My daughter loves anything Japanese. I made these bento for her school lunch beginning Spring of last year. Bento are very popular in Japan. They are packed lunches which consist of rice, meats, vegetables usually in small portions served in a box shaped container. “Kyaraben” or character bento are more elaborately styled to look like popular characters. “Oekakiben” or picture bento on the other hand are made to look like people, animals, flowers etc.

Most of the bentos I have made are oekakiben since I find it really cute. Plus my daughter looks forward to what she gets come lunchtime.

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Onigiri, chicken nuggets, tamagoyaki and cherry tomatoes

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Sumo onigiri, ground beef stir fry, grape tomatoes, kiwi and blueberries

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Ninja kids onigiri, chicken wings, beef shumai and mixed vegetables

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Rilakkuma onigiri, braised chicken, turkey ham roll ups, cucumber and grape tomatoes P.S. Rilakkuma is a japanese character/cartoon

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Koala onigiri (i used half white and half brown rice), chicken teriyaki, omelet, green beans and strawberries