Kid bento basics 🍙

A bento is a Japanese packed meal: small portions of several foods arranged snugly in one box. Little portions and lots of colour make it a friendly way to offer variety to picky eaters.

A simple formula

Think of a box filled roughly by space: about half rice or noodles, a quarter protein, and the rest veg and fruit. It's a packing guide, not a rule.

• Rice: onigiri, inari pockets or yaki onigiri.
• Protein: tamagoyaki, baked karaage-style chicken, gyoza, soboro.
• Veg: kinpira carrot, edamame, cucumber asazuke, simmered kabocha.
• Fruit: apple bunnies, mandarin segments.

Character touches (kyaraben)

• Snip nori eyes with kitchen scissors or a nori punch for a bear-face onigiri.
• Turn sausages into octopuses, apples into bunnies.
• Use silicone cups and food picks for colour (supervise small children with picks).

Packing tips

• Pack tightly so nothing slides around.
• Let warm food cool completely before closing the lid, then add an ice pack. See packed-lunch food safety.
• Put one small "new food" next to favourites, with no pressure to eat it.

Bento recipes

• Mini Onigiri with Corn (10 min)
• Tamagoyaki Strips (10 min)
• Teriyaki Chicken Bites (20 min)
• Salmon Rice Furikake Balls (15 min)
• Sushi Cucumber Rolls (20 min)
• Edamame Pods (5 min)
• Rice Cracker Mix (1 min)
• Baked Karaage-Style Chicken Bites (30 min)
• Mini Pan-Fried Gyoza (35 min)
• Inari Sushi Pockets (15 min)
• Bear Face Onigiri (15 min)
• Soboro Rice (Chicken & Egg Crumble) (20 min)
• Kid Yaki Udon (15 min)
• Chicken Katsu Strips (25 min)
• Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Rice Triangles) (15 min)
• Tamagoyaki with Spinach Swirl (12 min)
• Kinpira Carrot (10 min)
• Japanese Potato Salad (20 min)
• Sausage Octopuses (8 min)
• Simmered Kabocha Bites (20 min)
• Quick Cucumber Asazuke (15 min)
• Apple Bunnies (5 min)
• Mini Seaweed Rice Crackers (3 min)
• Oyakodon (Chicken & Egg Rice Bowl) (25 min)
• Mild Japanese Curry Rice (40 min)

Try 🍙 Bento week in the planner.