, 6. chicken, 7. horse, 8. guinea hen, 9. ducks, 10. asparagus, 11. chicken, 12. where people die, 13. chick14. Not available15. Not available16. Not available


And finally, here are some bento I've made with CSA produce.



1. bento 7.17.09, 2. bento 7.20.09, 3. bento 7.22.09, 4. bento 7.23.09 -- vegan, 5. bento 7.27.09, 6. bento 7.28.09, 7. bento 7.30.09, 8. bento 7.31.09, 9. bento 8.3.09 -- vegan!


What's been in your bento this summer?