New Hobby Love

I wanted to share with you all yet ANOTHER new hobby that has taken my heart these past few weeks. I really have Janel to blame thank because she posts about it all the time. (hint: I wish she posted about it more!) ANYWAY, I'll give you a clue to this lovely new hobby:

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That's right-----> BENTO! If you don't know what bento is, here's a little lesson. I'm trying this hobby for more than one reason:

1. Elaine. needs. portion control. I eat TOO much of one thing. Enough said. Bento has little compartments that limits the amount of one thing that you can include. I believe that's part of the awesomeness of the Japanese-style lunchbox. So yeah, portion control.

2. Promoting health. I think that I will be more likely to include healthy choices in these cute little boxes and cups like grapes, crackers, yogurt, granola and wraps.... as opposed to a chicken sandwich and fries at the mall food court. :/

3. IT'S FREAKEN ADORABLE! or "cute as a button" as my mom called it. haha I was the little girl that you had to cut my pancakes into hearts in order for me to eat them. My dad had to take leftover PINK mashed potatoes to work when I was little because I wouldn't eat them unless they were colored pink. So The cuter this is, the more fun it will be for me, and the more likely I will be to eat it.

So call me crazy girl, but I think this will be good for me. :) So here's my first attempt at Bento today:

So.... not that pretty, but I just wanted to try it out before I got my supplies in the mail. :) So I made a bento for me and for Ian. I made us each a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and cut it into little stars. I threw in a star of American cheese on Ian's too. We had pretzels, red grapes, a little cream cheese for our pretzels, and a cupcake without icing. :) I also added some themed picks for each of us: Iron Man for Ian, Hello Kitty for me. :)

I have actually ordered a few really cute supplies for my newfound bento hobby too:

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a bento box, strap, and bag along with silicone cups and picks.


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some cute chopsticks as a reward for eating healthy. haha

I'm so excited! So to end my frantic ramble about bento, here's some adorable bento inspiration for you and I will start with my favorite from Janel:

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So... here's to a new try at healthy eating!
<3
E