How can I find time to make these super-arty lunches

aurora_borealis_2

astep70uk wrote: »

I have to say that I'm hooked on making these for my son each day. It's quite theraputic to spend 15 minutes at the end of the day putting together something that I know will brighten his day, and knowing that he'll eat every scrap of it. Since making these it's also worked out much cheaper than an average lunch box. The ones i have made are nowhere near as decorative as the ones in the link, but hey, they make us both happy :j

See my lunchboxes here



Oh, and bento is a traditional japanese lunchbox of either one two or three tiers. The aim is to fill the box and not be able to see any of the bottom of the box. The boxes themselves are quite small compared to a normal tupperware box but the idea is to cram in lots of little bites rather than say a sandwich, bag of crisps, apple etc.

:T :T :T :T

I am impressed! :beer:

lindab15

I'm gobsmacked - fabulous but can never imagine me having the time to get involved in 'extreme lunchboxing'. And would probably be worried if I did....... !!

astep70uk's version is much more appropriate, but still beyond my creative abilities, sadly. I'm impressed, though - gold star ! Where do you get the 'bento' style lunchbox ?

I did draw a funny face on DD2's snacktime banana once - apparently her whole class thought it was fantastic and had a good laugh (think she eventually got it back to eat it), but can't do it too often or they get bored ........... kids today, huh !

Gingham_Ribbon

They sold something like that in one of the supermarkets last year, without the fancy stuff, obviously. It broke the second time I tried to use it unfortunately. But it was nice to have little compartments to fill with goodies. There isn't room for sandwiches though so you have to be very organised and adventurous which unfortunately I am not!

Astep, loving your work!

aurora_borealis_2

I am inspired (and slightly mad).

I will return with pictorial evidence of my endeavours.

Funnily enough, I'm trying to book a hotel in Brighton and one that I've seen offer 'Bento breakfasts'

Pink.

lindab15 wrote: »

Where do you get the 'bento' style lunchbox ?

Hi linda,

There are suggestions of different places to find them on this thread:

Lunch In A Box -Bento

Pink

Gingham_Ribbon

Oh okay. Since seeing that link my fingers are twitching to do a little on-line shopping...must switch off the computer...must switch off the computer...:eek: (My husband is going to kill me if these are expensive!

boo81

astep70uk - I am majorly impressed but I cannot identify most items in the box and tell which things are made of plastic and which are edible!

Also how does it arrive in one piece, my lunch really doesnt travel far and always looks as though it has gone through the mill!

Im also confused as to how you hard boil an egg and then remove the shell, isnt it solid and very hot or have I missed the point somewhere?

seraphina

This is a great site, all about speed bento packing - so a packed lunch from leftovers/freezer in as little time as possible!

http://www.lunchinabox.net

I've been packing myself a bento I got off Ebay for a few weeks now, it's fabulous!

seraphina

boo81 wrote: »

astep70uk - I am majorly impressed but I cannot identify most items in the box and tell which things are made of plastic and which are edible!

Also how does it arrive in one piece, my lunch really doesnt travel far and always looks as though it has gone through the mill!

Im also confused as to how you hard boil an egg and then remove the shell, isnt it solid and very hot or have I missed the point somewhere?

The trick with bento packing is to make it so full that there's no room for things to move during transit - things like cherry tomatoes are used to squeeze in between spaces and hold things in place. Mine comes into work by motorbike every day and I have no problems with stuff shifting.

As for the eggs, if you peel them as soon as possible after cooking (ie whilst they are hot) you can pop them in a mould and they will cool in the shape of the mould.

astep70uk

boo81 wrote: »

astep70uk - I am majorly impressed but I cannot identify most items in the box and tell which things are made of plastic and which are edible!

Also how does it arrive in one piece, my lunch really doesnt travel far and always looks as though it has gone through the mill!

boo81 - the items in his box that day were macaroni cheese, steamed baby sweetcorn and sugar snap peas, BBQ sauce (in the green bunny cup), cherry yoghurt with pieces of chocolate muffin, cherries and slices of orange.
I also put 3 mini chocolate fingers in the top section.

It does arrive in one piece looking exactly as it should - the trick is to pack everything really tightly so that the items don't move. I find it much easier making bento style lunches as I tend to use up loads of ltlle leftovers from the fridge. I also decant the yoghurt from a large pot of Onken Bio Yoghurt, so it works out cheaper than giving him a muller corner every day which he used to have.

Hope this helps :j