Kawaii Obento!

Recently, I've been so addicted in checking a lot of obento making tutorials. I find obento, or bento to others, uber cute! When the time comes that my little son starts going to school, I will find time talaga to prepare a kawaii (or cute) obento baon for him. Meanwhile, I am already planning on making obento baon for my hubby as well. I can't wait! Yiii! (Note to hubby: Let's just pretend you didn't read this post, okay? It's supposed to be a surprise! Haha! Don't worry, your obento will be simpler, not too elaborate but will try my best to make it somehow aesthetically pleasing. Hope I can.)

Bento or Obento is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento holds rice, fish or meat, with pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container... Japanese homemakers often spend time and energy on a carefully prepared lunch box for their spouse, child, or themselves .

Bento can be elaborately arranged in a style called "kyaraben" ("character bento"). Kyaraben are typically decorated to look like popular characters from Japanese cartoons (anime), comic books (manga), or video games. Another popular bento style is "oekakiben" or "picture bento". This is decorated to look like people, animals, buildings and monuments, or items such as flowers and plants. -- Source

I went on a trip at Saizen Trinoma to check if they have obento accessories so I can scout which items I could buy for my obento making journey but there were just a few items I like in their store. Aside from that, they don't have the other accessories I am looking for. Hopefully, I could visit their branch in Robinson's Galleria so I can check if they have a wider range of accessories. I went there before and their Saizen branch is huge! I'm so excited!

I remember when Trev was still starting to eat solid food, I used to make fun shapes out of his fruits and oatmeal cereal. I feel so happy whenever I see the delight on his face. I have always home-made his food kasi. No store-bought food for him. I find so much happiness whenever I prepare a new set of food for him, I can't explain why, basta parang nakakawala ng stress and pagod. :-)

See the pics below. I think I made those when Trev was around 10 months old. I know it's far from looking like a cute obento (these aren't even obentos, hihi!) but I had so much fun when I was still doing these with Trev's food so I'm pretty sure I would feel the same way with obentos.

L-R: Bear-y Red Lentils with Banana & Cinnamon Powder, Heart-y Bananacado with Red Lentils Oatmeal & Cinnamon Powder, and Mr. Elf's Avocado with Sweet Potato Oatmeal & Cinnamon Powder.

Banana Avocado with Smiley Cereal and Sweet Potato Banana Combo with Smiley Cereal

For the meantime, I have to practice more pa. So, here's my poor attempt at making our breakfast look cute or kawaii in Japanese. :-)

 

Freshly sliced cucumber, egg omelet with onions, ham and heart-shaped cheese dogs. The omelet is Trev's breakfast and he loves it! I don't feed him processed food kasi like hotdogs and ham so that's mine and hubby's. :-)

I know, it's way far from looking like those cute obento food art but I will try my best and learn. 

There are a lot of kawaii obento in the web and I can't get enough of them! I can't wait to make my own version for my boys (hubby and baby).

I found these and more. Just google it and you'll find sooo many!

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The other week, I tried making those octopus-shaped sausages and I had so much fun! I also made a few crab-shaped hotdogs and I can't help but adore those little creatures. Kaaliw! So cute! Next time, I'll make some again and take a picture.. Hubby and I enjoyed eating those mini creatures. Of course, Trev will just have to settle with just looking at them because I don't want him to eat processed food. Hihi!

Anyway, I have yet to learn so much about my new found interest. I hope kayanin ng powers ko. Basta, what I know now is my obento will most likely be Pinoy-style! :-p

Has any of you been making obento at home too? Care to share some tips? :-)