Tristan started Kindergarten in August of 2010. He had never gone to preschool, so lunch packing was a whole new concept for us. At the time, he was a very picky eater and we basically alternated between PBJ and turkey sandwiches.
However, as the year progressed, he became more willing to try new foods at family meals and began to like more things. I didn't know how to encourage this with lunch packing. Colton was going to start Kindergarten the next fall, and his handful of preschool lunch bunches had been the same boring PBJ/turkey sandwiches.
So last summer, armed with the power of Google, I decided to find a better way. I found out about American style Bento lunches. I was so intrigued by the "cute" factor, but I was absolutely SOLD on the healthful variety! What I didn't know was how frugal it would also end up being.
I cannot say that I have the best Bentos, or the most creative. But I would still like to share my beginner Bentos and some of the tools I use.
The first box we bought was just the Ziploc divided containers that you can find at Walmart, Kroger, Target, etc. They were $2.37 for a 2-pack at Walmart, and I used a manufacturer's coupon for $1.50 off 2 packs. This was a great starting point for me, and I didn't feel like I was investing too much to start.
It worked so well, right from the start. Then I bought Sistema Klip-It lunch cubes for more variety and more space. I bought the plain clear ones at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. They were $4.99 each, I bought 3, and I used a $5 off $15 purchase coupon (with an additional item to get to $15). They have had the brightly colored ones at Old Navy recently for $5. These cubes definitely have more space, and they are just plain FUN! They also leave more room in the lunchbox for a reusable drink container, whereas I could only fit a Capri-Sun type drink in with the Ziploc Container.
I bought the Sassy On-the-Go system right after Christmas, but I have only used it once so far. It's not leak-proof like I had thought, and it's quite small. I think it works better for my eats-like-a-bird Bebe Girl. They were $5.99 at Babies R Us, and I got them during a Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale and used a gift card.
I already had a cookie cutter set that I got last year at Walgreens at after Christmas clearance. It was only $2.49, and it has the alphabet, numbers, basic shapes, and holiday shapes. It use it to cut sandwiches into cute shapes.
I have these cutters that cut the sandwiches into shapes and remove the crust. They are about $2 at Walmart.
I have a set of edible food markers by Wilton. I got them at Hobby Lobby. They were $8.99 and I used a 40% off coupon.
I've also bought cupcake picks, cupcake liners, little containers for sauces & sides, and cute shishkabob sticks, mostly from the dollar store or seasonal clearances.
I have not had to buy one single box of zip bags for lunches. I do not buy individually packaged foods unless they work out cheaper. I can use whatever I already have on hand without much prep work. Even on a day with just a PBJ, chips, prepackaged yogurt, and a sweet treat, it's so fast and easy to pack it up with less waste. Also, my kids (who are still small) rarely need assistance with their lunches because there is less packaging.
We have had one problem, and that's fruit juice leakage. Apparently, soggy chips & bread flavored like oranges doesn't really sound appetizing. I bought a new container that Tristan is testing out TODAY! Crossing my fingers for positive results since this was my most expensive purchase for Bentos.
I'm adding a blog list to the sidebar with some of my favorite Bento blogs.
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