Economy Bento

We started our quest by going to the library and checking out books about Japan.  We found quite a few children's books that described the culture without being too wordy.  I loved learning about how children in Japan work together at school to clean the school...but the boys were more into Samurai Warriors...go figure.  We learned about Mt. Fuji, sticky rice, futons and community baths. There were some questions and some giggles, especially about the old fashioned potties. The boys made origami samurai hats just big enough to fit the cats. 

Okay, I am a mom on a budget with 8 people participating in this Gento project.  We looked at all the adorable bento boxes and I even started placing them in my cart online.  But 8 bentos ranging from $10-$26 each caused me to withdraw my finger from the ENTER button and try to come up with a reasonable alternative for my family.  I talked with a friend who told me about Ziploc's new sectioned containers. What a fantastic idea!  As the prospective price lowered so did my blood pressure.  Then to my delight I found these boxes on sale at the grand opening of a nearby supermarket and was able to get all 8 for $10!!!!  Now we could plan on having "Bento" boxes AND buying food to go in the boxes :)  We might be able to collect real bento boxes as we go along.  We'll see.

The Ziploc boxes were pretty cute, but very plain.  We had the idea to go online and print up the Japanese characters that made our names (or as close as we could get to our names) and characters for words like lunch, food and eat.  The kids each decorated their own Gento, making sure to leave room for the words we'll write from the different countries we "visit" throughout the year.

Next will be "food day".