Lunchbox wars

Have you seen the commercial for Staples where the parents are taking their kids shopping for school supplies at their Back-to-School event? The parents are having a great time while the children are frowning all while the song "It's the most wonderful time of the year" is playing. I am that parent. It isn't just that I love getting my daytime routine back with Brianna and Arick gone (I do enjoy the lack of fighting), I also love the planning, the shopping, the anticipation of the unknown, etc.

School starts on August 1, although we will be missing the first few days for unky Dave's wedding, so I have been busy getting things ready. The kids have uniforms now, so the clothing shopping is very easy and inexpensive which I love. That leaves shoes, backpacks, and lunchboxes. I will have to get shoes in Utah since I can't seem to find what I like here. The kids have already chosen their backpacks, and today we picked up lunchboxes. The lunchboxes though were the most complicated out of the entire lot and were my favorite part of this whole preparatory process. So fun! Why? First, let me preface you with the lunchbox disaster of last year.

This past year Brianna had a cute, pink insulated backpack. I learned that cute and pink does not equal effective or efficient. So many times Brianna's lunch got squished, or because of the size/design, not everything would fit well. Arick's lunch box was less of a disaster but it too was more about the character on it than about doing its job well. Add to the fact that the kids began to hate the foods I put in their lunches and you can see things didn't go so well on this subject.

So this year I was going to win the lunchbox wars. To do this the lunchbox had to fit certain requirements. It had to fit our food containers with all lids facing up and it had to be hard to squish. The kids were a little sad that there would be no decorations on it, but I told them that we could gussy them up on our own and that seem to satify them. I also knew that I would need a new menu.

I began my search for the perfect lunchbox at the store and left with nothing, so then I turned to the Internet. That is when I discover 'bento' box lunches and I knew that I was on to something. The picture to the right is from a blog on bento box lunches called The Bento Corner. How could you not want to eat that? Hmmm, how could my kids not want to eat that? Lots of healthy foods disguised in cuteness, I am totally going to do this!

So as not to punish you with my poor writing skills, I am going to give you links to other sites that explain bentos better than I can. They also have incredible photos that will make your mouth water. Some of my favorite sites are

http://www.lunchinabox.net/

http://www.cookingcute.com/

Bentos also usually mean using special bento lunchboxes, but I can't afford the really cute ones right now. So I went to Target today and found Lock&Lock food containers that are pretty good for bento. I was also able to find lunchboxes that fit those containers and that are hard to squish. All for half the price so it will do. To the left is a pic of one of the cute sets on Ebay.

Brianna is especially thrilled because she won't have to stomach a pb&h sandwich again. Her top requests for her bento include: musubi, meatballs, noodles with dipping sauce, onigiri (kind of like rice balls with filling inside), seasoned rice, and veggies. Not your average kid, that one.

I bet you didn't think that someone could right this much about lunchboxe, did ya? I will end here but I am sure you will hear about it again. Maybe with photos of a few of the bento's I make around here.