Happy meals: The Bento Mommas add ‘kawaii’ flourish to their kids’ baon

 

Kids are notoriously picky eaters, and any parent or caregiver worth their salt will have a few tricks up their sleeve to keep finicky little bellies well-fed. To make sure lunch boxes come home empty, a group of creative Pinay mommies infuse normal packed meals with the Japanese practice of bento making. They are the Bento Mommas.

Longtime friends April, Kaye, Mia, Olive, and Moneigh share a love for arts and crafts, and a commitment to hands-on parenting despite their busy work schedule. From baking, blogging and scrapbooking, the group found themselves experimenting with bento-making to expand the food choices of their children. "Some of them are picky eaters, while the others have food allergies. Bento-making has helped us introduce a wider and healthier range of food choices to our kids," says Moneigh, the Bento Momma's designated spokesperson.

Although the word’s origins purportedly date back to the simple meals handed out by 16th century military commander Oda Nobunaga to his men, "bento" as we know it today—a carefully packed boxed meal for consumption outside the home—bears more similarity to the artfully prepared meals for special occasions of the later Edo period and the ekiben (bento sold to train passengers) of the more recent Meiji period. In contemporary Japanese culture, bento-making remains an activity for moms and housewives, who pack meals for their children to take to school.

"Bento-making can be a challenge especially for working moms like us, who have to wake up really early in the morning after a long work day," says Moneigh. "But rather than be stressed about it, we actually find this hobby an exciting opportunity to exercise our creativity. Bento-making has also proven to be a great venue to meet new people."

Early birds

A typical day for a Bento Momma begins at 4 or 5 a.m., to begin preparing the bentos. A lot of prep work goes into bento-making: menus and ideas are planned and shopped for at the start of the week, and carving and cutting is done the night before.

Integrating bento-making into the household’s regular meal planning and grocery shopping minimizes food wastage and ensures that there’s enough food—both freshly-made and dinner leftovers—for the kids’ bentos.

The type of bento that the Bento Mommas excel at are the kyaraben, or character bentos, inspired by popular figures from cartoons, anime, or game franchises.  "One of our all-time favorite bentos is the 'Despicable Me'or 'Minion' bento because it was what jump-started our foray into charaben or character bento-making," says Moneigh. "When all five of us made that bento on separate occasions, we thought it was pretty cool to have a bento theme each week."

The Minion bento paved the way for the creation of their online community in 2013. Membership on their Facebook page has steadily grown and now numbers over 1,000 members from the Philippines and overseas. What initially began as an online exchange of bento tips and ideas has since expanded to weekly design challenges (#bentomommas on Instagram), resource sharing, workshops and catering, and online shopping.

Tools and supplies

The Bento Mommas’ online shop offers a wide array of bento supplies sourced here and abroad. They range from starter kits and basic bento tools, to more advanced bento instruments and hard-to-find or limited edition bento items. That said, bento-making is not necessarily an expensive hobby. Moneigh notes that a good bento can be created with a few basic, reusable tools—one spill-proof food container, a handful of colorful food organizers, some basic cutters, and a few decorative picks. What’s more important is imagination, creativity, and a sense of humor.