Bento

I pack my kids' lunches everyday, school lunches just look (and taste?) nasty. About half of the time, they take sandwiches, and the other half I try to pack them a bento (Japanese box lunch.) These bentos can get pretty elaborate, but mine usually just consist of some rice and last night's dinner. I've been looking at bento blogs (see side links, Just Bento is one of my faves) and bento books, and they just look so nice. Emi gets excited just looking at them, the lengths some people go to are amazing.
During my last trip to San Diego, I stopped by Marukai Daiso. It's like a Japanese dollar store (although most things are made in China), and you can get a lot of goodies for $1.50 each (it must be the exchange rate.) So I got some bento accessories...cute animal cutters, mini containers, and salad dressing bottles. David thinks I'm just making more work for myself, but why not make lunch more enjoyable? I get comments from my kids' parents how they hear from their kids that my kids have the best lunches. (I think it's because they're different.)
So I've decided to start posting my kids' bentos when they get them, and when they look nice, since some have expressed interest in bentos. This is their bento today: rice with stir-fried chicken (w/broccoli, zucchini, green beans, cabbage), cherry tomatoes, and takuan (Jap. picked daikon radishes). Gogurt and blackberries for dessert.

Here is the winner of the Sanrio Character Bento Contest. Makes your jaw drop, doesn't it? Check out the other entries (though the site's in Japanese, the pictures are awesome.)