the past two weeks, i’ve been letting my creative mindset flow a bit more freely outside of my sewing room.  one of my favorite things that i’ve been doing each day is preparing amelia’s school snack in the japanese form of a bento box.

she eats a catered meal each day for lunch [usually rice, veggies, sometimes chicken] but she needs a snack sent from home for the afternoon.  up until last week, i had been sending a couple little pre-packaged snacks & a juice box for a special friday treat.  little bags of cheeze-its or chex mix, a container of applesauce, a box of raisins….

for a couple days in a row, she was coming home with half of her snack left in the bottom of her backpack, so i knew she wasn’t getting her full snack [and she eats like a horse!].  i decided to start boxing it all up together in a little bento box i had purchased for storage purposes so that it would all be safe together & she would get her full snack each day without part of it falling to the bottom of her bag, forgotten & uneaten.

the next day as i was preparing her box full of plastic bag treats it totally hit me that i should “cutie” it up for amelia like the japanese do.  “when in japan….”

i started posting the photos on instagram & my personal facebook page for family + friends to see.  i thought it would be so fun to share them here with you each week! ♥

today will be two weeks combined [sorry for the overload!] but next week will be a bit more condensed :]

this was my first bento box that i sent.  it needed more color variation [which i've been working on] and maybe a bit more variety.

i sent mango chunks, goldfish crackers & some pink gogurt yogurt that i squeezed out into a tiny pink container.  i also tossed in a small fork & spoon and a little piggy fork for spearing the fruit!  amelia hated the mango & refused to eat it.  at least i tried….

cubed watermelon on tiny flower skewers, multi grain wheat thin toasted crackers & some cheese cubes.

the liners & silicone molds used in bento boxes help keep each individual food to itself — so the watermelon juices wouldn’t make the crackers soggy & the cheese wouldn’t mix with anything else.  we have a good mix of paper muffin liners & reusable silicone molds to mix & match each day.

sliced strawberries, carrot sticks [baby carrots quartered length-wise], pretzel rods & some colby + monterrey jack cheese cubes.

she ate every last bite of this snack bento!  her teachers are also very good about returning all of the little forks, picks & skewers each day :]  yay!

cherry halves [pitted], grape halves with an adorable lion fork for eating, carrot & cucumber sticks with ranch to dip and a whole grain cookie [since it was for her friday snack -- always a celebration!].

last saturday we spent the day at the beach & i wanted amelia to have something yummy but a bit more filling than her usual snack bento.

i packed more carbs than usual for her here since she would be romping about in the water all day — goldfish crackers, nutella sandwiches on whole grain bread [cut into flower shapes], watermelon & strawberry kabobs, cheese cubes.

i was so curious to watch her eat her bento since she is normally at school each day & i don’t know how she reacts to the change in her snack presentation.  how pleased was i that she totally appreciated each food in it’s own little section!!

she used the picks & forks appropriately for their little food section & ate each portion before moving on to the next section.  everything was kept so neat & tidy.  i loved this little peek into her daily routine!

week two of snacks — strawberry & pineapple chunk kabobs, colby/monterrey jack cheese triangles & a small handful of raisins.

she came home with another totally empty bento at the end of the day!

i wasn’t so in love with this pairing of snacks…. alot of light colors going on together.

a small container of applesauce with a sprinkling of craisins, a star silicone mold filled with cantaloupe & honeydew chunks & a side of chex mix.

this little square bento was a true test of creativity.  it was like a puzzle to get enough snacks inside!! it’s about an inch or so shorter in size than our usual rectangle bentos & that seemed to make a world of difference in packing!  after about 15 minutes of pulling food out & starting over i finally got it.  longest bento packing process ever….

raspberry & blackberry medley, cheese cubes, carrot sticks & two flower shaped sandwiches filled with whipped cream cheese & raspberry jam [oh my yum!!! i ate all the sandwich scraps!].

this one was so much fun — to pack & to photograph!

grape halves speared onto a heart skewer, pineapple chunks, two swiss cheese slices rolled & speared, a muffin liner brimming with cheeze-its & teddy grahams.  oh, those dancing teddies….

last, but not least, her friday bento snack box!  strawberry hearts, multi-grain crackers [with peanut butter to dip!] and four cheese & tomato skewered kabobs.  amelia has since informed me that “tomatoes are disgusting, mommy!”  nevertheless, i keep trying the little foods she doesn’t care for.  i like to sneak them in with foods she loves [like cheese!] in hopes that one day she may change her mind.

i pretty much live for every afternoon when we get home from school to unpack her backpack & get started on the next day’s bento box.  i leave it in the refrigerator overnight & then toss it in her backpack before school the next day for a fuss-free morning.  so easy.

if you are on instagram, be sure to say hello & follow along for more bento pictures [plus a whole lot of other really rad stuff].  or just stop by here next friday for a roundup! xo

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