The Week in Bentos: March 31 – April 3, 2009

I’ve got a small batch of bentos this week — if you can even call two a “batch” — because Wyatt came down with a fever and sore throat on Thursday and stayed home from school for two days. Our little buddy is feeling better today, but he’s still running a mild temperature. 🙁

Tuesday’s lunch was pretty typical: a dinner roll, salami and organic strawberries and blackberries.

Wednesday, I let Batman pick what went in Wyatt’s lunch. He chose to send breakfast stuff. Strawberry yogurt, mini waffles, a container of syrup for dipping, and a fancy checkerboard apple.

One of the most common questions I receive in comments and in email is, “How do you keep yogurt (or other wet food) from spilling everywhere when you put it in a bento?” One of the defining characteristics of bento boxes is that they are shallow and the silicon baking cups I use are almost exactly the same depth as the boxes themselves. You can see here that the top edge of this cup comes to within less than a quarter inch from the top edge of the box. When I put the lid on the box, the bottom of the lids sits almost directly on the top rim of the baking cup, effectively forming a seal. I put the little food divider on as extra insurance too, but I don’t really need it. It’s mostly just there to look cute.