What is a Bento lunch and why am I making them? Plus the Bento before the Bentos.

Here is the actual definition of a Bento lunch. This is copied and pasted from Wikipedia. :)

Bento (弁当 bentō?)[1] is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand craftedlacquerware. Although bento are readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋 bentō-ya?), train stations, and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend time and energy for their spouse, child, or themselves producing a carefully prepared lunch box.

Now, my definition of a Bento lunch.

A Bento is a fun, attractive and healthy meal neatly and compactly packed in a single box. It is great waste free way of packing. It provides a large variety of visually appealing foods while still keeping fantastic portion control. The best part (according to my tiny princesses) is that all of your food is separated with fun individual containers and cups! No more mixing foods!! YAY! :)

My reason for creating Bento lunches for my family is simple….. My tiny princesses are beyond picky. I’m mean like really really picky. Tiny princess A likes zero fruit and only one or two vegetables. Tiny princess K like zero vegetables and only one or two fruits. I’ve started this quest in cute lunch making in hopes to broaden the taste buds of my two tiny princesses. So far, it’s working! YAY! 

My first Bento was pretty pathetic. I had ordered lots of supplies, but was too eager to get started while waiting for their arrivals so I decided to use what I had on hand to give it my first go!

Pictured Left- Allison has Star and heart Turkey Sandwiches. Plain Turkey. She let me put a tiny cheese heart on top for fun, but insisted she would NOT eat it. Peanut Butter Crackers, String Cheese, Mott's Medleys Fruit Snacks, Pretzel Twists, and a new food item to her pallet Cherry Tomatoes with salt and pepper. ♥
Pictured Right- Karsyn has: Peppered Turkey and cheese star and mini heart shaped sandwich, String Cheese, Peanut Butter Crackers, (non healthy) fruit snacks, (she won't touch the Mott's Medleys) Pretzel Twists, and Pineapple.

Packed in Glad food containers. These worked very well for my first time lunches, but I really needed silicone cups and individual containers to keep things from mixing.