bento lunch

This is a typical lunch I send with moo to daycare. The high cost of daycare does not include lunch (or dinner) or nappies so these are extra (not to mention the other ongoing extras...). Now I make my own coffee at home, I save about $1500 a year (amazing when I looked at it that way) so now I can use that money for nappies!! Anyway, the bento is an amazing creation which has so many elaborate forms that I could not replicate so I aim for the Aussie version. There is usually rice in a 'real' bento but I rarely use it for lunch. Moo eats all this, usually, unless I try to slip something I there that he might not like but is good for him....So, this is a chopped boiled egg with mayo bread roll, a plastic divider is used to keep it from getting messy, a banana and choc chip muffin which I made yesterday, fruits, dried fruits and a cream cheese square. I also send along a small bottle of milk. I was using the uht milk packs but I think it has sugar in it so I just use normal milk. It takes about 10-15 mins to get it all organised and put it all in a lunch bag with a small ice pack that you can refreeze. It is amazing that all these trinkets and small containers, picks and bright colours really does encourage him to eat and because of the way it is chopped up, he can eat the whole lot without any assistance. Also, most of this stuff is plastic so it just needs a wash and you can use it over and over. Since he wakes up at 5am, I usually have time to get the lunch organised, eat brekky, do some exercise with the dog and glance at the front page of the paper before it is time to go.....early birds do have some advantages however, it is hard to remember that at exactly 5am......