Black Cat Bentos are Good Luck

Anna entered the kitchen this morning, beelined for the refrigerator and poured her usual huge size glass of milk. She glanced at my plate of rice objects.

"Why are you making onigiri?"

"They're for your sister's lunch." (My efforts were encouraged by the fact that she recognized the rice objects as a Japanese lunch item called "onigiri.")

"Usually they have nori - that's seaweed - on them to hold them. And you put stuff inside them," Anna educated me.

"These are just plain," I said. "Do you want to try one?"

"It tastes like sushi rice," she said as she walked away with a mouthful of rice object.

It fascinates me that the kids know about these things. Manga. It's manga that is taking over and influencing our children.



The bottom container is blocks of muenster cheese, apple slices sandwiched with peanut butter, and bluberries to stop the gaps.



The bottom level has a tray that covers it and on it sits the triangle onigiri (traditionally shaped - the others were from a bear mold) and some steamed broccoli reheated in the microwave just to take off the chill).



Mary will eat small cute things. Bento is not only small and cute, it is distinctive and showy. All things that make it more likely that she will eat.



My own bento is not as flashy, but the purpose is the same. The two little containers (eggs and apples) sit on top of the bottom layer (lettuce). I use a fork. Mary's of course comes with chopsticks.

The chopsticks say "Happy Meal" on them. I am sure they will be used to pick up cheese cubes. Hopefully they will also be used to pick up broccoli.

I can get behind any trend that encourages kids to eat rice and broccoli.