Top 4 bento tools and accessories you need for your child’s baon

I started making bento baon for Gwen when she was in Kindergarten. It’s to motivate her to go to school and eat her baon as well. I admit I’m not as talented as other moms who does bento like a pro like my friend Kaye of Bento Mommas. She’s the first one na nakita ko na gumagawa ng bento, hindi pa uso talaga ang bento nun but Kaye makes them for her son, Rylie.

Anyway, since I don’t have the talent, I rely on bento tools and accessories para maitawid ko ang bento baon hahaha. A lot of my followers are asking about the names of bento tools I used every time I post Gwen’s baon, that’s why I decided to make this post, sort of a bento 101 on the names of the bento tools.

Related: Bento trick for my picky eater

What is a bento?

First, ano nga ba ang bento? Bento or obento is a Japanese takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. Basically, it’s a meal which may contain rice, noodles, fish, meat, vegetables, or fruits served in a box. Dito sa Pilipinas, “baon” pero mas pinaarte at pinaganda lang ang presentation.

Top 3 bento tools and accessories

When I was just starting, I was overwhelmed too on what to buy. There are tons of bento tools, mamumulubi ka kapag binili mo sila lahat. So here are my top 4 essentials and their names in case you’re curious what they are called.

1. Bento box or a lunch box

There are plenty of lunchboxes around, some are vacuum-insulated to keep food warm, some have dividers so that you won’t need silicon cups or barans or dividers to separate the food. Choose what is best for your child according to his/her needs. Consider the size too, baka naman ang laki laki ng baunan pero half-day lang naman pala ang kids sa school.

Related: Kris Aquino for Asvel Philippines

2. Character food picks or fruit picks

Eto yung palaging tinatanong sa akin, kung ano raw yung tawag sa maliit na fork na pantusok that I use in Gwen’s baon. They’re called food picks, you will go crazy with these. As in!!! There are so many choices and characters, but my best bet would be animals, eyes, and leaf picks. Ang cute ng leaf picks if you use it sa grapes.

TIP: Kung walang food picks, and you are following a certain theme, you can improvise! You can print out a character or theme tapos i-glue mo lang sa toothpick. A friend made this during United Nations, nagdikit lang sya ng flag sa toothpick.

3. Silicon cups and sauce containers

Use silicon cups to separate the food, it also adds color to your bento box especially if you use the colorful ones. Sauce containers is very useful if you need to put catsup or sawsawan.

4. Rice molds and sandwich cutters

I have the Panda rice mold, that’s the only mold I have. It’s very limiting, buti na lang cute ang Panda. For sandwich cutters, you can also use cookie cutters.

That’s it, my Top 4. You don’t need much, but if you want to add, here are other bento tools:

• seaweed or nori punchers, scissors, tweezers
• food markers
• sausage cutters
• hard boiled egg molds

Where to buy bento tools here in the Philippines?

I was often asked saan ko binili yung mga food picks ko. I buy my bento needs in Daiso Japan or Japan Home Centre. When I checked kasi online for the prices nung mga pang-bento, overpriced yung iba. The food picks, sauce containers, silicon cups, tig-88 pesos lang yan. Just check Daiso stores from time to time if may stock sila.

Check Shopee too! May mga murang sellers from China, longer waiting time nga lang but cheaper naman yung mga bento tools.

Happy bento-making and baon-making! Fulfilling naman lalo na pag simot ang baunan pag uwian di ba. Just remember to keep your bento baon nutritious and appetizing. Put the right mix of meat, veggies, and fruits, sprinkled with lots of love from mommy.

Shameless plug na rin, check out the #EasyBaonIdeas album in my FB page, http://bit.ly/baonideas. Do you have any bento making tips and hacks mommies? Share in the comments section.