You went to a Chinese restaurant again?? – Bento boxes

Another challenge I had with making bento boxes was being concerned they might get teased for taking nontraditional lunches. Of course their nutrition is more important than some silly kid drama, but kids have it hard enough with peers who make fun of pretty much anything they can. I didn’t want to add to that.

I started making the boxes with more traditional items like a fair bit of rice, for example, but have shifted to some more “American” items to help balance some of it out.  This is why it made me giggle even more when B told me a story about her friends.

Yeah, I got out my lunch and Jacky yelled “You went to a Chinese restaurant AGAIN??!!”

Talk about an American mindset, huh? Hehe. I had sent spaghetti that day even, and nothing “weird” but B said she didn’t think her friend believes that I make the food. And we don’t have Japanese cuisine here where I live, so it makes sense that the assumption was Chinese takeout.

Some more boxes, mostly very far from Japanese food

• Saltines
• Tuna salad
• Pretzel sticks
• Homemade pineapple mango fruit rollup leather
• Grapes
• Frozen mixed fruit

• Leftover pasta
• Bacon!
• Pretzel crackers
• Carrots
• Frozen apple slices

• Bean and rice burrito
• Crackers
• Cauliflower
• Raisins and grapes (“Uh, Jessi, those are like, you know, the same things….”  Yeah, I know, sorta, shush it.)

Baked whiting

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on mini rolls

Pretzel sticks

Snow peas (in the first picture, not shown in second yet)

Half an orange

Banana chips

Egg yolk (little balls of sunshine :P)