bento boxes

Bento boxes seem to be the hippest and hottest thing around when it comes to cool-kid lunches, making them a great addition to your back-to-school shopping list. Perfect for boys or girls, bento boxes originated in Japan and have been happily keeping lunches neatly packed for years and years. Along with being wonderfully eco-friendly, these boxes are designed to hold lots of goodies in a small space. And there are tons of ways to create tasty and adorable bento box lunches with the help of these contraptions. Click through for 10 of our favorites.

When I pack my next day's lunch at 11 p.m. the night before, the last thing I consider is what it looks like. Sandwiches get shoved in plastic bags, and leftovers are unceremoniously crammed into old Tupperware. But making Japanese bento is not just about delicious food; it's about harmonious construction and pretty presentations. We turned to the marvelous bento designs of Flickr user gamene to inspire our next yummy lunch creations!

Source: Flickr User gamene

Packing your lunch in a bento box is an efficient way to create a wholesome meal in a compact package. But if froggy faces and cute bunnies are a bit too kawaii for your office environment, we've rounded up 10 pretty yet grown-up containers that get your lunch from here to there without looking like you're headed for the school bus.

Get ready to step up your sandwich skills with bento box lunches. These picturesque meal settings are a snazzy way to dress up leftovers, effective (and plastic bag free) way to pack lunch, and a smart way to encourage your children to eat healthier meals by making nutritious foods look more appealing (Jessica Seinfeld would be so proud). If you are as busy as most moms, you probably don't have time to bento everyday, but invest in $4 worth of bento tools and you'll be ready to add a small mural meal touch to your child's lunch on special days. Browse through these decadent boxes for inspiration.