Bento Example #1: Chicken patty with grapes, cheese and animal crackers

A while back, I mentioned that I was going to stop buying school lunches for Alex and start packing his lunches myself. It's been going well, but I'm usually too rushed in the morning to grab the camera. I did manage to get a shot of this one and wanted to share how I put it together.

The contents are:
1 Ian's frozen chicken patty
1 container sweet & sour sauce (from fast food chicken nuggets)
2 packets ketchup
1 string cheese
halved red grapes
4-5 animal crackers

Alex likes these chicken patties, so I try to keep some on hand in the freezer for when I don't have leftovers to pack. I packed this one in a large paper baking cup (for jumbo size muffins), tucked the sweet and sour sauce container and ketchup packets next to it, and laid the string cheese right on top. Off to the side, I filled a silicone baking cup with halved red grapes, and put a few animal crackers into another silicone baking cup.

The night before school, I cut the grapes and wrapped the silicone baking cup in some plastic wrap to keep the grapes contained during transit. I packed the lunch in the morning in a basic reusable plastic container. It went into the refrigerator when we got to school, and his teachers microwaved the patty before giving it to Alex.

Alex would devour the grapes and animal crackers in a heartbeat, so I have a deal with his teachers that they give him the "main course" first. After he's eaten a decent amount of that, he gets his fruit and then "dessert" (the animal crackers). If he doesn't eat most of his lunch, he doesn't get the animal crackers.

I use silicone baking cups in just about every lunch that I pack for the boys. They make great dividers and really keep the food separate. I got a pack of one dozen at Target for $5.99 a few months ago.

Much of my bento inspiration comes from Lunch in a Box, so if you want more lunch ideas, I highly recommend heading there.