Mothership Meals and Satellite Saucers: Going Bento

Monday, April 14, 2008

Going Bento

One of the problems with living on the East Coast, is there are no Japanese department stores.

If there were -- or so I hear tell -- we northeasterners would be able to go to the bento floor and buy a lot of cute plastic stuff to pack our family's lunches. Okay, so this would be totally evironmentally incorrect... but it would be so fun. And who doesn't need a little more fun at 7:05 a.m., while cramming turkey sandwiches and yogurt squeezies into a couple of battered Tupperware containers that have seen better days?

But anyway, no dice. In New York, Pearl River is the closest we have to a Japanese department store, being a Chinese department store that sells Japanese stuff. I headed over there last week, having heard there were bento supplies. I'd heard wrong.

Pearl River does not have a bento section. They have rice cookers and Chinese pajamas and silk slippers and cheong-sams and litchi candy and journals and lamps and buddha statues and pretty everything else you can think of, but no bento section. But there are some lunch pails, and they sell some cute things for lunchboxes and for making rice balls.

Of the lunch pails, I couldn't resist this two-tiered melamine pail.

It is the perfect size for my lunch at work. Every since I got it, I have been storing dinner leftovers in it. I put it in the fridge, and it's ready to go in the morning. Plus... so cute. I wish it had a sealed top, because I don't totally trust the metal contraption. I pack it in a plastic bag to make sure I don't get some kind of lunch-juice seepage. So far, so good.

The kids' version is pretty cute, too.

Just to clarify, I am not suggesting anyone -- most especially not myself -- turn into one of those type A-bento packers. Dude, I am not getting up at 5 a.m., no matter what kind of magic I might be able to spin with a couple sheets of nori and some hard boiled eggs. But if I can make our home-packed lunches a little more exciting, I'm all for it.

If you're ready for some of that 7:05 a.m. fun I'm talking about, check out Ichiban-Kan, a brand new on-line Japanese store.

You can go to one of my favorite lunchbox sites, Lunch in a Box, where Biggie gives her review of Ichiban-Kan's products.

2 comments:

Unknown said...: Just across the Hudson in Edgewater, New Jersey (595 river road), there is a fabulous Japanese strip mall with a Mitsuwa grocery store that is HUGE with lots of little food stalls. One of the stores in the strip mall sells books (I think it's a Kinokunya) and another sells Hello Kitty, etc. I believe housewares are also sold there, including bento boxes.; May 23, 2008 at 7:32 PM
Larissa said...: whoo-hoo, thanks for telling me! I'm going, I'm going!; June 10, 2008 at 4:33 PM

Post a Comment

The Mothership Method

(Or, how to sit down for dinner with your family without completely losing your mind)

It would be great if kids AND parents wanted boiled chicken and baby carrots every night for dinner. But, too bad, we picky parents want spicy, exotic, fun foods, and our kids want, well, sorta lame foods.
Here's the solution: break it down. Serve the dish deconstructed, and let everyone put their own dish together at the table. Sort of like tapas, or smorgasbord, or tacos. Or how in some parts of China you get a bowl of rice, and everything else is in the middle of the table and you take what you want for your own little bowl of rice. That way everyone gets to eat what they want, parents don't have to nag their kids, and kids get to feels some ownership over their meals. Plus, kids get exposed to the look and taste of the foods you hope they will one day love. But it's not just tacos. You'll be amazed at what can be served with the Mothership Method.

Ten Tips to Get Through Dinner Without Having A Nervous Breakdown

1. Accept That Kids Are Picky. No need to freak out on your cooking ability, or look at your kids like there is something wrong with them. It's called "neo-phobia", and it's just how they are, especially from ages 3-6.

2. Serve Meals Broken Down. Even grown-up meals like coconut curry or linguine with clams can be served in their elements, making them more appealing to kids. Grown ups can assemble their own jumble of deliciousness at their own plate while kids take on the pared-down elements.

3. Push if it Works, But Don't Nag If It Doesn't. Some kids are okay with being expected to taste everything on their plate. Others aren't. I think it's okay to push kids -- but not if you're turning dinner into a battlefield.

4. Suggest a Smell. Smelling a new food is easier than tasting it, and can sometimes provide a kid with the information needed to take that scary first bite. But don't confine smelling to new foods. Smell favorites, too, and help them develop their sense of smell by making a game out of it.

5. Don't Ask "Do You Like It?" Instead, try, "What does this remind you of?" or, "Would your cousins like this?" or, "Does this taste salty or sweet?". Asking if they like it or not gives kids too much power and ends the conversation. Besides, we don't care if they like it! We just want them to keep tasting it until it is familiar.

6. Don't Get Frustrated. Imagine being in Taiwan, or Nairobi, or Rome for the first time. Would you eat everything on the local menu? New foods are scary and gross. Our kids need time to learn about the foods that we eat.

7. No SubstitutionsThis is family dinner, not a diner. You, in all your wisdom, have provided foods that are healthy and delicious and appropriate for your children. There is something on the table for them to eat. Period.

8. No Snacks Before Dinner. This can be the hardest with our hectic schedules and hungry kids. But children who come to the table hungry are more likely to eat than cause trouble.

9. Put Peer Pressure To Your Advantage. School children are more likely to accept new foods if the alpha girls in their group accept them. Swap healthy food ideas on playdates.

10. Involve Your Kids In Cooking, Shopping, and Gardening. The more experience kids have handling and preparing a variety of foods, the more likely they are to eventually accept the foods. (But don't get upset if they help you make a complicated wonderful meal, and then refuse to eat it.)