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

Under the Sea Bento Lunch

My daughter is very competitive. I appreciate this character trait except that she is quick to pick me as her competitor. True to character, she recently challenged me to a bento competition.

When I finally agreed, she promptly announced ground rules (yes, there were ground rules) including time limits and separate kitchen stations with no peaking at your competitor's bento. There were no restrictions on theme or ingredients. The winner would be determined based on creative use of ingredients.

It all went down pretty much like an episode of Top Chef, which I guess isn't surprising considering it's kinda required viewing at our house.

So, when this thing started, it was an bento frenzy! My son enjoyed his front row seat to the antics and stealing bites when we weren't looking. When the kitchen timer buzzed, I presented my entry: Under the Sea Bento:

Blue rice served as the backdrop for my ocean-themed bento lunch. This was created by adding just a drop of blue food coloring to white rice. The featured characters here are octopus hotdogs, otherwise known as octodogs. These cute little fellows are easy to make. You simply cut a hotdog in half, then slice the dog six ways halfway up and drop in boiling water. When you do this, the ends curl up, and you have instant tentacles! (It occurs to me that there's probably not any other situation in life in which "instant tentacles" would be a good thing.)

A cheese shrimp accompanies the octodogs and the ocean floor is accented with two yellow stars which came in one of those special themed bags of goldfish crackers.

Your standard issue goldfish also make an appearance swimming amongst a sprout of algae (or maybe coral?) hand cut from a slice of American cheese.

The final element is a fish-shaped bento container filled with fresh pineapple. A tiny bit of broccoli (Why can I never remember whether broccoli has two c's or two l's?!) provides an eye for the little fish.

So, who won? Check out my Broadway Bears Bento post on my daughter's entry to find out!

Happy Bento'ing!
Star

Broadway Bears Bento Lunch

My daughter recently caught me off guard by challenging me to a bento competition. After relentlessly, er, repeatedly, challenging me to a duel, I agreed. She's not only naturally competitive, but also quite creative and seems to have a natural knack for bento making.

Check out the post on my Under the Sea Bento for more details on the ground rules of our throw-down. Yeah, there were rules. I told you she was competitive.

When the kitchen timer buzzed and time was up, my daughter delivered this grand creation which she titled Broadway Bear Bento. Impressive, don't you think?!

The centerpiece of this bento lunch is actually center stage. One made of cheese pizza. Standing atop stage lights made of cheese are those divas we all know and love as Teddy Grahams. Stawberry fruit leather stars serve as the backdrop. An abundant mix of chocolate chips and multi-colored m&m's served as the audience while the marshmallows were the orchestra pit.

This over-the-top Broadway production even featured an aquarium with goldfish swimming hither and yon in a pond of blue rice. Carrot and cheese stick people offered a standing ovation from the balcony.

Here she is with her creation, which was pronounced the winner of our first ever bento competition. I'm so proud!

Happy Bento'ing!
Star

Pasta Bento Lunch

Today's bento lunch features the fresh pineapple we bought last night. Upon seeing the big "dinosaur fruit" (as my daughter called it) on the kitchen counter, both kids were instantly intrigued and the prospect of carving into the pineapple pretty much derailed all of dinner.

After futile attempts to get them to eat their meal first, I finally relented and cracked into it, and we all gobbled the entire pineapple in one sitting! Good thing it was buy one, get one free, so I had pineapple #2 for bento lunches today.

This bento includes some bowtie pasta with carrot columns and pinto beans as well as stacked ritz crackers and cheese stick columns. I added whimsy with a cheese flower atop the pasta (just use a cookie cutter to punch any shape from a slice of cheese) and adorable little frog bento picks.

If it's pineapple season where you are, hope this inspires some ideas for tomorrow's bento lunch!

Happy Bento'ing!
Star

Dramatic Crackle Dyed Easter Eggs

Not a bento lunch post here, but wanted to share some Easter fun that falls under the category of creating eye-catching food.

I was mesmerized by this striking crackled style aster eggs when I first saw it, so I had to give it a try. I have to confess, it wasn't the easiest thing I've tried lately though. It took several attempts over a few days to get it right. (Well mostly right!)


I followed the instructions by Kimberly Low's blog. She calls them marbled eggs. That's probably a better term. What do you think?

I like the red ones best. The green ones were also dramatic. Wish I could figure out how to preserve more of the white, but it's tricky. You never know how it's gonna turn out 'til you peel them, so it's always a surprise!