Tools of the Trade: Silicone Cups

Some people use paper cups in their bentos, but I like the silicone. Easy to clean, they don't get soggy, and best, I don't have to throw them away or buy more! Woohoo! Here's a peek at my silicone cup collection...

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These cups are simply Wilton cupcake cups in flower shapes. They come in several shapes. Unfortunately, because of the lip around the edge, they don't fit in many bento boxes. Still, they're fun!

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These shaped silicone cups I use all the time, at least the stars and flowers. They came from World Market and are pretty inexpensive.

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Or, there are your standard cupcake cups in silicone. These are good, too. You can get them just about anywhere. And this? Well, it's an ice cube tray and I haven't yet figured out exactly what to do with it, but I like it. LOL!

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Tools of the Trade: Bento Boxes

I have a lot of friends ask me where I get my bento boxes. I have gotten a few of them from the internet, but the website I used is no longer functional. The rest I got from Daiso in Washington, and, unfortunately for most of us, they only have stores in WA and CA. The good news is that I will hopefully have a chance to go to Daiso in November, and will be picking up extra bento boxes for those who want them.

Here's the basic anatomy of a standard bento box...

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A bento box typically has 2 stackable food compartments, each with their own lid. Many bento boxes are oblong, though they come in many shapes and sizes. Many also have an additional lid under which utensils can go.

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One nice thing about stackable bento boxes is that they are also nestable, which is space saving for storage. That also means that if you just want to use one layer of the bento box, say, for a snack instead of a meal, you can.

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When using both layers, one stacks on top of the other, and the layers are held together by an elastic strap (not pictured).

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Of course, as I said, bento boxes come in many shapes and sizes. I am one for more standard boxes, so I don't have all the cute novelty ones. It would be fun, I just don't. Here are the bento boxes I have...

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These are some of my favorites.

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These are pretty fun, too. =D

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This was one of my first bento boxes and the only one I've ever had break. The lid has a crack in it. I should probably get rid of it, but I haven't.

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Cherry pink!

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I actually have a couple of these, one in yellow and one in pink.

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These are the oddest shaped bento boxes I have. Not all that odd, but I probably use these the least, since they are the least standard I have. I like standard. =D And here's how I store my bento boxes...

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Bento Storage - Tools of the Trade

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When we built our house, I knew that I was going to want to have a cabinet for bento storage. I have lots of bento supplies that I use regularly, so it just made sense that they have their own dedicated home. It's one of the nice things about designing your own house. =D This is my bento cupboard.

I have 3 clear bins of bento boxes, one of cookie cutters, one of silicone cups, one of smaller containers, and 3 divided containers for smaller pieces. And, of course, I have them labeled because I *heart* my label maker!

Tools of the Trade: Cutters...

In my bento supply cabinet, I have 2 kinds of cutters... Sandwich cutters and Cookie cutters.

Sandwich cutters are easy to find, for the most part. I have picked up these ones from Walmart, Target, and Albertsons. They're at pretty much every grocery store:

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The downside to these is that sometimes they don't fit well into the long, skinny bento boxes. The hearts and butterfly do okay, but the other two require a more square container.

I also have this sandwich cutter, which I like better for bentos. I have seen other variations on this idea, but none that have been easy for me to come by, so this is what I have. =D

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It cuts 3 animal faces and a heart at the same time. I would like to get more of these. I don't often use sandwiches in my bentos, though, so I don't know if it would be worth the investment. 

As for cookie cutters, I have some bento-specific cookie cutters that I bought at Daiso. They're really nothing special, though. 

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Maybe my FAVORITE cookie cutters right now are the new cutters I got. They're spring loaded pie crust cutters from Norpro and I originally thought I could use them for sandwiches. I've found, though, that they work GREAT for stacks of sliced cheese!

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I also have picked up cutters designed for fondant in the Wilton cake decorating section. Honestly, I rarely use these, but I thought they were cute!

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Pretty much any small cookie cutter will work for bentos, as long as it doesn't have any teeny tiny intricate spots for food to get stuck and break off. Here's more of my collection...

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Metal cutters are perhaps the nicest, because they cut easily through meat and vegetables. 

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I store my bento supplies in clear shoebox size containers in the bento cabinet. Some of my smaller cookie cutter sets I group together in small containers to keep the pieces together. Everything else gets tossed in randomly.

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