Bento box-style baon for your kids

For parents who are looking for ways to make their children’s school experience even more enjoyable, why not prepare their baon bento box style?

This means instead of piling rice and viand in their lunch kits the “usual” way, apply creativity in your arrangement to make their meal more fun and enticing.  

All you need, really, is a food container and a little imagination to transform their baon into, say, their favorite cartoon character. If you want it to be similar to what they have in Japan, though, there are a number of Japanese stores that offer bento boxes like Daiso or Japan Home Center.

Look at the rice as your canvas and the meat or veggies as your design elements.  It is also a good way to incorporate healthy elements into their meals.

Just remember to cut up their food in portions that would make it easier for them to chew.  Also, don’t forget to remove toothpicks or aluminum foil that they might ingest while eating.

Numerous websites offer great design ideas.  On social networking site Pinterest, for example, there’s a page devoted to the creation of bento box meals for kids. Youtube also has videos offering simple how-tos on how to make bento box meals.

According to webjapan.org, the word “bento” is attributed to 16th century military commander Oda Nobunaga.  It was during that time that the first lacquered lunch boxes were used in tea parties.

During the Edo Period, the website says, the used of the bento box "became more refined and widespread.”

Different types of bento boxes were likewise introduced: the koshibento or waist bento for tourists and travelers, makunouchi bento or between-scene bento for theater patrons, and bentos used during religious services and entertaining guests.

The Meiji period saw the ekiben, which were sold at train stations and by the 20th century, there were the aluminum bento boxes which became status symbols for school kids and adults alike.  This led to the abolishment of the bento box in schools after World War II. They became popular again in the 1980s with the resurgence of convenience stores.

Today, using bento boxes for packed lunches is not only found in Japan.  It is also gaining popularity in Western countries.