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I became a little bit obsessed with bento box lunches when my older daughter first started preschool. There's a whole world out there of insanely creative people putting together nutritious and often stunning lunches for their kids (and themselves). I quickly realized my own limitations: I don't have the time, patience, nor artistic talent to transform my kids' turkey sandwich into a painstakingly crafted whimsical scene. (Think: Star Wars bento! Harry Potter bento! Terrifying Picasso Face bento!)
Fortunately, with the help of a few tools recommended by the more savvy bento-makers out there, I've been able to leave the cutesy heavy-lifting behind while still packing a visually pleasing and sometimes even borderline delightful lunch for my kids. Here are all the accessories you need to make bento box lunches with minimal effort:
1. Silicone Baking Cups
These bright silicone baking cups are a lunchbox workhorse. I use them to help subdivide larger sections of the containers I pack my kids' lunches in, or just to corral small portions of fruit, vegetables, or snacks like pretzels.
BUY IT: Ipow Thicken Silicone Cupcake Baking Muffin Cups Liners Molds Set, 24-pack, $10.25 at Amazon
2. Vegetable Cutter Shapes
Real talk: Most days, I don't pack my kids' lunches with heart-shaped watermelon pieces and kiwi stars. I just cut up some fruit and call it a day. But every once in a while I pull these vegetable cutters out and get fancy. They're super easy to use and can cut almost any food—carrot disks, cucumber slices, cheddar cheese, melons—into cute little shapes.
BUY IT: StarPack Vegetable Cutter Shapes Set (5-Piece), $5.95 on Amazon
3. Hard-Boiled Egg/Sushi Rice Molds
I love this tool. Here's how it works: peel a hard-boiled egg. Pop it into one of the critter molds, close the mold and let it sit for about 10 minutes. (You can also let it sit in the mold overnight and slip it into the lunchbox in the morning, if you're the sort of person that can remember to do things like that during the before-school rush. I, unfortunately, am not.) Open the mold, and your egg will have a little bunny or bear face, which obviously makes it more delicious. You can also use the molds to shape rice—sushi rice will work best as it's sticky and holds its shape well.
BUY IT: SQdeal HG6 Cartoon Cute Boil Egg Sushi Rice Decorating Mold Mould (Pack of 6), $4.71 on Amazon
4. Animal Food Picks
It's really hard for me to overstate just how much I love these little animal picks. I stick them on top of everything: a silicone muffin cup of halved strawberries, cubes of cheese, a pile of chopped-up meatballs. (I mean, seriously, it's really hard to imagine a pile of chopped-up meatballs looking cute, but put a tiny little giraffe fork or a panda pick on top and all of a sudden that cooked beef is adorable.) Plus the picks are great for encouraging kids who often ignore their utensils to use something besides their hands to pick up their food. (Not that my children would ever eat with their hands.)
5. Alphabet Food Picks
What kid doesn't want to open up their lunchbox to see their name or a special message spelled out on top of their turkey sandwich? These colorful alphabet picks are a fun way to create a moment of surprise for your kids come lunchtime. Tip: Buy more than one set in case you lose any key letters—or if your child's name has any letters in it that repeat.
BUY IT: Torune 26 Piece Japanese Bento Accessory Food Pick Letter Set, $4.99 on Amazon
6. Colorful Condiment Containers
Packing a few mini burgers for lunch and know your kid will want ketchup to go along with it? Or need to pack some hummus to dip carrot sticks into? These little condiment containers will securely hold any non-drippy sauce.
BUY IT: CuteZCute Mini Condiment Mayo Container for Bento Lunch Box, Set of 4, $5.99 on Amazon
7. Panda Mold and Seaweed Cutter
If you want to take your bento game a step further, check out this baby panda rice ball–shaper. (Rice balls, or onigiri, are a fantastic, filling addition to any lunchbox. If you haven't made them before, here's our guide.) After molding a perfect little tiny rice panda, you use the included seaweed cutter to cut panda ears/eyes/nose/limbs out of a sheet of nori (roasted seaweed) and, using tweezers, stick them on the corresponding panda parts.
8. Lego Utensils
Your Lego-obsessed kid will go nuts for this utensils set. Plus it comes with an extra little figurine that you can throw into the lunchbox (if you don't think the excitement of finding a toy in their lunch would distract your child so much they'd forget to eat).
