Little Bento: 32 Irresistible Bento Box Lunches for Kids

My daughter is starting junior high this week and while I could come up with healthy lunch ideas, I already have to keep track of too many things in my brain. Enter this book, it reduces the mental load and makes it easy for us to work together to make lunches she'll actually enjoy AND that will nourish her. We did a lot of prep work over the weekend and she's already excited about her lunches for the week. Bonus is that everything looks delicious for adults too so mom, dad, and pre-teen will all be eating the same healthy lunch. Win! (FYI, dad helped too and he's just as excited about his new lunch menu as the kiddo!)

This was a very great hit with my six-year-old great nephew, even though it was a (very slightly) manipulative gift. His parents worry about his eating, or not eating, the school lunches, him being borderline underweight. He does although love to cook, and was inspired to stock his own lunchbox from home. The recipes are very simple, designed to not drive a parent of young kids crazy and designed to cater to preference while staying nutritious.

There are a lot of good ideas in this book. I won't use many recipes directly, as they require much more time and often more ingredients than I have normally, but I have taken some ideas that will make it into my son's lunches to add variety. It's unfortunate that the author continues to perpetuate the well-debunked "dirty dozen" list from EWG - and I would not have purchased the book had I realized that this anti-science stance was considered legitimate by the author.

I absolutely love this book - I have used it every week since my son switched to a Montessori school and I had to start packing him a daily lunch. My initial thought was panic--what the heck am I going to pack my [then] almost 18-month old?? Enter... this book. This book has saved me. Great ideas, great recipes--even my husband and I enjoy the food! And Michele Olivier is a great author too--she is funny and realistic, and appropriately strives to make food healthy, attractive, and enjoyable for kiddos. My son is now 2, and I'm still trying new things from the book. I expect we'll be able to venture and try additional recipes once he is a little older, but there are plenty of options for a kiddo his age.We are also expecting our second babe in a few months, and I have already purchased Michele Olivier's other book, geared more toward baby and toddler food. Can't wait to try those out when our baby is old enough for solids!

The cover makes it look like it would be good for kids under 10, but in my opinion it’s best for older kids. The recipes seem more for teens/adults. Lots of strong flavors like Mayo in recipes, beets, and onions that at least for my 5 and 3 year olds, is not desirable. Your teens may really like it, however the recipes require quite a bit of work so working parents may struggle to find time to prepare the foods.

I bought this book because I loved Baby Foodie for my infant and wanted to see if this would be just as good for my school-ager. It did not disappoint. This book has been great for helping my come up with creative and easy ideas for school lunches. Most of the recipes presented are easy to make or pull together quickly, especially with a little prep time over the weekend. The fact that there are pictures of every single recipe is an added bonus. It is so wonderful to be able to actually see the finished product, and it makes it much, much easier to find recipes. Some of ideas in this book, like quesadillas, are things I never would have come up with on my own, but are so simple that once I saw them in the books, I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before! Others, like meatballs, are things I never would have put in lunches, but once I saw how simple they are to make, they've become staples. Now, some of these ideas won't work for every child. Kudos to the author for getting her kids to eat so much salad; mine won't. But the vast majority of these are kid friendly, healthy, and easy, which is an A+ in my world.

I purchased Little Foodie earlier this year and loved it, so I decided to order Little Bento. One of the things I love about this book (and Little Foodie) is that it's not preachy. If you can get organic cool, if not THAT'S OK. The author never condemns or judges. Michele Olivier just wants to help make simple, and healthy meals for your kids. I also like that she explains how to turn some of these meals into complete meals for the entire family or offers alternate meals if you don't want to make a certain meal. She also uses food children eat. I can't tell you how many sites I've been to telling me to go and get ethically sourced spirulina from the mountains of Ecuador or whatever else foolishness for a CHILD to eat. As with any cookbook, some things I'm probably not going to try because they appear to be a bit time consuming, but those recipes are very rare. The majority of the Bento lunches are quick and easy and most can be eaten throughout the week. The book is fun and relatable and offers great new ideas for lunch and/or dinner for the kids; or in my case goddaughter.

I have a 10 year old who decided to be a vegetarian last year, and I was wracking my brains on what to make him for school lunches. This cookbook is a GODSEND!!! Healthy meals, lots of vegetarian options, ADORABLE pictures! I didn't realize what a gem it was going to be. I love the pictures of every bento. The presentation is just beautifully done and the book itself is great quality. It is going to last for a LONG time! I finally feel like I'm not sending him to school with a peanut butter sandwich everyday. A lot of the recipes take an hour or so from start to finish, so I make them at night the day before, but it's so worth it to have the peace of mind that he has something healthy and satisfying to eat. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! 6 stars!!!

0 8 15 Rezeptideen,völlig unspektakulär

This brilliant book is broken down into six main sections. Bento 101 covers the basics of bento boxes, great bento containers to purchase yourself along with packing principles and techniques to help with picky eaters. The book is organised by seasons starting with Fall/Autumn when children in the northern hemisphere start their school year, followed by the remaining seasons. It contains over 125 recipes for mains, sides, dips, snacks and treats for your lunchbox. The mains also work as a family dinner. Every recipe is clearly labelled so it’s easy to see which recipes are suitable for dietary requirements free from gluten, dairy and nuts. There is also a handy recipe index at the back by dietary label. A gem of a book that makes packed lunches so much brighter. Highly recommended.

Lo compré de regalo para una amiga que va a meter al kinder a su nena y tiene que mandar lunch.Está encantada porque hay muchas recetitas e ideas que se adaptan perfecto a lo que la escuela pide dentro de sus "lineamientos de lunch".Sano y lindo.Gran compra.

So many different ideas for kids and all broken down into seasons

The best part about this book? The fact that the Bentos are organized by seasons. It seems so silly, but it adds so much. The pictures of the food are gorgeous, the bentos are lovely, and the recipes are super tasty.