On Holiday... See You Next Year!!!

There aren't many bentos to be packed when we are on holiday! So we'll see you next year, when school is back in session.

Feature Friday, Laptop Lunch Discount!!!

As a small token of our appreciation to readers of Colorado Bento, the women at Laptop Lunches have offered us a discount code for 10% off any purchase on their website! The coupon code to enter at check out is eatplaylove.

If you don't know, Laptop Lunches is a company that was started by two moms. They believe in providing healthy and waste free lunch options to children. Their products are safe BPA free plastics.

Please stop by their website today and start changing the way you see lunch duty every morning. It truly can become a pleasure not a dreaded task!

You Bento, But What About All This Stuff?

There comes that day for everyone who loves to pack bentos, where am I going to put all this stuff? Yes, the upside to packing bentos far surpasses the downsides, but organization is the key to successful bentoing.

See this drawer to the left? I have three very oversized utensil/silverware drawers in my kitchen. They allow me the luxury of storing items out of sight, that would typically be displayed on counter tops. I like that, it keeps my kitchen feeling harmonious. Only problem is, the bento accessories have taken over. This particular drawer is the one I use most often, the left side divider once contained our every day go to utensils. Slowly over time (since August) the bento items started to creep in. Cookie cutters, silicone cups, and picks are the main culprits. They are bento items I use every single day, I like to have them at my finger tips. But stealing my coveted utensil spot, not so much. This drawer is on my to-do list. Will update when I get to it.

I keep up above my kitchen cabinets, the actual bento boxes in a white tub. I have a surplus of Hello Kitty boxes that I picked up at a dollar store a few years ago, they were a real find! They aren't my first choice when packing a lunch, but sometimes their shape makes them the best choice. I know we'll out grow this tub soon, but I love the ease of being able to pull it out and have all the bentos in open view. It's funny how some meals work perfectly for a particular shape and sometimes the bento I want to use just isn't the best choice.

The blue bento is labeled, "access". That's the box I keep very small and easily lost bento accessories. See in the photo to the left. These are my highly coveted items that my husband has brought back from Japan. Living in Colorado it's very hard to find all these special little bottles, picks, dividers, and sauce holders. I have to make sure I keep them under wraps and organized.

To me, it's what sets my lunch packing apart. The little touches make it feel more special.

Methinks my lunches are getting boring

Lunch-making lately has become the chore I never wanted it to become. I started making bentos to avoid the whole "ACK! What will my kid eat!" scenario. I figured I had enough going on with them to have to worry about lunches too.

Silly me.

I love how the Laptop Lunches system gives me X number of containers. I fill the containers, and presto chango! The boys have lunch. The challenge lies in actually, you know, filling the containers. Today: apple juice box, Life cereal with a Newman's Own sandwich cookie (wheat-free and dairy-free, but not gluten-free...grrrr...I want one!), mandarin oranges, peanut butter and honey sandwich cut into stars.

Now, in the past, the boys have complained that their lunches would get soggy from the fruit dribbling into other sections. So I extra-drained the mandarin oranges and hoped for the best. One kid got a soggy lunch and bought hot lunch (and was the winner of a little conversation called "You take a lunch, you eat the lunch, you do not buy a lunch), the other kid didn't get a soggy lunch and ate most of it.

While I love the Laptop Lunches sets I have, I've always had a couple of gripes. One is that the outer container has warped a little from the dishwasher. This I can live with, the boys are just careful unzipping the outer bag because sometimes the bag is holding the box shut. Unfortunately, this has led to soggy lunches. The other gripe is that, in the interest of showing most of the food when you first open the box lid, there aren't many lids. One for the big inner container, and one for the teeny tiny dipper container. None for the small ones. I'd love to send yogurt or pudding, but not so much to fit in the big containers, and I'm sure as heck not sending them lidless. And Press and Seal can only do so much.

So after reading this review of Laptop Lunches 2.0 at Eating in a Box, I went ahead and bought 2 new 2.0 systems, with insulating sleeves and extra bento buddies. I wasn't sure if I wanted more Laptop Lunches systems, or if I wanted to go with the more traditional Japanese bentos. In the end, I decided against the traditional ones, because I know my boys, and I know they'd rather eat their earwax than take a lunchbox that is that different from everyone else's.

I'm hoping with the new system, which is unfortunately not compatible with what I already have, I'll be able to send a wider variety of foods with the boys to lunch. My other plan is to sit them both down over winter break (we'll have plenty of time...anyone else have their kids out for two and a half freaking weeks?) and hammer out lunch ideas. I'll make 'em, but I need more input from them. The possibilities are (hopefully) endless.

Hot Bento: Mac N Cheese, Carrot Flowers, Pirate's Booty, & Red Peppers

This week started slowly. An entire week of break is a transition to bounce back from. Lucky for me, my husband has been packing Sj's lunch each morning. Which means, I don't have photos for posts. I think I need to get him on board, so we can have the "Dad Bento" perspective. He does a great job making a typical lunch and I am grateful for the help when I'm not back into the swing of things.

When I was cutting out the carrot flowers this morning, my daughter mentioned how she loves the creativity I put into her lunches (aka dad's been on duty all week). Really to cut out some flowers isn't very difficult. I will admit using the Japanese cutters I found made a huge difference. The flower cutters went right through the carrots like butter! As always, I put the carrot remains on the girls' plates with their breakfast. The gobbled them up first. Funny to think most people would discard them.

To accompany her carrot flowers, I cut up some red peppers. I added a small cup of Pirate's Booty, which I buy at Costco in the industrial size two packs. For a special treat I added some panda cookies, that are filled with chocolate from our local Asian Supply Store. The bento I used today is one typically reserved for my husband, but our daughter forgot her hot insulated bento yesterday! This was a first for her. So I am hoping to get a report that the stainless steel bento in an insulated lunch bag did keep somewhat warm.

As I write this, I realize I forgot a spoon. Oops...I'm sure I'll definitely hear about that today.

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Disclosure: As I have shared in the past, I have not been paid or sent free products, which were mentioned in this post. I simply like to share the choices I make for my family, as we try to eat healthy and as organic as possible.

Bento Less Breaks, Whimsical Muffin Tin Meals At Home!

During school breaks, like last week, I didn't pack any bentos. Although I do occasionally make lunch or dinner in cupcake/muffin tins for my daughters. It's a refreshing change to see everything in little cups. They are a big fan of it and it makes dinner/lunch just a bit more whimsical for them. In the past I've also used ice cube trays as an alternative, it provides many small options which is perfect for a picky eater. Give muffin tin meals a try at home, surprise your kids. In turn they may just surprise you with their eating!

Happy Thanksgiving Break...

Colorado Bento is on holiday! See you next week! Have a Wonderful Holiday!