Simple Bento for Thursday!

Age is really catching up, it is a fact that I can't deny. This pregnancy is quite a tough one for me as I am carrying a huge bump all over the places and with my previous slip disc issue, things simply didn't help.

However, the joy of seeing that smile the kids wear upon seeing my bento gives me the strength to carry on what I am doing. Not forgetting my promise to Hubs, I will go slower, giving discounted time spent in the kitchen trying to toil my very limited creative cells to come up with some better looking bento.

Here, I present one of the rare bento I prepared for Brayden!

He is a very simple boy who is easily satisfied so long he has his favorite bread and cheese. He woke up at 6-ish this morning just to remind me and make sure I did not leave out his share.

Here, we created this together. He told me what he wanted, passed me the molds and *drum roll* here is his simple bento filled with love!

Not forgetting his hugs and kisses. He actually thanked me for making this. :)



Ethyl on the other hand gets her regular bento to school.

There are seldom complains of what I had packed for her in the box. There was this day that my tum hurts so much in the morning that I had to give bento-making a miss, she skipped her recess totally! I was a lil sad.

She came back home and devoured a big bowl of noodles after school. It goes to show she was so hungry. Yet without bento, she had no appetite and did not know what to eat during recess!

Even though I tried to make bento for her, I still have to remind her that our lil missy is coming soon; and with the new addition, I will be really hands-tied that she may have to eat in school more often.

My usual sensible girl said she understands albeit it takes a while for her to adjust. Time shall be given. She will adapt to this change I am sure.

9 January 2012 - Zoo theme

Inspired by zoo themed bento, I tried my hands on a small scale project. Thanks to the molds and food picks that I have bought that made this look a little less boring.

It took me 15 minutes to get a 5-minute task done, that is what happens when the brain is malfunctioning in the early morning.

Prepared the egg mayo late last night before using them this morning. Really save me a great deal of time I need this morning and I can laze on the bed for another 10 minutes before getting my fat ass off the cosy bed!

5 January 2012

Last bento for week one of school!

As promised, I will take a bento-break on every Friday as I had to prepare 2 bento each for both the Husband & Daughter.

When I picked her up, she told me she shared her recess bento with a few friends. Such small serving and she shared with friends? I was concerned.

"Mom, they said the bento looks cute and wanted to try."

Oh well, knowing that she is willing to share, and didn't starve herself makes me feel good as there are other children who likes my bento too!



Lunch is simple. They have long Thurdays hence I prepared lunch bento for her as well.

Keeping them in an insulated bag keeps the food warm till 12pm. She enjoyed her meals and does look forward to having more.

The sleep debt I and slowly crediting seems worthwhile :)

4 January 2012

Challenging task to me it is when it comes to making breakfast bento. I will be struggling with ideas and what food to prepare for the next day!

Didn't want Ethyl to be overloaded with sandwiches, but that seems like a staple for breakfast bento isn't it? Taking into consideration of the time constraint, and for the fact that I am in my last trimester, energy level is greatly compromised. "Do things within your means" keeps ringing in my ears. The Hubs is not too pleased with me making bento for both the daughter and himself. In this case, I must learn to balance rest, so that he does not worry too much about me.

Giving Ethyl a great deal of variety seems rather impossible as she is a fussy eater too. Ham & Cheese is her all-time favorite that won't go wrong!

3 January 2012

After a long break from the December school break, I am finally resuming my bento-making sessions!

The difference this time round is Ethyl will be in the morning session, and my day starts as early as 4.50am (or even earlier) when I had to prepare her lunch bento as well.


Rilakkuma wanabe ends up looking odd with my generous cocoa powder added!



Brayden also had his bento for the start of the new school year. His favorite Thomas and Friends accompanied him to school!

Waking up early in the morning to prepare bento is really quite an adjustment for me to make. As I will have to sleep after the kids do. Rest is never enough. No, I am not complaining though, I am enjoying making something for my loved ones to make a great start to their day!

Busy In the Kitchen

I re-ignited my hobby in bento-making lately after a group of friends started making bento for their loved ones.





The above are some creations I have made over the weeks.

Term 4 is rather tiring for me. Besides progressing into trimester 2, Ethyl has netball practices twice a week, hence I got to send her bento during her one-hour break before the school starts.

Time is never enough for me. However I do enjoy the time I spent with them right now :-)

Bento #07

In the bento: Rice, luncheon meat, egg, baked crispy chicken, few koala biscuits and her fave cherry tomato

In order to make her meals healthier, I shall buy some veges and add some greens and more fruits in her bento.

All those that can be baked or steamed, shall be done that way too!

Hope little girl won't say to me "Mommy, today's bento is too much for me again!" *beams*

Bento #06

In the bento: Chocolate mochi, her face cherry tomoatoes, onigiri

Took a bento-break because Ethylyn was sick and was advised to stay at home.

Prepared this for her on her first day back to school. She finished all except for one onigiri. She told me she was too full! Well, I do agree that rice for breakfast is a little heavy for the girl.

Nevertheless, she finished whatever she could. Having said that, her order for the next day is still...RICE! wahahaha...

Bento #05

Supposed to be my rest day from making bento, however little girl has been telling me to cook her pasta and she really hopes to have it tomorrow, I have no other choice, but to give in to her request.

Hubby softly blasted my ears for no keeping to my promise to rest well for a day. I am rebellious ya? *smiles*

Nevertheless, I still woke up earlier than usual as I will have more to prepare today.

I though the breakfast would be too heavy for her, but she told me, "Mommy, I will finish, if I can't finish all in the morning, I will eat them in the afternoon too!" Sweetie pie she is! However, I told her, if she can;t finish, just leave it as it will be too cold by noon to consume.

I hope she will enjoy her breakfast.



Here's Hubby's bento :)

Bento #04

homemade bread, egg and cheery tomatoes

Last day of my first week's attempt.

I made sandwich loaf myself last night, and made them these sandwiches with my very first try on making bread.

Texture of the bread is not ideal as it is a little too dense and lacks fluffiness. Taste wise is still acceptable.

Still thinking if I should wake up and make something for them tomorrow. Shall see how. Hubby says I look pale due to lack of quality rest. Maybe should just rest for a day.

Bento #03

As I was running late today, I didn't make the sushi rolls as I had planned. So the little boy had this car-shaped sandwich spread with Smuckers and some strawberries. Hubby had the same thing too!

No bento for my darling girl as she has fever and I told her to rest at home today.

It feels really good to spend some time preparing something for them. Nothing fanciful here, but it's something I made just for them!

Bento #02

My loved ones all love pancakes. Thus I made some for them today.



The pancakes were cut out with a bear shaped mold. Had wanted to put some chocolate sauce to make the eyes, nose and ears, but decided not to as it'll smudge and it will be "face-off" by the time the kids eat them in school.



The jelly is homemade. Brayden gets a crescent moon and a star whilst Ethylyn gets a jellied-pig.



In order to promote healthier eating, I baked the smiley potato faces and added to their bentos.

My First (proper) Attempt - Bento

My official attempt on bento making starts today. I have been preparing breakfast for them (and Hubby helped many times too), but those are just putting the bread, food in the lunch boxes and much to rave about.

This time, I bought many new bento tools to help me come up with some nice and lovely looking food for the kids.

It ain’t really easy when it comes to bento planning for Brayden. I will share why.

Planning for Ethyl’s been pretty easy as she is able to feed herself and has been very independent.



Today’s breakfast, bread rolls with sausage and cheese, strawberries, and gummies.

Brayden is still not very good in terms of self feeding. He can do it, but there will be accidental spills once in a while. Not too bad, but I do not wish to add on more chores for the teachers in school, thus I prepared something simple for him. Oh, did I ever share that Brayden is a “bread-boy”? He loves bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner and supper??
He likes bread without spread or fillings; he loves fresh, plain bread.


Brayden’s bento contains molded bread and gummies


They are packed and ready to go!


Hubby's bento contains wholemeal bread with tuna mayo, strawberries and sausages