2008 was a year of big changes for Lunch in a Box, so I thought I’d step back a moment to look back at the highlights. I turned forty last year, so being at my own midway point may have made me more reflective than usual.

We’ll see what 2009 holds: my son’ll be starting regular kindergarten this fall, so I’m interested in seeing how a non-Japanese peer group affects his attitude towards his bento lunches. I’m looking forward to more blog changes in 2009 as well, including more bento community features and a site redesign to clean things up. (...)
Read the rest of 2008: My bento year in review (764 words)

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Why do you pack bento-style lunches, or why do you want to?

I gradually got into bento lunches through a series of coincidences that I wrote about in my profile. I lived in Japan for almost a decade, but didn’t pack bentos often until my husband was misdiagnosed with celiac disease, a food intolerance that all but ruled out restaurant meals. Bento-style packing appealed to me as a way to help my husband eat well despite health restrictions.

After the doctors figured out that my husband didn’t actually have celiac disease, I drifted back into the bento habit because of my toddler son: one small bento box took up a lot less room in my diaper bag than four or five Tupperware containers. How about you?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Poll voting closes at midnight Pacific on Sunday, January 11, 2009.

FURTHER READING:

• Poll: When do you pack lunch? (poll closed)
  
• Poll: Who do you pack lunch for? (poll closed)
• All polls on Lunch in a Box
  
• How to cut your food bills
• Bento FAQ and Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and reviews

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Over the holidays, we moved our huge cat perch into my four-year-old’s playroom to make room for the Christmas tree. Our cats Moose and Squirrel love it, but moving it out from the wall led to a mysterious mishap when Bug reported that Moose “pushed it over with his head” when I was in the next room.

Sounds like Bugs Bunny physics to me, but Moose isn’t talking. The cat perch wound up hitting Bug on the cheek on the way down and caused a cut on the inside of his mouth. The pediatrician recommended giving him soft foods that weren’t too salty, cut small enough so that he didn’t have to open his mouth wide to eat (no hamburgers). So I packed him a soft lunch with a deconstructed sandwich to eat while things healed.

Contents of preschooler bento lunch: Whole wheat bread, chicken salad, simmered kabocha squash (kabocha nimono), and cherry tomatoes. When I served this same kabocha at dinner the night before, Bug said he didn’t like the kabocha he tried before at a monthly school lunch and didn’t want any. But after I asked him to try a bite of mine and tell me if it was the same or different from what he’d had at school, he changed his mind and asked for a portion of his own.

We didn’t manage to isolate what was different about the kabocha at dinner that made it okay for him. I wonder if it was the temperature — maybe he prefers it warm. He does respond well to approaching food tastings as an experiment, though. You know, “I’m not going to make you eat it, but can you figure out what aspect you don’t like? Is it the taste, smell, texture or appearance?” Kids are funny, but at least he’s not a very picky eater!

Morning prep time: 5 minutes using chicken salad from Costco and leftover kabocha (recipe upcoming). In the morning I trimmed the crusts off the bread and filled the box. Done! Super speedy. (Read on for packing details and the verdict.)  (...)
Read the rest of Holiday injury bento lunch (373 words)

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The weekend before Christmas we had one of Bug’s little friends over to the house for a holiday cookie party. No, not the kind of cookie party where each guest brings several dozen homemade cookies and you swap. The kind where the kids get messy baking and decorating their own cookies — aesthetics be damned.

Bug’s friend brought him a present of a kid’s robot apron from Old Navy that matched her own. I haven’t been into Old Navy recently, but these aren’t on their website now. I have seen a few of these robot aprons on Ebay, and a number of other fun kids’ aprons on Amazon.

The first year I made holiday cookies with Bug, I wore myself out. I made too many different kinds of cookies and tried to decorate every cookie just so. That level of baking frenzy was fine when it was just me in the kitchen, but now it’s just a recipe for frustration with a four-year-old who wants in on the action. Learn from my mistakes and don’t bite off more than you can chew when you have little helpers! (Read on for my tips on how to host a manageable Kids’ Holiday Cookie Party.) (...)
Read the rest of Host a doable kids’ cookie party (710 words)

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After playing with the cool Food Blog Search and Veg Blog Search engines to search thousands of food blogs, I got to thinking. Why don’t the bento and packed lunch blogs have a similar search engine that brings up results only from our lunch blogs? So I’ve started to pull one together, including about 100 bento blogs on my Lunch Links page (still adding blogs in multiple languages).

It’s still a work in progress and I’m putting together a standalone web page for it in addition to the basic Google custom search page, If you’ve personalized your Google homepage, you can add a Bento Blog Search gadget to your homepage. All you have to do is click on this button:

I do have a favor to ask in the meantime. I’m not the most artistic person around, but will need graphics for the header and search widget logos (see the Food Blog Search widgets and Veg Blog Search widget for examples). Are you graphics-minded? Here’s your chance to leave a lasting impression on the bento blogging community!

If this is up your alley, design a header and search widget logo and e-mail them to me at bentoblogsearch (AT} gmail {DOT) com by Friday, January 16, 2009. If I wind up choosing your design for the bento blog search tool, I’ll send you a bento box gift bag with Skater bento box gear like those I’m offering for the Menu for Hope hunger charity and credit you on the Bento Blog Search website.

By the way, there are two days left on this year’s Menu for Hope raffle, which ends on December 24, 2008. Odds of winning the Pokemon bento box set are currently about three times better than winning the Hello Kitty bento set, so it’s something to keep in mind. All proceeds go to the United Nations World Food Programme, the world’s largest food aid agency. Specifically, this year’s donations will benefit the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa.

FURTHER READING:

• Shopping guide for bento gear in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Online store list for bento gear, and the international Bento Store Locator with Google Maps
• Bento recipes on Lunch in a Box
• Bento FAQ and Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and reviews

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A little while ago I had a moms’ night out dinner at Aziza in San Francisco and brought back some Moroccan food for Bug’s lunch. The next morning I was off on yet another early-morning kindergarten school tour and in my rush forgot to take a photo or explain to Bug what strange things I’d packed for him. When I picked him up from preschool, Bug was quick to ask me what it was that I’d packed in his bento. I told him that it was couscous with lamb and vegetable stew, and asked if he liked it. Surprise! He loved it and said he wanted couscous for dinner and future bento lunches. So why didn’t he eat any of the couscous in the lunch below? A packing error on my part…

Contents of preschooler bento lunch: Italian meatballs, broccoli with vinaigrette, roasted garlic couscous, persimmons, cherry tomatoes, Asian pear, and mini cookies (ginger pennies). Bug’s preschool discourages the parents from sending sweets in the children’s lunches, but I couldn’t resist these tiny holiday cookies for a treat (ooh, bad mom!). I made them from a recipe from Rose’s Christmas Cookies, Rose Levy Beranbaum’s definitive cookie book with notes on which will hold up for sending through mail, how long each will last fresh vs. frozen, etc. The crisp little cookies were a hit at a holiday party I brought them to recently, and parents allowed their children to grab a whole handful of the little rounds.

Morning prep time: 10 minutes, using leftover couscous and frozen meatballs. In the morning I microwaved the meatballs and broccoli, and cut up the fruit. (...)
Read the rest of Holiday bento lunches (788 words)

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The Laptop Lunchbox giveaway closed last night at midnight with 514 entries. Thanks to everyone for entering and sharing the ideal lunch that you’d like to pack! There were a lot of delicious-sounding meals in there.

According to the random.org drawing, the lucky winner is Robin of the My Pursuit Of blog (comment #305). Robin writes that she’d pack her four-year-old’s favorites in the LLB: mac and cheese, applesauce, hummus and carrots, and a couple of cookies. Congratulations! I’ll be e-mailing you shortly. Robin will receive the Laptop Lunchbox set including the box, insulated carrying bag, utensils, inner containers, drink container, and a copy of The Laptop Lunch User’s Guide. 

If you didn’t win the Laptop Lunchbox, there are always the bento prizes I’m offering for the Menu for Hope hunger charity raffle, with proceeds going to benefit the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa. Good luck!

FURTHER READING:

• Laptop Lunchbox meal planning worksheet and DooF-a-Palooza event
  
• All lunches packed in Laptop Lunchboxes on Lunch in a Box
• How to care for your Laptop Lunchbox and other bento supplies
• All giveaway posts on Lunch in a Box
• Bento FAQ and Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and reviews

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December is a time for giving, and Lunch in a Box is happy to donate two prizes for the Menu For Hope food blog charity event, now in its 5th year. Started by Pim of Chez Pim, Menu for Hope raises money for the United Nations World Food Programme, the world’s largest food aid agency (last year it raised almost US$100,000 for the program!). Specifically, this year’s donations will benefit the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa. A full list of prizes is here at Chez Pim, and the Western U.S. regional prizes are all shown here at Matt Bites. A mere US$10 gives you a shot at some pretty cool food-related prizes! Check them all out and see what appeals to you.

I’m offering two different bento prizes this year, with all products courtesy of Skater Company, Japan’s largest manufacturer of bento boxes. I’ll also give each of the winners a personal tour of San Francisco’s Japantown if you’re in town (details below).

I’m offering:

1. Hello Kitty & Berries Bento Box Kit with Personal Tour of San Francisco’s Japantown by Biggie. Get your cute on with a variety of unusual Hello Kitty food shaping tools, three feminine bento boxes, and a matching thermos. Valued at US$110, all products are from the Skater Company in Japan. Kawaii! (prize code UW11)
2. Pokemon & Berries Bento Box Kit with Personal Tour of San Francisco’s Japantown by Biggie. Pack stylish “his and hers” lunches with a complete set of Pokemon bento boxes, rare Pokemon drink bottle, Pokemon lunch utensils, two feminine bento boxes, and a matching thermos. Valued at US$140, all products are from the Skater Company in Japan. Pikachu! (prize code UW12)
   

(Read on for full prize details and instructions on how to enter.) (...)
Read the rest of Bento prizes on Menu for Hope 5 (1,557 words)

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(Dec. 16 UPDATE: The Laptop Lunchbox giveaway is now closed; see the announcement of the winners here.)

Looking for a lunch-packing gift for a friend, or just want to spoil yourself? To celebrate the holiday season, the folks over at Laptop Lunches have offered a free Laptop Lunchbox kit to one lucky Lunch in a Box reader anywhere in the world (not just U.S.).

Bonus: If you don’t win the giveaway and want to order one on your own, they’re also running a Holiday Discount for 20% off items purchased from their website through December 16, 2008 (coupon code is holiday2008). The coupon code temporarily brings their website prices below those of Laptop Lunchboxes on Reusable Bags or Amazon, so thanks for the discount! (Read on for information on how to enter the giveaway.) (...)
Read the rest of Giveaway: Laptop Lunchbox Set (243 words)

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One thing I’m starting to adjust to is my four-year-old’s growing appetite. It’s easy to look at the bento box size guidelines and figure out what size is right for your child, but they don’t stay that age (and appetite) forever! When he was three, a 350ml box was just perfect. Now that Bug is four, though, I’m finding he needs more of a 400ml lunch. This doesn’t mean I need to throw away the smaller boxes, though! Supplement them with a small side dish container that holds a small portion of fresh fruit, for example.

Contents of preschooler bento lunch: Pepperoni and mushroom pizza, roasted asparagus, blueberries and crispy Asian pear slices.

Morning prep time: 7 minutes, using leftover pizza and asparagus. In the morning I cut up the pizza, asparagus and pear. (Read on for full packing details and an additional pasta lunch with a raw heirloom tomato sauce.) (...)
Read the rest of Pasta and pizza bento lunches (496 words)

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Wall-E Bento by Anna the Red

I came across an interesting new bento blog that gives step-by-step directions for creating elaborate kyaraben food art lunches. Anna the Red’s Bento Factory website is the new creation of Flickr user Anna the Red, who makes fantastic lunches for her boyfriend kickintheheadcomic. She’s partial to Studio Ghibli and Disney Pixar (think Totoro and Wall-E, like the bentos shown here).

Keep in mind that these are far from speed bentos, and are more in line with time-consuming oekakiben decorative art bento lunches. Have a look for inspiration for that rare food art bento you might make for a special occasion!

Nekobus Bento #2 by Anna the Red

On Bento Factory, Anna mixes write-ups of complete bentos with detailed how-to posts such as How to make mini Totoro, How to make Thanksgiving turkey bentos,  How to make vegetable flowers, and How to make a sunflower with sausages and a thin egg sheet (see also my tutorial for making thin egg sheets in the microwave, or the master list of all Decorative Food recipes on Lunch in a Box).

(Read on for more info, an additional source for kyaraben inspiration, and information on a new Daiso store in Cupertino.)(...)
Read the rest of Interesting new bento blog by Anna the Red (256 words)

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A few notes today with bento shopping updates for San Francisco locals, a new Facebook page for Lunch in a Box, a tentative logo, and links for my latest TV appearance. Because this is probably Bug’s last year of preschool, lately I’ve been spending a lot of time touring elementary schools to help us navigate San Francisco’s school lottery system. To anyone else in the same boat — I feel for you, and be sure to check out the SF K Files, a blog by a San Francisco parent who went through the same process last year. The numerous reader comments are invaluable and can help you get savvy quickly.

FACEBOOK:

I also made a Facebook page for Lunch in a Box, so Facebook users can track updates there if it’s easier. On the Facebook page I put up a placemarker Lunch in a Box logo that I had a designer work on; I’m not totally sure about it yet. Thoughts?

TV LINKS:
Links are up for the appearances I made last week on Fox40 Live, the Sacramento Fox affiliate’s live morning news show. There are two 4.5-minute segments about “Creative Ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner Leftovers”. In the first TV segment, I showed the Turkey Mole Enchilada recipe and ways to use leftover bread. In the second TV segment, I demonstrate the Curried Turkey Croquette recipe and show ways to repurpose leftover cranberry sauce. Verdict: Not perfect or anything, but at least I’m still breathing and didn’t use bad language. It was a lot of fun!

SHOPPING:

A few shopping updates today for San Francisco Bay Area locals. I’ll be updating the San Francisco Bay Area bento shopping guide and the store entries in the Bento Store Locator with this information for quick reference. If you have info or updates on the best places to find bento gear in your neighborhood, be sure to add it to the Bento Store Locator so that we can all benefit, wherever we are in the world!

1. Super Tokio: Selection of cheap bento boxes, and reasonably priced Lock & Lock insulated bento sets (individual and picnic) (SF Richmond Dist.)
2. Sanrio: Unusual bento accessories and character goods (pricey) (Westfield Mall, SF Downtown)
3. Yes Variety: Many cheap bento boxes and thermal lunch jars (mostly from China), including reasonably priced Lock & Lock insulated bento sets (individual) (SF Sunset Dist.)

(Read on for the full details on each store with photos.)  (...)
Read the rest of Site and Shopping Updates (343 words)

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When do you usually pack lunch? I pack my son’s bento lunch in the morning because I usually don’t have my act together enough to do it the night before. When I do manage to pull one together when cleaning up from dinner, though, mornings are definitely less rushed and I can see the benefit of packing sturdier foods ahead of time if they’ll stand up well in the fridge overnight. How about you?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Poll voting closes at 9:55pm Pacific on Wednesday, December 3, 2008.

FURTHER READING:

• Past poll: Who do you pack lunches for?
• All polls on Lunch in a Box
• Bento FAQ and Biggie’s Top Speed Tips

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Croquettes are a cross-cultural tool for breathing new life into leftovers, perfect for any mashed potatoes that survive Thanksgiving dinner. There are versions of these breaded, fried balls of leftover potatoes or meat found around the world: bitterballen and kroket in the Netherlands, korokke in Japan, alu-tikki in India, and the list goes on. I demonstrated this recipe today on Fox40 live TV news in Sacramento for a segment on Creative Ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner Leftovers, and will post a link to the video once it’s up.

(UPDATE: The video links for the Fox40 “Creative Ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner Leftovers” are up; click for the first TV segment with turkey mole enchiladas, and the second TV segment with the croquettes and ways to repurpose leftover cranberry sauce.)

The basics are simple, and can be tweaked with whatever leftovers and seasonings you have on hand. Take some cold mashed potatoes, add vegetables or proteins, flavor, form into shapes, roll in bread crumbs, and fry.  I chose to add leftover turkey and curry powder, and served them with a trio of dipping sauces: stone ground mustard, tonkatsu sauce, and leftover cranberry sauce. (Read on for the full recipe.)

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Read the rest of Curried turkey croquettes (617 words)

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Teaching kids how to use chopsticks can be tricky. Bug has used a variety of different learning chopsticks that I picked up in local Asian markets, but this weekend I came across a cheap and ingenious workaround that uses regular disposable chopsticks, the paper chopstick wrapper, and a rubber band. A tip of the hat goes to Sushi to Dai For restaurant in San Rafael, CA, where I saw this trick (their omakase sushi special is, indeed, to die for).

To make these, pull apart disposable chopsticks or use regular reusable ones with rectangular ends that will stay securely together. Use a rubber band to tightly bind together the non-eating ends. Take a small strip of paper or half of the wrapper from the disposable chopsticks, and fold it up small. Wedge it in between the chopsticks up near the rubber band, and hand them to your child! Kids can just squeeze the chopsticks together to grab things, and the tips are aligned properly. (Read on for additional tricks for making these, reviews of Edison learning chopsticks and the Fun Chop chopstick learning gadget, and where to see me on TV this morning.)

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Read the rest of Make your own learning chopsticks (458 words)

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The rice cooker giveaway closed last night at midnight with 934 entries. Thanks to everyone for entering and sharing your excellent rice-related tips, recipes and ideas! They make excellent reading to help break you out of a rice rut.

The lucky winners according to the random.org drawing are Carolyn (comment #712) and Kathy (comment #863). I drew three numbers to have a runner-up (#490) in case I drew one of my own comments, a comment without a rice-related tip, or someone unable to supply a U.S. shipping address. Carolyn will receive the Zojirushi 5.5-cup rice cooker with Induction Heating (US$350 value) and Kathy will receive the Panasonic 5.5-cup rice cooker with fuzzy logic (US$150 value). Congratulations to you both! I’ll be e-mailing you shortly.

FURTHER READING:

• Rice cookers: Not a one-trick pony
• Tip: Use cookie cutters as molds for onigiri rice balls
• Speed bento technique: Making & freezing grilled rice balls (yaki onigiri)
• All Product Reviews on Lunch in a Box
• Bento FAQ and Biggie’s Top Speed Tips

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(Nov. 20 UPDATE: The rice cooker giveaway is now closed; see the announcement of the winners here.)

Need a new rice cooker but don’t want to drop hundreds of dollars on a fancy one? I’ve got a Zojirushi NP-HBC10 5.5-cup rice cooker with Induction Heating (IH) and a Panasonic SR-NA10 5.5-cup rice cooker with fuzzy logic to pass on to two lucky U.S. readers. To enter, leave one comment below with your favorite rice-related tip by midnight on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, and I’ll choose two comments at random on November 20 using the random.org random number generator. The first pick will receive the Zojirushi ($350 value, the same one that Ajinomoto and Zojirushi recently gave away in their Lunchbox Photo Contest), the second will receive the Panasonic ($150 value). (Read on for full giveaway details.) (...)
Read the rest of Fancy rice cooker giveaway (300 words)

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Last week I discovered that whatever I write while taking painkillers makes very little sense. I tried writing and rewriting posts while recovering from some medical stuff, only to find that Vicodin makes me stupid, dizzy and sleepy. Anyway, all is well with me again — sorry about the unintended break! It’s time to get back to bento with mini bagel sandwiches, a compact way to pack a non-squishable sandwich in a bento box.

Contents of preschooler bento lunch: Mini bagel sandwich with cream cheese and spruce tip jelly from our trip to Alaska (reviewed below), an “octodog” (octopus-shaped hotdog, full tutorials here for boiling, and here for frying) with ketchup for dipping, boiled broccoli with vinaigrette, hard-boiled quail eggs, boiled carrots, strawberries, and grapes.

Morning prep time: 12 minutes, using already-boiled quail eggs from the fridge and the multi-boiling technique to cook multiple things at once. In the morning I made the bagel sandwich while the water quickly came to a boil in my electric kettle (see my earlier post on Kettle Races: Electric vs. stovetop). I poured the boiling water into a small saucepan and cooked the broccoli, carrots and octodog. (Read on for lunch details, a review of local Alaskan jellies, and additional mother/son lunches.)

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Read the rest of Mini bagel sandwich bento lunches (775 words)

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Who do you pack lunches for? I’ve been writing about our family lunches for a while now, so you all know that I now pack bentos for my four-year-old to take to preschool, and I used to make them for myself and my husband sometimes. But enough about me, how about you?

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Bento lunch cookbooks can be challenging to put together. Should they focus more on standalone recipes or an arrangement of full lunches? Decorative food or speed? Bento lunch principles or practice? Japanese-language bento cookbooks are often highly visual, with color photos on each page that both stimulate and inspire the reader while informing them of how-to steps at a glance.

Up to now, I haven’t seen books in English that capture the spirit of a Japanese cookbook for children’s fun bento lunches, making Hawaii’s Bento Box Cookbook: Fun Lunches for Kids the first example to date. (Read on for the full book review.)

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Read the rest of Book Review of Hawaii’s Bento Box Cookbook (796 words)

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