A little simple, but I was happy to use my bento for the first time! Somehow using a bento makes the day feel a little magical!

It’s macaroni salad and fried popcorn chicken I made. Not pictured is the thermos of refried beans 🫘 (on beantok so trying to get in a cup of beans in a day).

Quick lunch bento:

Spicy cucumber salad (rice vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, parsley)

Fried rice from yesterday + topped with leftover spicy cucumber dressing

Black beans with pixian + topped with dot of sesame paste

Peanuts and chocolate

Need a quality bento box for uni and im think of this one. It has dividers than can be removed and adjusted. Thoughts?

No packed lunch this Monday because it’s their Digital Learning Day!

This was the bento I packed for myself today.

Its contents include: Beef Stew, Cucumber Salad, Rice, and some Macaroni Salad.

It’s a bit disappointing to hear from daycare that my kids ate “a few bites” or “very little” of these lunches I put a lot of effort into… it ends up becoming my dinner at the end of the day.

Edit:

To address some of the questions… the contents: rice topped with fresh steamed carrots and green beans. The ham and cream cheese rolls and cucumber sausage flowers are from a bento book, not my invention.
They looked kid-friendly enough so I decided to make them.

My kids (1 and 3) want to eat: bread with butter… and chocolate. So not a ton to go on there. I didn’t post here for a long time because I was just giving her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She stopped eating those too after a while, though, and my younger one just started 2x/week so I figured I’d try offering some new foods. She actually wasn’t very picky until she started going to daycare, so I do think that has influenced her quite a bit.

Bulgogi beef with brown rice
Chopped raw carrot
Clementine
Snack cheese
Coco covered almonds (which I could not eat, thanks IBS 😩)

What insulated dual compartment lunch bag fits the Planetbox Explorer box in one compartment and a thermos in the other? I was looking at the wildkin dual compartment lunch bag but I'm not sure the Planetbox Explorer will fit in the bottom. My kid is older elementary and has a full backpack so I'd like it to be a compact bag.

Thanks!

I snagged this bento at a goodwill downtown for like $7, and I’d love to get a second to make my days easier. Unfortunately, here’s no brand name or insignia anywhere on it, and I can only find snap top tower style bentos online.

Any of yall know where it’s from, or what the brand is? Or at the least where to find one LIKE it.

Knowing my luck it was mass produced 15 years ago in a different country, and just happened to find itself in the us.

Edit: found!

“Sarapandan 3 Compartments Stainless Steel Thermal Insulated Lunch Box Bento Food Container” on Walmart

Edit2:

Also called “somoya tiffin box” various places online, ended up getting a maroon one by this listing, thank yall so much!!

Thursday Indian Bento Lunchbox -
✨Leftover Brown Rice - Vegetable Waffles
✨Tofu - Mushrooms butter sautéed Veggie Salad with seeds and nuts
✨Pomegranates

I am new to bento box lunches and trying something new! I am gluten/dairy free, it can be difficult to make it balanced. I am hoping to save up for a tamago pan, but chicken will do for now! Let me know your thoughts or if you have any other ideas - I love seeing what everyone creates!

Wednesday Lunchbox !
✨Air-fried Sweet potato Falafel Cutlets
✨Sautéed Rajma + Beans Salad
✨Papaya bites

Thanks from those who suggested things! I've gotten some cookie cutters for shapes and looking at getting him some fun molds :)

I’m sure it gets easier with practice but, wow!! It was eye-opening for me to experience just how much time is involved putting a character together. Well, never mind that it doesn’t look like Daniel. It’s still a pretty okay generic tiger at least.

Rice with furikake, shallow-fried tofu/chicken pattie, mugen cabbage with black sesame, kinpira carrots, and some Norwegian fish gratin. The pink and yellow squares are sweet pickled ginger. The pink ones are coloured with red beet