Lion Bento Lunch

Roooaaaarrrr! It's a lion of a bento lunch. This big cat bento features a new-to-me technique I've come to call displacement. You can see it in the face on the apple flower.

I did this by first cutting an apple into equal-width slices and used a vegetable punch to create the flowers. Then I created the face by punching out the expression from the apple flower and filling in the space with the same expression cut from strawberry fruit leather. Cool!

Rounding out this lunch are cucumber slices topped with a lion bento pick and cheese columns pierced with a big cat bento pick. And the centerpiece of all the elements is a little lion bento container which holds four jellybeans for a little nibble of dessert.

Happy Bento'ing!
Star

Bear Bento Lunch

Bears are abundant among my bento supplies, so here's a lunch I made for my little guy featuring that four-legged, furry animal. I went so far as to include the bear theme in the food itself with the Teddy Grahams. What, me compulsive? Ridiculous.

Other nibbles in this beary bento include cheese columns and apple flowers with raisins and a beary little sandwich. The centerpiece of this creation is an irresistible little bear container I found by chance on a kawaii site. I think it is a rare and special bento accessory. In fact, the site said so: Order soon. Only 2 left!

I make the little apple flowers by slicing an apple, then using a flower shape veggie cutter to punch them out. Just remember to soak in lemon water to keep them from turning brown. So annoying when that happens. These are topped off with an adorable little bear bento pick. This set is unlike any others I've bought because the little faces are staring straight up at you, instead of straight ahead. It's all in the perspective...

Happy Bento'ing!
Star

Master Panda Bento Lunch

Newsflash: Pandas are adorable! Seriously adorable.

In fact, the irrepressible "awwwwwwwww" that follows any image of a panda got me to wondering. What triggers our affection for this bear? I actually did a little research and found the answer (hint: there's a scientific explanation) which I share below.

But first, it's a panda bento!

Wait for it...awwwwwwwwwww! OK, so now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk bento.

This was actually a totally new bento venture for me. I'd not attempted to craft a panda face from a sandwich before, and I was thrilled with the way it came out! I created my master panda bento lunch by first assembling a sandwich of colby cheese and wheat bread, then cutting it into a circle. I then used the heel of the loaf to cut the two oblong shapes that encircle the eyes. I cut two more to serve as ears and tucked them in between the bread at the top. A simple straw punched out the actual eyes. Wait, that sounds kinda violent. How about this instead: I used a straw to punch out a small circle for the eyes, and another semi-circle tool for the mouth.

Master panda is accompanied by baby carrots and a slice of tomato topped with a wee little panda bento pick. The final touch is a panda container filled with fruit snacks for a little something sweet.

Now, back to the mystery of our love of pandas...

I actually found an article from the BBC that lists out all the reasons we humans love the giant panda. These include the fact that they sit like we do and also eat with their hands. The fact that they are rare and elusive contributes to their allure.

But the main reason, I think, we are drawn to them is simply because of their appearance including their roundness and that distinctive coat, most especially those eyes which seem bigger because of the black patches of fur around them. The reason we love a chubby creature with big eyes is because it reminds us of infants. There's actually a scientific term for this (which I just learned) called neoteny.

It's all summed up beautifully here in this explanation from the San Diego Zoo: "Our own young have characteristics that we humans respond to such as a big, round head, large eyes, a high forehead, and a roly-poly body. We are programmed to respond to these babyish looks. Babies just make us like them and want to care for them. It is part of our human makeup."

So, there you have it.

Happy Bento'ing!
Star

Kitty Cat Bento Lunch

This bento says Meow! No literally, it does. Look. How cool is that? Super cool; I only wish I'd had some white cheese, so it would have provided more contrast against the ritz cracker. (Sorry, my inner graphic designer is showing.) Sliced white cheddar, mozz or provolone are good choices for this. I just didn't have any on hand.

The little kitty cat bento picks were the inspiration for this lunch. I filled a sandwish (oh that's a cute typo; i think i'll keep it) container with blue and yellow silicon cupcake liners to start, then filled those with orange wedges, raisins, crackers, pineapple and, of course, goldfish for the kitties.

Added to this was a thermos of hot pasta to fuel my little guy for his trike-athon at school to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Go toddlers, Go!

Happy Bento'ing!
Star

Bunny Bento Lunch

Much to my surprise, my son loves boiled eggs. This surprises me because my daughter has not yet eaten one and she's been living on the same planet with eggs for 8 years now.

A lot of bento lunches often include eggs. Of course these may be pickled, in which case I would have to gag, so no pickled eggs in my house, just a simple boiled one. Anyway, for lack of any other source of protein on hand, I created this bunny bento featuring boiled egg, strawberries, peas and a few multigrain pringles. (I know these aren't healthy, but let's pretend.) I topped the yellow rice with a bunny head from white cheddar cheese. This is a sturdier cheese, so it works better than stretchy mozzarella for Kyaraben (character bento). I love these flower shape silicon cupcake liners. Definitely a staple of my bento making.

And the finishing touch is 3 mini marshmallows in the tiny "joyful rabbit" secret box. I imagine this makes for a bit of a fun seek and find when my little guy pops open his lunch. Of course, he's learned by now there's something sweet hidden in the littlest container, so I'm sure he dives into that before eating anything nutritious. Like an egg.

Happy Bento'ing!
Star