Posted on August 31st, 2010

Say sayonara to squished sandwiches and plastic baggies, and konichi wa to the bento box. Say what? The bento box mom, duh. Jump on the bandwagon and discover a world of lunches that are stylish, healthy, waste-free and almost too cute to eat.

Even though the bento box originated in the Far East, it comes to us from the West Coast. (Those Californian’s are so hip to the trends.) This craze is transforming lunches into a waste-free work of art. Instead of a mish-mosh of plastic baggies tossed into a lunch bag, the bento box organizes your kiddo’s meal into nifty little compartments, which just beg for creative use.

To go bento, you’ve gotta start with the box. We dig the GoodByn Lunchbox that is made of 100% recyclable materials that are BPA and Phthalate-Free and dishwasher safe. Plus, it comes with stickers so your artist can totally trick it out. How cute!

If your creative juices need a little spark, we love these mama’s who blog about their adventures with food and the bento - AnotherLunch.com and BentoLunch.blogspot.com. They make it look simply adorable to be green.

And for those days when you just don’t have time to make lunch, try Publix’s ready-to-eat kids’ lunches. Its part Bento box, all healthy and made out of the same meats and cheeses you buy at the deli counter. Bye bye fake meat, hello Publix. Priced at just $3.99 they come in five varieties and include a drink.