Wal-mart Bento??????

So we have been super busy. I do have the meat ready to make the Sio Poa and hopefully I will get to it this Monday. Besides that I have a gal pal (Ms. M) that has seen the bentos I make for the girls and really wants to make one. The problem with bentos and the supplies for them is that they are EXPENSIVE!!! Since I live in a predominately non-Asian community/city it is super hard to find supplies in our area which leaves the net which, once again, cost a lot. So the Wal-mart bento is awesome. Most of the items I have came from Wal-mart or other local stores like Dollar Tree or Target. So here we go:

 Both of the boxes are by Sterilite and I think both products are called "Ultra Latch." The square one has a 5.2 cup capacity and the rectangle one has a 3.4 cup capacity. Each box has roughly the same amount of food. The only items I didn't purchase at my local Wally World were the pig container, which I bought at Dollar Tree, and the square containers with the purple tops were a gift from my friend, Megan. I still can't remember were she bought those from. The number cutters are actually from a Play-Doh set I bought in the clearance aisle. A little odd but it was much cheaper then the real cookie cutters. I decided half way through I wasn't going to use them since I didn't have enough crackers for both girls. The sandwich was cut with a sandwich punch that I found a while ago hanging off an impulse a display clip. All the picks you see here are for hor d'ourves and the long ones are actually drink stirrers. The "baran" (a food divider in Japan) was something I printed out from here and I covered it with press and seal.

So what did I pack you ask?

 Pretty, huh?

Carrots, cucumber, strawberries, blueberries, chocolate graham crackers, yogurt, hummus and a ham and cheese sandwich cut in a heart shape. 


I only spent a total of 20 minutes cutting and packing both bentos. The differences between the two; Lily likes hummus for her carrots while Boo does not, so she gets Greek yogurt with strawberries. I didn't make them too elaborate because really I was just plain lazy. It can be a little overwhelming to start making cute or nifty lunches for kids. With all the fun things to buy, ideas and pressure we put on ourselves to make it perfect (I know I am not the only perfectionist) I wanted to show you how easy and cute it can be. I did make one for a girl friend using my other "toys" but this was simple, fast and still cute, plus everything was something that was readily available and I didn't waste time or money hunting on the net or cursing around town. Happy Bento-ing!!!