Bento Boxes - New Obsession!

A classmate opened the door for me to this little world of Bento Boxes, a Japanese tradition of making little lap lunches with cute containers, food shaped like animals, people, scenes. The cute factor scores big points with kids, who snarkle down flower-shaped veggies, and polish off Hello Kitty rice balls with chicken and snowpeas.
I ordered 2 Bento boxes online, along with some food shaping tools - some of them even straight from Japan! Meanwhile, until their arrival, I made due with some dollar store finds and a Rubbermaid container.
It's taken me anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes to make a Bento so far, but I have enjoyed the time in the kitchen, and even made a lunch for my husband on Saturday. One Bento I made while talking to a friend on the phone! The small portions will help me watch calories, and a lot of the food I've pulled right from the 'fridge -- all those little leftovers and opened packages, going toward a healthy lunch! I'm hoping it will ultimately help us save money - I end up throwing away so much food when only cooking for 2, and many times I end up buying lunch instead of taking the time.
Yeah, so it takes a half hour out of my evening -- but let me tell you, it has been a blast making these so far! Streatches my brain to think about how I can make food in an artful way, and hey, maybe a little nesting nature coming through (??)
This Bento features a cream cheese/green chili roll up, salsa, chili, mini corn muffins (baked while I made dinner), pepper strips, plantain, peanuts and little strawberry cookie sticks for dessert! it filled me up so much, that I saved the chili for dinner.
More to come on this delightful new hobby!