Letter O Lunch

This bento was SO fun to make, albeit challenging. Why so challenging? Name a meat or protein that begins with the letter O ... you thought of "octopus", didn't you? Yeah ... do YOU want that in YOUR lunch? Well, I can almost guarantee that most kids (and adults) don't want it in their lunches either!

I also thought of Ocean perch, Orange roughy and Oysters. Still none of those sound appetizing in a packable, to-go lunch. Time to get creative!

Presenting the "Octo-Dog"! Also known as "an-octopus-shaped-hot-dog". It's rather simple to do - carefully slicing the hot dog to create "legs" and then boiling in water for a few minutes. Click on How to Make an Octo-Dog for step-by-step instructions.

I laid the Octo-Dogs over a bed of lightly buttered Orecchiette pasta. This cute little pasta looks like tiny ear-shaped shells.

Into the corner, I tucked some green Olives. Note that I put them in a silicone cup, to contain the olive juice, keeping it from making the Orecchiette from tasting like a summer pasta salad. That is a delicious thought (and perhaps, I'll make that dish this week!), but it wasn't the idea that I was going for now.

In the second layer, I placed Oreos in a small silicone cup as a dessert. (Note to self and y'all: place the cookies into the lunch in the morning. Experience talking again.)

Oranges make up the fruit component as this Letter O lunch. Originally, I wanted to place Orange smiles into the lunch, but they wouldn't fit. So they became Orange quarters. Still delicious. I put these in another silicone cup to prevent the juicy oranges from soggifying the Oreos and Okra.

Fried Okra! I've never tried my hand at it before. However, the Letter O veggie choices are quite limited. Honestly, it wasn't awful. It was rather delicious. I can't wait to try it again, now that I am more confident in frying it.

What will you make for YOUR Letter O lunch?