The Ghetto Bento.

Just call me super mom. No, seriously.

Okay, so I've never really considered myself much of an over-achieving mom. I mean, I'm a decent mom, for sure, but I'll never win the MOTY award (mother of the year award. Bwahaha!) Although, this year, I just *might* be in the running. I'd have to keep up my antics, though, in order to stay in the running.

Remember how I started the girls in dance? That was step one. Tonight, I unveil the next step in my plan to win the MOTY. That's right, fellow moms. Try to keep up. (I kid, I kid. Ha!)

I'm potentially late to the party, but I've just recently discovered Bento Box lunches. You really should check out the link if you'd like to know more about Bento because I'm just beginning to research it & understand it. Apparently, though, it's a Japanese thing. They pack small amounts of lots of different foods in a Bento Box. If the food is chosen & packed correctly & according to the Bento formula, the size of the box directly correlates to the number of calories in the meal. For instance, if you were to pack it correctly, a 350mL box would equal around 350 calories. (I think.)

It's more than just packing a lunch, though... it's an ART. SERIOUSLY! You should head over to flickr and search for Bento. You'd be absolutely AMAZED at what people do with their food.

So, anyway, like I said... it's Japanese. This is why I call what I created Ghetto Bentos. :-) Ha! My Bento is completely American-ized. In fact, I'm not even sure that you could call my lunches Bento at all. I guess they're Bento in style. Basically, I crammed a little bit of a lot of different foods into a box. That's what my lunches and the Bento lunches have in common. I liked the idea of it, though, because it creates little to no waste. That appealed to me. Working in a preschool classroom, you should SEE how many little sandwich baggies one single class goes through in ONE day. It's CRAZY! Multiply that by all the classrooms in America. WOW. So, yeah... in my first set of Bento style lunches for the girls, the only thing that will go in the trash is the little piece of Saran Wrap on the end of the banana. Many days, though, there will be no waste at all. Yay!

Oh, I do have to point out that I cut the sandwich into two little hearts. :-) Aren't they cute? I guess that's a little bit of the "artistic" part, right? Each girl got half a sandwich.

So, yeah... I've rambled on and on AND on about this. I've got pictures to share. I do wish, though, that there was a tad bit more color variation in their boxes. But, I let them pick what they wanted in there this first go around. They'll also take little bottles (reusable) of water.

Emma's first Ghetto Bento:

Maya's first Ghetto Bento:
Aren't they so fun & cute!?! :-) The containers that they're in are made to hold a single sandwich, so that should help you visualize the size. Anyway... let's see if I can keep this up!

Thanks for stopping by!