Do You Bento?

BentoMania has hit our household. As if we needed another disorder. Actually this one is fun! What is Bento? It's a Japanese lunchbox that Japanese mothers have turned into an art form (mine have yet to resemble art). It's "hipness" is beginning to catch on outside of Japan. For those of us with children on special diets, with food allergies or picky eating (my child has all three), Bento boxes can be a great way to make lunchtime fun. It's also a great way to send your child off with a healthy lunch. My child is in preschool through the regular school system, so he eats breakfast and lunch in a cafeteria full of kids. Like many parents, I worry about him feeling left out. Since he's been bringing his food in Bento boxes, many of the children are interested in his food. He seems to like the attention and his teacher reports he eats better.

The actual bento box itself does not need to be anything fancy. It's the accessories that make it so fun: Cutters to make food into fun shapes. Little bowls and cups to separate foods. Small, colorful "Mayo" cups with lids for condiments, syrups and dips. Dividers with cartoon characters. Charming picks to make fruit, veggie, cheese or meat kabobs. Egg molds to mold peeled hardboiled eggs into hearts, bunnies and cars. Rice molds (Rice is not SCD legal). Bread Molds, and the list goes on. Bento's aren't just for children. They also make nice boxes and accessories for adults. We can have fun too, right?

There are books and blogs full of fun ideas. I have listed some articles, places to shop and blogs. The blogs are my favorite. They are full of ideas, but they also show the most important ingredient you can put into your child's lunch: LOVE.

Bento Articles:

Bento Boxes Win Lunch Fans by the New York Times

An Online Bento Evolution by Adventures in Bento Making

Bento-style boxes are just right for kids' lunchesby The Dallas News

The Bento Box Boom by Gourmet Magazine

Bento Boxes and Supplies (Many Bento Blogs Also Have Amazon Stores)

Bento Crazy

From Japan with Love

Sugar Charms

My Sweet Muffin

A Few Bento Blogs & Sites:

Another Lunch

Maisie Eats Bento

What's for Lunch at Our House

Cooking for Monkeys

Happy Little Bento

Eating in a Box

The GFCF Bento

Rutabaga Chips (SCD Advanced, GFCF)

I'm really beginning to believe that if you don't like a particular vegetable, it's just because you simply have yet to have it prepared the right way. I would not have expected the rutabaga, a large homely lump, to make an outstanding chip. It has a great crunch with a hint of sweetness to it.

A rutabaga or two
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Good knife, cutting board and a mandolin (or similar device) for slicing

Rutabagas have a waxy coat on them and they are tough buggers to cut. Cut the rutabaga in half, then cut off the waxy coating. I used a mandolin to slice them. First I used the very thin setting, which made thin strips that crinkled when fried. They were very crunchy and sweet, but if you are wanting to use them for dip you need them thicker.

Then I sliced some with the thicker setting. They were not as sweet (a hint of sweetness), but they were sturdy enough for dips.

Heat enough oil, in a deep pan or fry daddy, and drop in some of the chips. The trick is to watch them close, you want to get them out as soon as you see a hint of browning. They get too browned easily at this point. You may want to do a couple small trials before frying larger batches. They get crisper after they cool and can stay crisp up to three days.

Note for those on the SCD, Elaine warned to try these cautiously, they are very fibrous.

Easter Bouquet

This lovely bunch of flowers was freshly picked by my four year old.

Raspberry Limeaid (SCD, GFCF)

My husband ordered one of these at Red Robin restaurant. It looked so good I had to try to make one for the SCD.

About 1/4 cup Raspberry Syrup
Club Soda (SCD legal, I used White Rock)
Limes
Ice

Fill a glass about 1/2 way with club soda. Add raspberry syrup to taste. Squeeze in a lime slice or two. Add ice.

Here's a SCD recipe for soda pop at Kids Can Do SCD

And a Cranberry Sparkler at Heal-Balanace-Live

Raspberry Syrup (SCD, GFCF)

This is delicious on pancakes! I wanted to make a fruit syrup that could be multi-purpose, good for waffles, pancakes and desserts.

12 oz. bag Frozen Raspberries, thawed
1 1/2 cup water
1 cup Honey

Add raspberries and water to a blender and puree. Then, set a wire mesh strainer over a saucepan. Pour the raspberry mixture into the strainer and gently stir with a wooden spoon to remove the seeds. Add honey to raspberry mixture and stir, over medium heat, about 30-40 minutes, until mixture begins to slightly thicken. (it will still be quite runny) Let it cool and it will thicken a slight bit more. Pour cooled syrup into a glass jar and keep refrigerated until use. It should keep for about 10 days.