Bentos Make Healthy Eating Fun for Kids

What's a bento? It's Japan's version of brown-bagging, or a home-packed lunch in a box. If you want to encourage your kids to eat healthy, a bento box may be a good approach since they're fun to create, have an appealing presentation, and can be delicious and nutritious.

Traditionally, bento boxes are made of lacquered wood, but there are also colorful plastic boxes with dividers that are more suitable for children. In Japan, parents devote a lot of time and energy to producing cute bento boxes!

Food-wise, a traditional Japanese bento consists of rice, fish, and pickled vegetables, but side dishes can also include eggs, tofu, and fruit. The idea is to use foods that can be consumed cold and presented in bite-size pieces to be eaten with chopsticks.

But you don't need an authentic Japanese bento box (or Japanese foods) to create your own masterpiece--a regular school lunchbox with Western food works just as well (check out bento products). And remember: it's the cuteness factor that makes bentos so much fun for kids.

For a nutritious school lunch, create a bento meal that includes a protein a fruit and a vegetable.

For protein, a hard-boiled egg does the trick, and you can up the cute factor by dying the shell of a hardboiled egg a bright color, slicing it in half to show the color contrast of white and yolk, or use small quail eggs. You can also use fun foods like chicken nuggets, meatballs, or sausages.

For vegetables, use bite-size veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower florets, celery sticks, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, baby corn, baby carrots, and snow peas. Include fruits such as fresh berries, grapes and cherries, but avoid fruits like sliced apples or bananas, which will turn brown.

You can also add a side of brown rice, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, and wholegrain crackers, or add dairy to the mix, like string or cubed cheese.

And don’t rule leftovers, like last night's homemade pizza or chicken drumsticks, as well as standbys such as peanut butter or grilled cheese sandwiches made with Ezekiel bread.

This site has great ideas for creating bento box lunches. You can also get all sorts of moulds to shape eggs, cheeses and sandwiches.

Why does this matter to you? Packing a nutritious school lunch for preschoolers helps foster healthy eating habits for life. Have fun creating bento boxes filled with delicious, nourishing foods and involve your kids in the process. They will value their lunches and develop a taste for healthy foods!