Bento organization

I can't tell you how much fun it is to play with my new bento supplies! Everything is just so stinkin' cute and tiny!

To keep prep time to a minimum, I've organized all my supplies in these handy snap-lid storage containers I got from Costco months ago. (Wish I'd picked up several more sets; they are wonderful!)

The largest bin holds all my cutters and molds. Next are my separators and waxed paper cups. Another flat container keeps all the tiny dishes tidy, and a taller half-sized bin is perfect for a variety of sauce bottles and containers. The tiniest box holds our picks and teeny forks.

You can also see our large silicone baking cups (these are wonderful for rice for my baby - the cup is grippy enough to stay put on the high chair tray so she can scoop her own spoonfuls out, and the depth works beautifully for containing messes).

The top shelf holds our collection of four bento boxes:

Pokemon single tier with snap lid
Clickety click Chick double tier with snap lid
My Melody pink bunny single tier with band and removable dish
Clickety click soccer-playing teddy bear double tiered with decorated band

I purchased all my supplies from various eBay stores (links shown under "inspirations"). It was great fun watching them all drift in from Japan! A few other supplies have been picked up here and there at craft and grocery stores. You can definitely bento without having to purchase special items, but it really is so much fun if you possibly can indulge in a few goodies! Just look at this adorable miniature (1.5" x 1.25") monkey mayo container with itty bitty banana spreader:

A Bento Beginner!

Please don't laugh - this is my first ever homemade bento attempt. For all exusable purposes, I'm sick, we just returned home from almost two weeks away and have nothing fresh on hand, and even worse, my hubby is sick (because admit it, we all know what men are really like when they don't feel well). lol

The blue one is my 7 yo son's Pokemon bento, filled with Morningstar Farms veggie nugget flower spears, bbq dipping sauce decorated with a cheese star, baked organic fries, organic pineapple wheel, brown rice with peas and carrots, an Earth Balance and blackberry jam teddy bear sandwich on wheat, more meunster cheese stars, and Stonyfield Farm organic Chocolate Underground yogurt with whipped cream swirl. He ate everything but the fries, which I couldn't manage to serve warm tonight. (Fussy baby and weary/sniffly hubby)

This pink bunny bento belongs to my 13 mo daughter. She ate so well and really loved serving herself from the spears! Her meal included veggie nugget flowers (halved and speared) served with bbq sauce in a tiny carrot dish, meunster cheese stars, organic chocolate yogurt, speared organic pineapple pieces, Earth Balance & blackberry jam teddy bear sandwich, and a large pink silicone cup filled iwith brown rice, peas and carrots. She ate everything, which is highly unusual for her.

Yay bentos!!!