This took too long, and isnt even cute!

This took me about an hour to do. Keep in mind I make 4 lunches every morning, and have to switch it up a little. My sister doesnt eat brocoli, and I doubted she wanted shitake mushrooms. I couldnt find my furikake this morning so the rice is plain with just teriyaki nori strips. Oh and I didnt put enough lemon juice on the apples to keep them from browning. I'm just is a whiney mood today :( and then I noticed I didnt even use any of my cute picks or anything!

Polenta Burgers

Soba noodles, sauce, peanut butter, celery, grapes, jello cup and polenta burger.

I spent this weekend at Grandmas and boy does she have cookbooks. While Kaiju watched the Disney Channel (those Jonas Brothers are cute!), I thumbed though a few of her ancient cookbooks. There was a hilarious book full of "household tips" from the 50's that had me in tears. The only recipe I found that I liked was polenta burgers in a Rachael Ray Mag though.

Didnt have portobello mushrooms, but I had some ground chicken, so I used that instead and wrapped them up with pink foil.

Gyoza, Carrots and Octodogs

A bit of heavy bento today, Kaiju's was cuter because I had to use her Pikachu bento.

Pork gyoza with dipping sauce in a little pig bottle, baby carrots cut lengthwise, octodogs with ketchup.

BF reaaaally likes the octodogs.

First Bentos

One of my bentos. Of course, the required carrot sticks. Dont we all start with carrot sticks?

Stir fried beef, jasmin rice, boiled egg, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes on a pic, a packet of pink m&m's and cheese wedges stuffed in a little heart container.

Bento Begins

I think its been a month now. I was sitting in bed, and my sister whined there was no food for Kaiju's* lunch. I really didnt want to go to the store. We had food, it just wasnt.. microwave mac and cheese, or packs of chips, or lunchables, or store bought cups of fruit. SoI thought... well, what about a bento for Kaiju? I went to Google and typed "kid bento". One of the first links was LunchInABox, a blog by Biggie that kept me mesmerized for hours. This is easy, this is simple! But I need a bento box. I headed out after all that afternoon, but to Daiso. I had seen Bento supplies there, but I wasnt interested at the time. Now though.... and $50 dollars later (and keep in mind most items are just $1.50), I had bento supplies. 3 850ml boxes, that seemed more like tupperware, but I also got elastic to keep them closed. I got Kaiju a proper bento box, pink with fruits stamped on top and it came with little white chopsticks. Cookie cutters, tiny picks, little sauce bottles, dividers, and paper food cups shaped like squares, triangles, circles, ovals, etc. Onigiri molds, egg molds, whew. I got a lot of stuff. If Im going to make a lunch for Kaiju, may as well make one for me, and BF, and Sister...

I grabbed a pen and a sketch book and sketched out my first bento. I dont remember what it was now, but I still sketch them the night before.

Now, I make bento for anytime we will be out and need a meal. BF is going to Saturday House? Bento! We are going to the shrine? Bento! Im going snowboarding? Bento! I honestly cannot remember my last store bought or restaurant bought meal. I wouldnt let them dare take the chance of taking an opportunity away for me to make a Bento. I get free lunch on Thurdays at work because we meet thru lunch, and I *still* bring a Bento! Flew to CA with BF and Kaiju? In Flight Food? Bento!

Last night I came home and threw dinner together, because I needed leftovers for making bentos today. A few months ago, I felt I was too tired (read: depressed) to cook when I got home and went straight to sleep. My fridge was stocked with "make it yourself" style foods. Ham, cheese, hot dogs, bread, microwave meals, top ramen. Now I have fresh veggies and fruit, jello cups I made myself, fish cake, quail eggs, sausages. I had to re arrange my kitchen somewhat to have a place to put all my weird japanese food (furikake, soba noodles, seaweed -sheets, strips and shredded-, hello kitty marshmallos, rice crackers, poky).

It's an all out obsession. On the outside I usually slip a napkin, packet of miso soup, chopsticks and green tea under the elastic thingie. I'll see if I can post some pictures.

PS: Thank you bf for supporting my bento addiction! But how could you not support me making cute lunch food for you?

* Kaiju = Monster in japanese. Pet nickname for my daughter.