FoodJUN 21, 2019

12 Year Old's Bento Lunches For Her Dad's Commute Will Melt Your Heart

When our family moved to a new city last year, my husband was faced with a much longer commute. Although he'd enjoyed the luxury of coming home for lunch each day previously, our family had to come up with a new plan for his longer drive.

We'd been making vegan bentos together as a family for years so I wasn't surprised when my someday-chef stepped up and offered to make her dad's lunches every day to help out. When I shared the lunches on social media we got a lot of questions about how long these take, how are they made and so on. Many people find this type of art to be needlessly time consuming but for us, it was a key teaching tool for our little ones and a favorite way to bond with family time.

Immediately my daughter decided that she wanted to show other kids and their parents that making food 'kawaii' or 'cute' can be really easy and incredibly fun. Kyaraben or 'character' bento has become her latest focus. Every evening after dinner, our kids gather around the bento box and choose which leftovers to mix with fresh fruits and veggies to make the most interesting and nutritious creation possible.

And each day my husband arrives to work after his long drive, opens the lid to his bento with a smile and knows he's loved.

More info: Instagram