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

Yategirl

OOooooohhhhh!!!!!!!!! sounds good astep70uk! I will have a play tomorrow!! Glad to hear your DS loved it!!!! Mine was admant that he loved cold boiled eggs but won't eat them now... I am experimenting for me!

am chuffed with myself for ds1's lunches tomorrow.... he has 2 small teddybear shaped peanut butter sandwiches, a small teddy bear face pot of cream cheese, raw baby courgette, radish and peas in a pod (all from our veggie patch!) for dipping. A pot of chopped plum, nectarine and apricot. A small pot of home-popped popcorn (with paprika seasoning) and an extra pot with a small piece of homemade flapjack and cherry cake (this is extra as they are on a school trip tomorrow). The teddy bear theme is because he is going on a teddy bears picnic tomorrow (he is in reception class)!

astep70uk

That sounds fantastic!!!! Wish I'd thought of the teddy bear theme - DS had a 'Bring a Teddy to School Week' last week, so I could have done it for a whole week. Your raw veg from your patch sounds great!! We pulled up 3 baby carrots last week but he washed and ate them raw before they got to his bento!!!!
I never thought of popping corn. Think I'll have to do that this week.

Heres what is in DSs tomorrow:

Home grown (from grandad) new potato/mayo/honey salad with onion crispies on top. Top tier: Slices of cooked pork sausage with BBQ sauce to dip.
Lower tier: HM chocolate cake with chocolate fudge topping, dried cranberries, dried jumbo raisins, babybel with the wax cutout in the shape of a rabbit.
I'll post a photo later when i get it up onto Flickr :j

astep70uk

Heres my effort for tomorrow - leftovers from the fridge mainly.

okiegirl

this is so great,i had never even heard of bento untill stumbling across this thread!it has really inspired me to makes changes to my ds lunchbox,as although i always try to vary his food everyday im sure he gets bored with the same stuff being rotated all week!

vivaladiva

Where do you get a Bad Mother's Club number from? I think I need one.:rotfl:
But joking apart I reckon this Bento stuff might make doing lunchboxes a bit less of a chore. Believe me, after 11 years, lunchboxes are definitely a chore.:rolleyes:

Spendless

Bizzimum wrote: »

Where do you get a Bad Mother's Club number from? I think I need one.:rotfl:

Come into the arms, but you have to choose your own number cos we [STRIKE]can't be bothered[/STRIKE]are too busy to allocate one.

pavlovs_dog

astep, as an experienced bento-er, what have you found doesnt travel well? what should we be avoiding?

mollymunchkin

I'm seriously considering giving this a go! Before I plough head first buying lots of cute stuff off eBay I'm going to dig out my Tupperware box and some of my son's weaning pots, baby steps and all that

We have no microwave at work so I'm looking for lots of cold food inspiration.

Love all the boxes on here so far :j

Yategirl

sounds yummy astep70uk.... must get thinking cap on for tomorrows lunch!

astep70uk

pavlovs_dog wrote: »

astep, as an experienced bento-er, what have you found doesnt travel well? what should we be avoiding?

I have found that most things will travel well as long as they are packed tightly into the box. (apart from todays which was accidently dropped down the stairs :eek: )

Apart from sandwiches, this is what DS has taken so far:

Omlette rolls filled with cheese/ham
Teriyaki pork
Swedish meatballs
Mini sausages
Cold sliced sausage
Cold cooked chicken
Hotdogs (shaped like ghosts/octodogs)
Potato stars
New potato salad
Fried rice
Sushi rice
Macaroni cheese
Sticky BBQ ribs
Corned beef hash (cubes of new potato & corned beef)
Skewers of peas/sweetcorn
Baby carrots
Sugar snap peas
Carrot shapes
Fresh fruit
Dried fruit
Yoghurt
Babybel/cheese cubes/feta cheese/
Twiglets/Mini cheddars/Mini jammie dodgers/Mini chocolate fingers
HM chocolate cake

Pots for dipping: BBQ sauce, tomato sauce, brown sauce, mayonaise, ranch dressing, sweet n sour sauce, soy sauce (for rice), teriyaki sauce (for rice), chocolate sauce (for fruit)

Bizzimum: I've been making packed lunches since January, and was really fed up with them and like you found them a real chore. Since making 'bento style' boxes I haven't found it half as bad. In fact its quite therapeutic in a strange kind of way!!!!