One Year Bento-versary and Giveaway!
May 9th, 2009 @ 9:08 pm

At the end of last month Wyatt marked his first full year in preschool. When I started thinking about it and reflecting a bit, I realized that I was having an anniversary of sorts myself  — a Bento-versary, if you will — because I’ve been packing (and photographing and documenting) Wyatt’s bento lunches for a year now.  In that time I’ve made him more than 175 lunches and I’ve photographed and posted all but 3 or 4. Crazy! I’ve had so much fun with this hobby of mine and I’ve loved sharing the boxes here on my blog and reading everyone’s comments, suggestions and anecdotes. Thanks so much for reading!

In honor of this milestone and as a thank you to all my bloggy friends,  I’ve decided to give away two sets of bento supplies. All the items in them are from either Daiso or Ichiban Kan so the items are in the $1-2 range, but there’s enough stuff in each of them to get you well on your way to packing fun lunches for your kids or yourself. Each set contains two bento boxes, a belt for the double decker box, a mini-fork in a case, picks, dividers, cups and some other assorted bento packing goodies.

Bento Set #1:

Giveaway Set #2

Bento Set #2:

Giveaway Set #1

To be entered in the drawing, leave a comment below sharing the most unusual food your kids (or you) eat and enjoy for lunch. Also, this isn’t required, but I’d appreciate it if you’d consider adding a link to Wendolonia on your blog or website. I’ll choose two  entries at random from those that are submitted by Thursday, May 14 at 11:59 pm PDT.  Good luck!

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bento equipment and supplies · bentos


  • Kristi
    The oddest things that my kids eat for lunch isn't packed into a bento (this was our last year homeschooling), but I find it odd. Ds/15 likes to make green bean omelets. Yes. *shudder* Ds/9 likes what he calls weinie burgers--a hot dog or Polish sausage wrapped in a tortilla with a little cheese and then nuked. *embarassed look* They are actually god, especially dipped in mustard! I like a bagel with cream cheese, craisins, walnuts and honey. Yum.
  • My favorite "weird" food is a peanut butter, sweet pickles and Ruffles potato chip sandwich. I've been eating them since I was really little...they never get old!
  • Becca Treece
    I love these, super cute. we eat papaya rollups.
  • Becca Treece
    I love these, super cute.
  • Kelli Bell Lee
    Hi Wendy! I hope I'm not too late...

    The most unusal thing my daughter eats is black olives. She would eat a bowl full if I let her! And the most unusual for me would be a banana and mayo sandwich. Weird, I know, but I like it!! :o) PS - Love your blog!!!
  • sobeida
    Its fruity, its spicy! Mango guacamole! Yum!!!
  • Annalie
    My kids and I love to look at your blog and all the neat bentos you make! One thing we really like for lunch, especially in the summer, is pasta salad. The best part is you can put almost anything in those things: grapes and apple slices in sweeter ones; peas, carrots and broccoli in the savory ones! Oh I just love giveaways!
  • melissa
    I LOVE your blog! I am going to start sending Bento next year to school....You are so creative! My boys are crazy in the way that when I go to school to eat with them, instead of requesting Happy Meals they want Sushi (California rolls) and edamame!! The starngest thing is I HATE SUSHI! We bought it on a whim (after much begging on their part) one day at the grocery!! They loved it!
  • Allison
    Hi there! My baby is only 10 months old so things can't get TOO unusual for him but he is a yam fanatic, he'll eat yams until he explodes. I eat pretty much anything I have time to scrounge together lol! Love your site!
  • Helen
    Hi,

    I came across your site some months ago and was so inspired to create fun lunches for my toddler in daycare. thanks for sharing your ideas and lunches! she is very picky but she happens to love tiny anchovies that are sauteed with sugar and soy sauce. thanks for a chance to win a great bento package!
  • jeanette hartvigsen
    We eat peanutbuttter and chocolate "samiches" for lunch. My 6 year old loves tekka maki as well.
  • Heather Fritz
    Oh! My daughter will be attending a new daycare this summer and we have to pack her lunch every day. THis is something I've NEVER done (she's only in Kindergarden) so I LOVE this idea! Just found your blog today!
    Okay - we eat peanut butter and sweet pickle sandwhiches. YUMMO.
  • Alyson
    I think the strangest thing my daughter eats is Hot Dogs with ranch dressing... She loves it.. Love your site.. always such inspiration. Have great night
  • Brittany
    Hi Wendy!
    I've been quietly following your blog for a while now, and your fantastic bentos have got to be one of my favorite things. I've really been trying to work on loosing weight lately, so I've started packing my lunches to take to work with me, but let me tell you, you just can't get too excited over a crumpled up brown paper bag. I was eating fast food like two or three times A DAY at least 5 days out of the week, cause it was just so convenient and tempting to just drive across or down the street to the dozen or so fast food places that surround my work. But since I started packing my lunch, I've gotten down to maybe two or three times a week eating out. And I can just imagine how awesome it would be to open the fridge at work and pull out one of those cute little bentos and enjoy a great lunch.
    Now then, my mom never really packed me anything strange when I was a kid, but like a year or so ago, my best friend turned me on to cheeto puffs dipped in peanut butter. Sounds gross, but is sooooooo gooooood.
  • Enny
    Hi Wendy!

    I'm a new reader of your blog and a huge Bento Fan myself. I love your great photos, your creative ideas and the inspiration you give others. Plus your oh so cute kids. It's a real pleasure to read it and I come here almost daily.

    The most unusual food... I had to think about that for a while. The favorite treat of my step son are frozen banana slices which I cover with a little chocolate before I freeze them. I put this in his bento every now and then and he loves it as a special treat.

    Our most unusual food to eat at home is a fried egg over a bowl of spagetti with tomato sauce. Most people find that gross *lol* but not the two of us.

    I don't think that is very unusual, but maybe we are just not so creative eaters ;)

    I will go on reading your blog and I must admit, I'm some kind of your biggest fan :)

    -Enny
  • Samantha Starr
    I love your blog, Wendy. I'll link it on my Facebook. Arlen really likes to eat hot n' sour soup, sushi, (especially with caviar), and mochi. There's an asian theme there, I think. But he doesn't like more usual things like chicken. Sigh. He'll even eat seaweed that's used for sushi (nori) just raw and crispy! I hope I win!
  • Melanie
    I've really enjoyed going through your blog and seeing all of the wonderful bentos you've made! Wow! I suppose the most unusual foods taken (and eaten) in bento have been the omelettes my husband makes. He pretty much takes whatever leftovers he can find in the fridge and throws them into eggs. Tortellini pasta with avocado? Every cut veggie with salmon? Why not. Amazingly his combos are not only edible but usually taste pretty good. :)
  • LOVE your blog!! Bento boxes are so awesome and thanks for inspiring me to do more fun things with them than jamming a sandwich in there. I'm totally adding you to my blog reader thing! The strangest thing we eat? Onion bagels with strawberry cream cheese off the top of my head...we had blue cheese/bing cherry/chicken wraps the other day. They were yummy, but we got a lot of gag faces from friends.
    Crossing my fingers and toes we win!!!
  • Melanie
    Happy anniversary! and thanks for thinking of your loyal visitors lol with such a fun idea sharing your love of bentos. awesome.

    ok weird food: My daughter loves baby dill pickles dipped in ketchup, and she loves to pour a little of her milk into her ... applesauce (so, so gross I think). and I've caught her more than once dipping into the butter dish with just her finger lol.

    by the way, i love love LOVE your bento blog entries. I've even turned my friends who don't have kids into reading your blog! My 5 yo picky eater starts kindergarten in the fall and I was researching kids' lunches and lunchboxes when I stumbled upon your wonderful, guilty pleasure of a blog. Thank you so much! I live in Colorado, so no stores I'm aware of here (so far!) and would love to score some bentos for my daughter. Thanks for thinking of us!
  • Holden loves all vegetables and for his very special birthday lunchbox lunch, he asked for a green salad. And enough raspberries to put on each of his fingers. I thought that was pretty cute.
  • kyla
    wendy, this is fantastic! I'm looking forward to starting some bento boxes for my kids. My little ones start preschool next year and the older one would love to have a fun packed lunch occasionally. I'm a bit behind and admit I hadn't heard of bento boxes until I checked out your blog. Very creative and inspiring.
  • We really don't eat anything that i would call weird. We found a bread maker on craigslist for a steal just before the holidays and have had it working non-stop! We make sandwiches and paninies out of whatever is hanging around the kitchen. Lots of veggie and cheese combos usually, we're almost entirely meat free now a days. For budget and environmental reasons. Those Bento supplies are uber cute and i could see so many wonderful combination's of goodies filling them up! Hope to win!
  • Mandy
    Wow! Just a first time reader here! Love all that you got going on.. Foods.. Just lost 30 pounds, so I am all about chicken breast and veggies now! Hugs, Mandy
  • congrats Wendy! I guess I have been reading for about a year now. But I do not own any Bento items. :) I guess the strangest thing my kids eat is jalapeno popcorn. It is Daddy's favorite thing and not my favorite at all, but the kids love it! I hate when my hubby makes it because it burns my throat. :) Valerie
  • I'll jump on your bandwagon...my oldest (16)loved cabbage and broccoli raw as a toddler and refused mac and cheese. Still the same to this day. The little one(4)likes almost everything except babybel cheese and her first solid food was crab and her favorite snack is nori-unseasoned-that I cut in strips or have left over from onigiri. Happy Blogversary!
  • Laura
    So cute!!!

    My 4 year old son's unusual penchants are as follows... loves sucking on lemons ,eating calamari and eating popcorn with chopsticks........but he refuses to eat jelly (as in PB&J) which i find strange for some reason! Oh well, better for him.

    Thanks for such a sweet contest!
  • sandy
    Bubble Tea! my daughter and I love bubble tea. Other than that....my lunches are way too normal.
  • I don't know if I have anything too unusual for lunch, and my first child is still on the way (23 weeks along!). I guess the most unusual is when I bring leftover vegetable sushi that we make at home to lunch. It's fun pulling out the chopsticks and soy sauce at work!

    Those bentos and supplies look awesome! I wish I lived closer to a Daiso store!
  • Becky S.
    My 5 year old daughter loves to dust almost any food with either Adobo seasoning or lemon or lime juice. She also loves garlicky foods, and she loves bleu cheese, gorgonzola, feta, and lots of other 'grown up' cheeses. Of course, she loves pizza and mac and cheese and peanut butter too.
  • I have to start by saying I am so envious of your ability to put foods together. I also would like to hire you to fix MY lunches!!! :) I love your blog....

    I have a 15 month old and strive to give her healthy food, however it is all prepared around convenience. Sad. Being a working mom, it is hard to get food on the table for the hubby and I but Ella always has a well balanced meal. She loves food and even though she is a little bean, she has the appetite of a bear! The most unusual thing Ella eats is probably pickled anything..I say that meaning if her daddy is eating pickled okra, so is she! I would love to some of the cute Bentos to get my food imagination flowing. Can't wait to come back to see what else you have put together...
  • My little guy is only 6 months old, but I've been reading your blog since I was pregnant to get inspiration for his preschool lunches someday. One food he does like at this young age is avocado. Since he's just a little guy, I don't do anything with it other than mash it up, but I personally enjoy my avocados sprinkled with lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper. Hopefully he'll have similar tastes to Mommy one day! Thanks for your great inspiration and happy bento-versary!
  • gabbe
    WooHoo- happy anniversary!! your bento posts are what originally brought me to your blog 4-5 months ago! I love all things kawaii & bento! Big thanks for an amazing collection of ideas, inspiration & photos-& not just for lunch, but for all the MOM stuff-- you've helped me with your insights & ideas tons of times! i love all the game & toy reviews too! my daughter is also 4 & starting Jr. K in the fall, so i'll be packing daily bentos soon too- so please keep the inspo comin'! love it here!! {{GIANT HUGS}}

    for the contest: we make Polnina- a Slovak potato pie (we eat it in beef soup) it's great cold the next day & it would pack great sliced up like your tofu. that's the most unusual thing she eats! LOL! we'd love to win some goodies!

    can you please post another link to how you prepare your baked tofu & which brand(s) type(s) you use? thx! it always looks so good!
  • Wow, Happy Anniversary! I must say we don't really eat anything unusual at lunch. I love sushi but my kids won't touch it. My daughter loves pickles ALOT! My son finally started eating cream cheese on bagels which is a little more variety for him! What a fun giveaway. I can't wait until I get to go to a Daiso someday!!!
  • Nancy
    I LOVE your blog! The most unusual lunch my daughter took when she was in preschool was steamed crab and shrimp. Out of the 3 of my children, she eats anything! LOVE IT!
  • Amy
    My son LOVES it when I add a bag of raw almonds to his lunch box.
  • ann
    like you i love daiso! love love daiso a lot. i've been visiting ur wonderful blog for a few months now. my kids would eat anything and not picky eaters so i count myself lucky. thanks so much for inspiring :-) best of luck.

    happy 1st bento-versary!
  • I would LOVE LOVE LOVE this giveaway!! I am super jealous of you having Daiso so close. We have nothing of the sort on the East Coast!! Well, you've seen Little Nummies, my kids eat just about everything!!! I hope you get a lot of new followers with this giveaway!!

    Oh yeah, Happy Anniversary!!!
  • I just saw these from Jen's blog, um where have I been this past year? These are great! My son and I are picky eaters. He looooooves shreded cheese, but hates sliced cheese. He loves potates, but hates mashed potatoes, I once ticked him and put a tiny dab of mashed potatoes on his tongue and he was so disgusted by the texture he threw up! (learned my lesson) He also refuses to eat....when you're watching, so not only do I have a picky eater, but a shy one too!
  • Jennifer Hisi
    Oh, those look very cute. I've been trying to make bento boxes for myself for a while and this would be a great kick-start! My fave lunch at the moment is very simple: tofurky, cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Maybe some strawberries for dessert!
  • Hmm - unusual . . . I guess I would say breakfast for lunch, which I realize isn't really very unusual at all. I am very glad to have found you for some REAL lunch inspiration!
  • Sara Bird
    Hi Wendy,
    I love your blog. It takes real dedication to post something interesting every day. Here's a tip that was sent to me that I thought all parents of young children or anyone for that matter should know.

    http://www.familyhack.com/2007/08/29/drain-tip/

    How to retrieve something that went down the drain without using a wrench.
  • Oh boy! I just linked to your blog via Everyday Celebrating! Love the fancy lunches in fancy boxes. My sister has been a Bento user for a while now but we haven't gotten there yet. As for interesting food, my three year old LOVES seafood salad. You know the kind from the deli with crab, celery, onions & mayo. Her dad got her hooked. She's not much of a meat eater so I'm glad we have that as an option for her. She loves lunches that are special though so thank you for the inspiration!
  • I have just found your blog today. It is just wonderful and full of great lunch ideas. I have two girls, 5 and 7 years old, who couldn't be more different. One who will eat literally anything and one who is so picky it makes me want to pull my hair out. The good eater loves artichokes. At 7 I would have never eaten them but she loves them. Next year my 5 year old will be going to all day kindergarten and I am desperately trying to figure out what to make her for lunch. I am thinking that bento may be the way to go. If I make it pretty then she might eat it. She is all about cute and pretty.
  • I'm hooked on bentos. I've been searching out ideas for over 6 months, yet I've never made one. I know, crazy! I have a friend that makes them for her daughter (sent her your link). I send her ideas, I need to jump in and just do it too. I have two kids, one a vegetarian so we are always trying to find something new and exciting. I just think these would be fun for all of us.
  • bree
    i have no local sources for bento supplies near me so this is so exciting! my kids are not adventurous eaters AT. ALL. but they love little shaped sandwiches. we pack bento-type lunches for picnics and when we're on-the-go... your website is a great inspiration for meal ideas. love it.
  • Just found your blog!
    These lunch ideas are FANTASTIC! My kids love celery slathered in peanut butter or cream cheese or pimento cheese.
    I'll add you to my blog roll, for sure!
  • Melanie
    I just found you blog and those look amazing. My 4 year old loves pickles, and my 2 year old simple is the pickiest eater known to man. Maybe some cute lunch boxes could help change that. Thanks
  • Hi! A friend of mine mentioned your blog to me recently, as I have just started with the crazy bento-making myself.

    I don't know if we really eat anything out of the ordinary, but my 2 year old will try pretty much anything and everything if it's presented in a bento box: brocolli, brussel sprouts, asparagus, seafood...it's been a huget help in getting her to try new foods/foods that little kids aren't typically known for liking.

    I'm adding you to my blog roll!
  • Michelle S
    The most unusual thing my girls eat...they love veggies! I think that's unusual for toddlers!!!
  • Featured you on my blog today! Happy Blogoversary! Sending people your way to be totally impressed!
  • I am obsessed w/your bento posts. Found my own little box at a thrift store! WHO would give up their bento box?!!? Oh, well. Finders keepers!

    We love cold sliced jicama with lime juice and Mexican spice! Perfect for a hot summer's day. We also like a little lime on our cantaloupe. SO YUMMY!
  • KayleeMay
    I think the weirdest thing I used to eat for lunches would be turkey and alfalfa sprouts sandwiches. Mmmmm tasty! Even though I am a college student I would love to start packing Bento lunches, and I am totally jealous that you have such am amazing Bento store near you!
  • Laura
    I love how creative you are! Seriously, i want to be like you (my kids would LOOOVE it)

    One of my all time favorite things to eat... chicken hearts with a lime squeeze. I am originally from Brazil and that is something very 'normal' to eat there... I LOOOVE IT!

    warlat@yahoo.com
  • Monica
    I love all your lunches! I just found your blog this past month and love it! I would like to start trying to make bento style meals for my little one :) so I searched the internet for some kid lunches and found your blog. You are now a favorite. My daughter Riley is a picky eater. So I have been surpised that she LOVES olives, both green and black.
  • just wanted to update you with my blog post. seriously. inspired. thanks again!

    http://itsallabouto.blogspot.com/2009/05/she-ca...
  • Wow! You can make my lunch anyday. My little guy is only 9 1/2 months old so I have awhile to go but your bento lunches are seriously inspiring me. He really doesn't eat anything weird but loves COLD carrots and frozen celery to knaw on after lunch. Must be his teethers coming in. I love your lunches, I'm going to add them to my blog. Thanks!
  • I just discovered this site and I am in love! Such love, beauty, and thought put into simple lunches! You are just the kind of mom I aspire to be to my little one! She is an excellent eater for a 17 month old, she loves sauteed spinach and tofu, any type of bean and any fruit. Mangos are her favorite. I would love to have bento boxes to pack for her when she goes off to preschool!
  • karen
    I've been reading your blog for a while and I love it! Not only creative, but funny too! My little one eats pretty much anything but I wouldn't call any of it weird. But- i do have a funny story that involves food...sort of. My 2 year old was quiet for a bit while I was checking my email...so I got suspicious. I went to the kitchen (as this is her favorite place) and she was scooping butter out of the tub with her fingers. When I stumbled upon her (I swear I was only on the computer for a minute!), she plainly stated, "Natty eat butter!"
  • campbell
    Hi Wendy, Thanks for sharing the great lunches and pictures - you are my mom-inspiration! Henry is 3 now and his favorite thing to eat is arugula, turnip greens or chard that he picks straight from the garden. His new thing is to bend over and just eat them where they grow, no hands. He tells everyone 'We have FOOD at our house!'
  • Jessi
    I just think your bentos are the neatest things, and I admire you for taking the time to photograph them all too! I don't really eat any unusual things for lunch, but I do love ranch on everything.. and people find that weird!
  • Carrie
    I have such a difficult time finding foods my 3 year old will eat. I am sending her to preschool next year and I am inspired by the bento box idea! She went through a crazy phase where she ate mostly canned green beans- cold. I know, what kind of mother feeds that to her kid?
  • I can't believe I don't link to you on my blog already. Well, I am now, for sure! Your bentos are inspiring! Ethan will be starting preschool soon, so this would be GREAT. And the most unusual thing he eats... let's see, there isn't much he WILL deign to eat these days... but he adores pesto and cous cous. Which are only unusual when you consider that he refuses "normal" things like pb&j and mashed potatoes, but he WILL eat pesto. Guess he's just got sophisticated tastes. Or something. :)
  • I'm a student so I eat turkey sandwiches for lunch everyday. boo.
    but sometimes when I'm lucky I have bun bo hue, noodles w/ pigs feet and duck blood cubes. yum!
  • Congrats! Love your site. My little one will put BBQ sauce on anything!
  • Riss
    What fun - it's hard to come up with what my kids eat that are unusual, but off the top off my head they both love steamed Edamame , cold still in the shell (because them love sucking them out!!). They also both love grilled Costco Veggie Burgers, again served cold in bite size pieces. I am going to try those little spears you are always using. I also have recently been sending dessert Tofu for him as well.

    I SOOOOO want to be a Bento Mom just like you next year when my Son goes to Kindergarten. Thank you for all the inspirational photos every week
  • You're my inspiration! Because Gracie's preschool is now providing lunches as well as allowing children to take them, we only use our Bento from time to time. I have had a lot of fun cutting shapes out of cheese and other things, and am really pleased when my hard work pays off and she eats almost everything! We've also used her Bento to make her salads for lunch. The weirdest thing Gracie probably eats for lunch is teriyaki beef sticks (like slim jims almost). I don't know that they are that healthy so I don't pack them often, but she loves them! She will also eat yogurt covered raisins, but won't eat plain ol' raisins. Go figure!
  • Carol Trowbrigde
    Hi! First time @ your blog and I'm in love with the cuteness! OF course I had to enter the drawing! Lets see, the most "unusual" thing my daughter will eat is not too unusual...it's the Eggo silver dollar pancakes with a little powdered sugar affectionately called "snow." I'm so inspired by the adorable lunches! Hope Hope Hope I win!!
  • obsessed with bento boxing.. especially your blog that ties in with what i'm looking for in packing my own little guys lunch. happy bento-versary!!! my little guy is pretty picky.. not very adventurous at all! :)
  • Lorie
    OH...MY...GOODNESS!! I totally LOVE YOU for documenting his lunches. All year I have been looking for lunch ideas for my kindergartener. She gets so excited when I put hand drawn notes in her lunches. These would be too fun!!

    She always wants homemade ravioli and since we can't do that, we pretty much stick with turkey sammys or PBJs. I would LOVE to win one of these sets!! Makes me happy just looking at them and daydreaming about what I could do. Ha!
  • claudia d
    Happy 1 year bentoversary. I have 6 kids..none of them eat anything weird or unusual. But I will only eat M&Ms after I have microwaved them enough for the middle to melt... yummy! My youngest is asking me to bento it up for her lunch. I would love to win one of the kits.
  • Alicia
    Happy blogaversary! Your blog is an inspiration to me. I can't wait until my twins start full day school next year so I can start packing bentos regularly!

    The strangest thing my kids LOVE to eat is steamed artichokes. THey's rather have artichokes than cake any day. Too bad they are so expensive!
  • My 2 year old daughter and I both LOVE having green olives almost every day at lunch. It's probably the only thing I can get her to eat these days. I don't consider it "unusual" b/c I grew up loving green olives as a snack, but everyone else I know thinks this is GROSS, lol.

    And your blog has been linked on my blog for a long time now. I love coming here to see your awesome pics!
    :-)

    -Jess
  • Liz Wine
    Thanks for doing this!!! My favorite little lunch is wheat thins, topped with laughing cow cheese and cucumber slices!
  • Sue C
    love your blog... it's so inspirational... i luv that your child eats tofu and so healthfully...! thank you for such a fun awesome giveaway! I can't think of anything too different my children like.... but they are really pretty good about eating vegetables & fruit everyday... and understand that junk food is a special treat... I think that can be pretty unusual for some!
  • Jen
    What a great giveaway! Well, we don't really eat anything unusual around here but your blog certainly gives me inspiration to try more. My kids love it when I cut their food using cookie cutters. That's probably the most unusual thing we do. We eat pretty normal. :)
  • NicholD
    Thanks for the sweet giveaway!

    I'm not sure if it's unusual but my kids love seafood. Lobster, crab, scallops, etc.. Not too many kids I know love seafood like they do!
  • Tea
    Snap Terri Peters. My daughter (3 years) loves sushi, she's even better with the chopsticks than my husband and I!
  • Wendy, I just love your blog! I'd love to put a link to your blog on mine - do you have a button I can add? I've already mentioned and linked to your blog a few times because I started doing Project 365 because of you!

    Weirdest food my son eats? Probably Nori - the Sushi seaweed. He loves to eat it straight up!
  • I already commented above but wanted to let you know that I blogged about you today. :)

    http://heyjenrenee.blogspot.com/2009/05/bento-l...
  • Celes887
    ^_^ Happy Bento-versary!

    We (my fiance and I) love to have prunes in our lunchs, and even as adults people think this is a weird thing to eat. =P Very good for you though!
  • I like eating popcorn and then I dip it in French's yellow mustard
  • We don't really eat anything that I would consider unusual, but I did want to say thank you for the pictures that you post. I have gotten some wonderful ideas from your posts. Thanks again.
  • Happy bento-versary!! I love stopping by your blog to see what's for lunch!

    I don't know how unusual these are, they're delicious though... We love kale chips (kale with a little olive oil, parm. cheese & sea salt then bake) they are crunchy and a lot like potato chips, edamame, wasabi peas, mushrooms with anything, falafels, frozen grapes, blueberries & peas.

    Any way, thanks so much for offering this wonderful giveaway! I'm so excited! I'm posting a link to your giveaway too! Can't wait!
  • Happy blogiversary! I don't think it's too unusual, but Julian will eat red bell pepper in his lunch.
  • amy
    i love this! i've been picking up odd pieces here and here, but i'd love to do this for my kids. my kids are "strange" and love veggies! they regularly ask me to make the broccoli and carrots for snack. unfortunately, one wants the carrots cooked, one wants them raw...the little one loves edamame, like her mom. when she was a baby, she only wanted green foods.
  • Oh how fun!!!
    My kids aren't terribly picky, but my youngest goes through phases when he won't eat anything. ANYTHING. (except sweets, of course).

    The only thing that he will open up for is edamame. It's quite annoying, but has gotten better since he's learned to open the pods on his own. :)
  • Abby
    Thanks for the chance to win these awesome goodies! I have started packing myself bentos in flat tupperware--works fine, but it'd be fun to have the supplies. Sometimes I take gefilte fish for lunch (which lots of people think is strange), but my favorite lunch these days is a couscous salad with feta cheese, red peppers and cucumbers. Using whole wheat couscous brings up the protein. I really enjoy reading your blog.
  • Okay. My son is 2 so we're just on the brink of food exploration, but your bentos are a huge inspiration for me. I've always been overweight and a horrible eater and I am determined to change that for my child. I don't know how many times I've seen pictures of your bentos and thought "well duh. My child would eat that! Why haven't I bought that?" So while he doesn't eat anything unusual YET... I'm hoping he will and we'll change a generational bad eating habit. Thanks again for the inspiration and creativity. I truly appreciate all your effort and for sharing it with us all. I'll be featuring pictures of your bentos on my blog and talking about how fabulous you are! :)
  • ohhhh this made my heart skip a beat - - I WANT THEM BOTH :0)

    I would say the most unusual snack I make for myself would have to be tomatoes on toast ... its amazing! fresh sliced tomatoes on thick white toast with butter and salt - - its an old family tradition that reminds me of my grandfather who would make it when we visited (he is british)


    thanks!

    Alyssa
  • Amanda
    I would love a set of these--I've never seen them in stores. Not sure if unsual but my daughter takes her own "lunchable"--I cut up cheese and meats into squares and she eats with crackers.
    Thanks for sharing al of your ideas--

    Amanda
  • My oldest son eats anything. I think the most unusual thing he eats are peanut butter and asparagus sandwiches though (yuck!)! My little guy is a junk food junkie, he'd eat chocolate all day if I let him, so I use a lot of recipes from Deceptively Delicious for him.

    This is a great giveaway! Thanks so much!!
  • Heather M
    I love your blog! Your lunches are super inspiring and fun and they make me hungry. Maybe you can start shipping lunch to me. LOL :)

    I don't have any kids (yet), but I'm still a kid at heart. When I was little, I was a super picky eater. The weirdest food I ate was ketchup and mustard sandwiches. That's it, just ketchup and mustard on bread. I guess that was my anti-meat/cheese phase (both of which I now love).

    Thanks for sharing your cute lunches with us! :)
  • hi wendy! happy anniversary - preschool days aren't far off for me and your blog has me getting excited for at least the lunch part. (also, i love that you're from iowa ... i'm an iowa girl.)

    our unusual treat (and one of my absolute favorite snacks in the entire world) is pepperoni slices with cream cheese spread on top. you can roll them up like little burritos or fold them like tacos and stick a pick through them. they're very very good.

    I LOVE YOUR BLOG... thanks for the inspo!

    xo - jen
  • Dana
    Wow, Wendy you inspire me to make more creative lunches for my 3 girls!
    As for unusual foods, my kids LOVE sushi, but are very picky otherwise. We live in Vancouver, so I guess that's not really unusual! I try to pack little bits of things that they enjoy
    in their lunches. That's why bento boxes are an awesome idea. These sets are so cute.
  • Wow that is awesome! I would love one of these sets to get started making fun lunches for my three year old. I keep reading your blog and keep meaning to purchase a bento box and supplies to get started but just haven't gotten around to it yet. As far as the most unusual thing she will eat that is hard to say. She really will try anything once and likes just about everything. The most recent was bean sprouts of her salad, she gobbled them up like most three year olds eat pizza.
  • heidi
    I love your blog and seeing all the great lunches you make. My oldest likes black olives packed as a snack, and my youngest ...hmm i can't think of anything too unusual that he eats we sometimes do baby corn (the little corn cobs you see in stir fry), if you cut them too they look like little flowers. We also like to make homemade fruit roll ups when we borrow the food dehydrator from my in-laws. Sunflower seeds, grapefruit, and my oldest is also into limes + lemons cut up mixed in with fruit.
  • Corey
    Hi Wendy--I've admired your blog and photos for some time, waiting until I had a child for whom I could create beautiful and delicious lunches. My daughter is almost a year and goes to day care four days a week. I'd love to be able to send her with a thoughtful lunch to eat everyday. She's eating table foods now and it so fun to introduce her to new tastes!!
    Thanks so much for being such an inspiration!
    Corey
  • Hi Wendy! I've been following your blog for about a year now and have been making bentos for my own 2 year old. She LOVES them! She will often ask if she can make bentos with me in the morning, which my friends think is funny. But we have turned some of our friends onto the idea of bento for their toddlers, too, through much of your inspiration! As for the strangest things we eat, my current favorite is... spaghetti dogs like these: http://bentoriffic.blogspot.com/2009/05/rapunze... . Aside from that, my little girl is a huge fan of frozen peas. Straight from the freezer. Makes making bentos and keeping them cool much easier!

    Thanks for the blog, Wendy. We love it!
  • Karol
    Ok, I know that this is far from the most unusual. I put vanilla yogurt (or really any yogurt) in my little silicone cupcake liners and top with frozen berries. It thaws by lunchtime and I also have a little bity covered box that I put granola in and top it all off. I also like to put my salad greens in another silicone liner (it looks like a moon-got it at Dollar Tree). Then I have my wet stuff seperate in cupcake liners. And that way it doesn't get too soggy before lunch. I use a cutsey mini sandwich cutter that is shaped like a high heel to cut cheese out. I have a blast with my lunches. And I love to have left over from Grill Night. I slice the steak thin and slice the leftover baked potato thin and alternate slices (like you do your tofu that I still can not find anywhere). Again, I use a silicone loaf pan to pack this.
  • Ann Kirkland
    Wendy! I love looking at your bento boxes. And have been trying to find them around here with no luck, so please enter me! For Ben (7yrs) the weridist thing is whole tomatoes off the vine last summer or straight from the fridge, otherwise he is my PB&J or cheesy man. Mathias (4yrs) is a bit more adventurous and will try most anything. He loves to snack on fresh mushrooms, or soft carrots oh and any candy or fruit snack :) Kaylee (almost 2 yr) is our salsa and avacado girl. Not really that werid over all I guess :) Hope all is well your way! :)
  • I found your blog a couple of weeks ago because I want to start Bento lunches for my boys. The school they start in a few months does not have a cafeteria, so I want to pack something more than peanut butter every day. The most unusual thing my son eats is pickles with everything!
  • Grace Shannon
    Hi Wendy,
    I've lived in the Bay Area too long, so I've lost all concept about which foods are wierd and which ones aren't....However, reading your blog inspired me to buy a sandwich cutter to make dinosaur-shaped sandwiches. Once, I cut pieces of kiwi and put them on toothpicks and made it look like the "dinosaurs" were eating the kiwi trees. So there!
  • Rose
    I'll be packing my daughter's lunch for preschool next year and we want to go with bento lunches. The most unusual thing she's eaten for lunch is scallops and veggies with a brownie for deserrt.
  • Carol Argumaniz
    Your bento lunches are an inspiration to me. The most unusual lunch item I have packed this year was a honey sandwich. It's just two pieces of bread with honey in the middle. We were out of lunch meat and I couldn't sell a PB&J that day so we went with the clutch lunch. It worked fine, just a little messy. Next time I will put it in a tortilla like a litlle mini sopapilla.
  • Brenda Lage Olson
    I think your bento lunches are great! Unfortunately, this family doesn't eat nearly so healthy. Nor do we eat anything unusual. I'm on a campaign to improve that. This year we are attempting our own garden, hopefully they 8 year old will be excited enough helping to grow food that he'll actually eat it. The husband might be a lost cause, but at least he's not complaining out loud.
    I'd love to win a Bento set. The boy might be a little old to use it for school lunches, but it looks perfect for packing healthy snacks for road trips. Also, maybe some snacking food for the husband to take in the tractor when he's out farming hard in spring and fall.
  • Kate
    Hi Wendy- fun! Since I just floated over from Facebook, I don't know much about what you've written. We've been doing Bento box lunches for a year now, and I've got a couple. My daughter likes pecans and goji berries (dried), son #1 likes homemade granola (pecans, almond flour, orange juice, orange zest, raisins, honey and salt), son #2 likes Avocados (I halve them, sprinkle with Fruit Fresh and salt). The other contender is dried seaweed strips... the kids love them, friends think they're gross.
  • I'm another Edamame fan!!! Love your blog :)
  • missweb
    I've been getting my lunch inspirations from you all year! Thank you for the great lunch ideas and congrats! So much foodie fun but I still can't get my little one to eat tofu like yours does! Please do a tutorial on that! lol
  • Marlena
    Hi! My son will eat hot jalapeno chips, ack...My husband snacks on that stuff and my 4 year old wanted to try them, surprisingly he loved them. I was mortified, but we seldom buy those and my husband tries to eat them when the kids are not around.
  • Hi Wendy - I've been a blog reader for a while now - stockpiling ideas for when my toddler is a bit bigger. I love learning from your posts! Currently, our most unusual lunch item is Edamame - which isn't really that unusual, but I think we're the only ones that we know who eat it!
  • martha
    Hey Wendy, can I play too? I think the most unusual thing (for kids anyway) that Finley eats are mushrooms and olives. He loves them. Chiara and Devin are bit more choosy. Because the kids are always home for lunch they've gotten used to warm lunches (the Swiss way) and I get total lip when I try and serve up something like sandwiches! Would love some Bento stuff though for picknicks and me...I take my lunch on the days I work ;0).
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