Food Philosophy

I strive to make lunches (and all other meals) for my daughter from real food, using local, organic and seasonal ingredients as much as possible.  Many of the adorable bento lunches I have seen around the interwebs are full of processed food that I don't eat myself and don't want to feed my child. I avoid processed food and added sugar (within reason) and try to make most things from scratch.

I try to keep things simple with Baby Girl's lunches.  I think it is particularly important for children to recognize the foods that they are eating at an early age.  I don't want her to eat vegetables simply because I disguised them well.  For this reason, I do not want to add so many embellishments or manipulate the food so much that the that my daughter is unable to identify what she is eating.  Also, many of the picks and cute little decorations to many of the elaborate and adorable bento boxes seen around the web aren't really safe for babies and toddlers. I use the term "bento" in it's simplest definition - a serving of food packed into a container.  I am more concerned that the lunches be healthful than cute.   At this young age I want to expose my daughter to as many different foods as possible, so I try to provide variety in her lunches.   Finally, I also try to avoid using plastic and disposable materials when packaging food for my daughter.  While I use small bento containers and try to make the food aesthetically pleasing, my primary goal is that the lunches are nutritious, provide a variety of flavors and textures - and are actually eaten!

With a little planning, packing a Bento for Baby lunch is as easy as any other lunch.  I hope that this blog can provide ideas for fun, healthy lunches for your little ones.  Thanks for reading!