Preparation makes for Easy Bentos

Some of my friends have told me that they don't have time to make healthy lunches or fun bentos. Please, oh please, may I show you HOW EASY it can be?! With a little prep on the weekend, you can set yourself up for a successful lunch-making week!

My kids have been bugging me to make hummus for their lunches. That is pleasantly surprising since, in the past, SuperBoy has expressed his dislike for hummus. Now HE is the one asking for it. You bet your bottom dollar that I'm gonna make hummus (practically a pure veggie dip!) for their lunches!

After making the hummus (or you can use store-bought), I got my supplies ready. The hummus, a bunch of condiment containers, a spoon and a larger container to hold all of the dips.

Over the years, I have collected several types of condiment containers. On the left is a cute, flip-top container, which is easy for little hands to open. You can buy these at my favorite bento website. The middle one is a screw-top, travel size container. This one is easy for older kids to open and close. Lastly, the one on the right is a tiny Tupperware; it has a great seal, but even I have a hard time opening it.

Once I had my hummus ready and my dip containers at hand, I used the spoon to scoop the hummus into each one, closing them tightly.

Tada! Finished product. Ready to be stored in the refrigerator.

Next, I cut up veggies for the week. This time, I've got carrot and celery sticks.

Then, I put out the lunchboxes and placed sandwiches in the main compartments.

I added a fruit (cut-up kiwi) and a pick.  The food pick serves several purposes:
(1) it's cute and fun to use,
(2) it makes picking up the fruit cubes easier, AND less messy, and
(3) it eliminates the need to pack a bulky fork.

Then I tucked in a cheese stick, added the veggie of choice and threw in an already-prepared condiment container full of delicious, nutritious hummus. See how easy that was!

Here's the synopsis:
(1) Preparation makes lunch-making MUCH easier.
(2) With veggies cut up and at the ready, it takes very little time to throw together a lunch.