Lunchbox Report Card: The Bento Session

Several weeks have passed since I first wrote about the saga of packing Belle's lunch for her first days of Kindergarten. As you may recall, there were some small successes but basically my lunchbox ensembles were landing consistently in the B-range.

This was fine, I will take above-average. But then Belle started coming home with her lunchbox contents almost entirely untouched. Maybe there'd be a token nibble from the roll, or the apple wedges would be artfully rearranged, but girlfriend was doing something at lunchtime and it wasn't eating my lunch.

My mom did some covert sleuthing and discovered that Belle was appropriating the funds set aside for her Friday hot lunch and using them throughout the week to purchase chocolate milk. As her lunch remained uneaten, Belle was happily chugging away at her sweet dairy drink, maybe even buying rounds for her friends. 

One carton of chocolate milk is all it takes to fill her up, so that explained why she wasn't eating...but now the gig was up. 

We notified the authorities and secured her Friday hot lunch funds.

We also introduced a new lunchbox into our repertoire which seems to be a big hit. It's a Hello Kitty bento box that I found at Kinokuniya, an amazing Japanese bookstore that has several locations around the country (the one in NYC is across the street from Bryant Park) and also an on-line store.

I haven't gone all bento in my lunch stylings—with Pokemon shaped rice balls and Ponyo themed fruit salads—but the specific geometry of the bento box does force you to be creative in your arrangements. And it all snaps shut with a giant elastic ribbon.

And fits in this cute sack that has enough room for a juice box or little thermos.

Belle loves this new lunchbox, it's just her size, and I'm happy to say it's daily contents have been consumed. Today I made finger sandwiches with baked ham, provolone, and butter.

Sliced ripe pears.

And a handful of Pirate Booty (separated from the pears with half of a cracker to prevent sogginess).

I also got a doggy-decorated bento for Conor, so I can pack him his own snacks when we fly to Minnesota next week for Thanksgiving at grandma and grandpa's house.

Let's hope he doesn't fling the chop sticks into business class.–Caroline