My children and I have become intrigued with the world of Bento. We've gone to countless sites selling the delightful bento boxes. We've checked out bento cookbooks and drooled over the mouth watering recipes. But I kinda wanted more.
This summer my children and I want to practice "bento power" but with a twist. Our goal is to learn not only about Japan and their traditions, but about many different cultures as well. Our family has several cultures represented in it and in our 7 years as a foster family we have seen a number of different cultures come through our home. Along with the variety of backgrounds we've also encountered picky eaters and even children with eating disorders. By making attractive tasty food we hope to help put food in its proper place.
Though we'll be putting our meals in a box, I don't want to put people in one. Healthy and joyful eating is for every BODY so I've invited my amazingly culturally aware mother to participate with us, making this a multi-generational venture. My mother did an amazing thing with me when I was little. She taught me about different cultures, including my own, with a few monthly cultural nights where we listened to the music from a particular culture, ate the food and dressed, the the best of our ability, the dress. I felt that she taught me about me, but that it wasn't all about me.
So join us over the next twelve months as we explore 12 different countries and establish healthy eating habits. We will be attempting to post the recipes and how to modify the recipes to be successfully used by large families like mine, small families and individuals like my mom. The adventure should begin mid June, so stay tuned!
Sounds like fun!
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