Posted in Food
Bento on a Budget
With the job situation around here being what it is, I can't spend a lot of money on a new hobby, but it turns out that supplies for making creative lunches for children don't have to cost very much at all and can be found in some unexpected places.
On a trip to the Dollar Tree this past week, I found silicone bake wear that could also double as holders for snacks inside the bento box. I had never used silicone to bake with before, but I used the star shaped baking cup and the moon shaped one to bake little pizzas and was very impressed with how easy the pizzas popped out of the cup and how easy clean up was afterwards. They also come in heart, teddy bear, and loaf shape. ( the silicone baking cups are oven safe up to 383 degrees F.)
Here is the "movie night" bento I made using the little star pizza:
I also purchased a set of 3 small sand molds (beach toys) with a Finding Nemo theme that worked great as rice molds. All three came together for a dollar and there was also a set with a Little Mermaid theme.
I lightly oiled the molds with olive oil before packing in the sticky rice, then to add a little color to the turtle shell, I just brushed on a little bit of nutritional yeast with my finger.
Target is another great place to look for lunch box supplies right now. The $1 area when you first enter the store has ice packs, plastic sandwich boxes, water bottles, and decorated ziplock baggies. They have them in Spider Man, Cars, Hello Kitty, and Disney Princess designs.
Blaze loves the movie and Playstation II game of Cars, so we got him the Cars sandwich box and the ice pack. He thought the ice pack was a fun way to cool down at the park after he had finished his lunch.
Blaze loves the movie and Playstation II game of Cars, so we got him the Cars sandwich box and the ice pack. He thought the ice pack was a fun way to cool down at the park after he had finished his lunch.
As mentioned in a previous post, resale shops are also a great source of inexpensive supplies.
If you are becoming as bento obsessed as I am and wish to see some fun designs that other people are making, check out this site:
Bento Challenge
It's a weekly contest of themed bento making.
If you are becoming as bento obsessed as I am and wish to see some fun designs that other people are making, check out this site:
Bento Challenge
It's a weekly contest of themed bento making.
