Archive for June 11th, 2008

Thanks to Denise‘s blogroll, I found the Lunch in a Box blog and was instantly hooked. I was only vaguely aware of bento lunches, but her site grabbed me. I have no bento supplies, no bento books, just several blogs I peruse and admire. The Lunch in a Box site was featured in a recent Newsweek article about the new bento trend. I don’t know if it’s a trend yet; it’s still too difficult to find bento gear without breaking the bank. That said, her site has listed more online shopping opportunities over the last several weeks, so I have high hopes that I can get some bento goodies without paying an arm and a leg. Because those limbs were just handed over for my last tank of gas.

So what exactly is a bento lunch? Well, toddle on over to the site and take a look-see. I’ll wait. Back? Good. Now you know what a bento lunch is, in a traditional sense.  Um…my kids won’t eat rice balls or seaweed for love or money, so those won’t be going into their lunches. But why not adapt it to your lifestyle?

Look. Right now the economy is tanking. Badly. Painfully. Eating out is happening less and less. At the same time, everyone is trying to “go green.” How about…take leftovers in your lunch in a reusable container, but make it attractive to look at. Oh, and use some cute little accessories so you don’t feel like you’re totally denying yourself.

Right now, in my house, two of us are on a gluten free/casein free diet (but, can I please clarify? I haven’t given up wine! LOL!). This means more from-scratch cooking for me. Bleh…but I’ll get used to it. If I can make healthy, attractive lunches for A and J to take to school next year, ones that use our leftovers and are gfcf, then I’ve succeeded. ‘Cause last year A rarely ate his lunch…or begged for school lunch, which is far from gfcf.

I think this is something that will work for our family, especially since we’re dealing with dietary changes right now. Once I have a little coin I’m going to order some bento gear, a little at a time. Why not? If I can make lunches that the boys will actually eat, that will not make A feel like he’s missing something, then I’ve succeeded.

Care to join me?

If you make ham and bean soup in the crockpot and let it sit in the sink and soak, after a couple of days, it starts to smell like someone pooped in the kitchen.

Just sayin’.