With children going back to school or just entering Standard One in the new school year, moms may be stumped as to what to pack for their children’s school lunches.

Children like finger foods, colourful meals and cute presentations to entice them to eat and mums want to ensure that the lunches are eaten so that their children are provided with the nutrients and energy to stay alert and attentive during school hours.

Any plastic container would serve the purpose of containing the food but a bento box with its compartments help to neatly separate the fruits, vegetables, and proteins, making the meal so much more visually appealing. The compartmentalized design also allows for portion control and creative food presentation, thereby promoting healthy eating.

Here are some tips if you’re new to packing bento boxes

1. Children love visually appealing food so use your creativity to make the meals colourful and “fun”. Always include fruits such as grapes, strawberries, blueberries, papayas and apples or oranges as well as vegetables such as cucumbers, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and carrots. You can cut them into fun shapes to decorate the meal.

2. Practice using the Ministry of Health’s Healthy Plate Concept of Suku-Suku-Separuh[1] or quarter-quarter-half to gauge how much of which food group to put into the lunch box. Generally speaking, divide a plate into three parts: two quarters and a half. A quarter of the plate should be filled with carbohydrates, another quarter filled with protein and the half filled with fruits and vegetables. Use the same concept to fill the lunchbox.

3. To save on time, you might want to get two bento boxes. This is so that you can prepare one box while the other one is being used. You are then not pressed to wash and dry the one lunchbox immediately when they get home.

4. Bite-size food is always better than large pieces. For sandwiches, cut them into triangles or rectangles or form into rolls and slice. For rice, form into balls or use cookies cutters to create cute shapes.

5. Include cutlery and wet wipes as children may forget to wash their hands before they eat.

Simple Recipes to Pack in a Bento Box

To save time, prepare as much as you can beforehand so that you don’t have to rush in the morning. Rice or pasta can be cooked the night before. Similarly, fruits can be washed, peeled and cut the night before. When preparing apples, the sliced pieces should be dipped in salt water or lemon juice to prevent browning.

To ensure your kids will eat their lunch, involve them in the meal planning. Ask them what they would like to eat and incorporate their preferences into their bento box. Also include variety so that they are not stuck with eating egg sandwiches every day. Here are eight recipes that you can mix and match as you go along.

1. Tri Mix Rice Balls

Rice balls are easy to make. You can use plain white rice cooked the night before or Mewah brand’s Tri Mix Rice which is a mix of brown, black and red rice. Tri Mix Rice is lower in Glycemic Index (GI) and higher in antioxidants and has a texture that is different than polished white rice. Apart from that, the rice, with its blend of different colours, is enticing and may whet the appetite more. You can use anything for the filling. Minced meat, sliced sausages, peas, salmon or anything you have in your fridge that can be cut into fine strips or small cubes. In a bowl, put in about half a cup of rice, mix in your choice of filling and scoop out a spoonful onto a piece of cling wrap placed in your palm. Roll the rice in your hand into a ball. The cling wrap will help the rice hold its shape. You can make the ball as large or as small as you like. Remove the cling wrap and place the rice balls into the bento box. Rice balls intrigue children and are fun to eat!

2: Banana Egg Oats Pancake

In a bowl, whip two eggs, pour in two mashed bananas, and half a cup of steel-cut or instant oats. Mix the ingredients well and pour the batter into a non-stick pan. Fry over medium heat. Flip the banana-oat omelette over and fry the other side until done. Remove from pan and cut the omelette into triangles or 2cm strips for easy finger eating. Don’t forget to include a small container of honey for the dipping.

3: Avocado Pesto

This is a rich and nutrient-laden creamy sauce that can be prepared earlier and is suitable for even a toddler. The pesto can be used as sauce for pasta or a spread for wraps and sandwiches. In a blender, put in one avocado (skinned and de-seeded of course), fresh baby spinach, fresh basil, parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, a handful of toasted nuts such as pine nuts, walnuts, cashews or even sunflower seeds and blend until a smooth, creamy consistency is reached. If the blender is struggling, you can add in some water. This pesto can be covered and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days or you can freeze it in the ice-cube maker where it stores for up to three months.

4: Avocado Pesto Pasta

Kids love pasta. Pasta is their comfort food. You can use bow-tie pasta, corkscrew pasta or elbow or even alphabet macaroni just to delight your child. Bring out your Avocado Pesto and combine the sauce with the pasta for a quick but great main dish in the bento box. Garnish with shredded parmesan cheese, nuts and coriander.

5: Shredded Chicken Wrap

Open out a piece of wrap and spread avocado pesto or mayonnaise on to it. To ramp up the taste, use flavoured mayonnaise. Kewpie Mayonnaise, for example, has Sandwich Spread, Black Pepper, Cheese and Toasted Sesame mayonnaise in its range. Choose the mayonnaise flavour that your child likes the most. Layer a piece of lettuce on to the wrap and shred or strip a piece of roasted chicken breast onto the centre. You can also add finely sliced carrots. Roll up the wrap like a popiah, cut it in half so that it fits into the bento box and there you have it ─ the perfect lunch for your little one!

6: Tuna and Potato Patty Burger

You can use canned tuna for this recipe. Boil and mash the potatoes the night before. In the morning, add tuna, a chopped red onion, two tablespoons of cornflour, some lime juice, an egg and a dash of salt and pepper to the mashed potato. Mix well, pat into patties and lightly fry both sides until they turn a golden brown. Then place them between a burger bun on a bed of lettuce and place the burger into the bento box. You can also present this dish without the burger bun; in which case it becomes tuna bergedil. If you like, you can roll them into balls for easy eating.

7: Sandwich Sushi Roll

Use ordinary sandwich bread for this. Cut off the crust and flatten each piece of bread with a rolling pin. Slather a generous amount of flavoured mayonnaise onto the bread then add a piece of cheese and thinly-sliced carrots or cucumber and roll up tightly. If you have nori sheets (seaweed sheets for sushi) you can roll them up the bread. However, this is optional. Cut the rolls width-wise and clearly see the defined layers to the roll. Arrange the “sushi” in the bento box and it is done.

8: French Toast Bento Box

In a blender, beat 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder until smooth. If your child doesn’t like cinnamon, you can omit it. Pour the batter into a bowl and dip in bread slices, dredging them well first before placing them in a hot frying pan. Fry lightly until the bottom of the bread turns golden brown. Flip the bread and fry the other side as well. When done, remove from pan, cut the bread into half, arrange in the bento box and its ready to go. Don’t forget to include a small container of honey for the dipping.

Apart from the above recipes, you can also pack Malaysia’s most beloved meals such as fried rice, fried meehoon, fried mee, Kuey Teow, Loh See Fun and other local favourites. Just remember to cook the noodles “dry” as soups will most certainly spill. You can also add a hard-boiled egg as a side dish or include an omelette to increase the protein content.

Sandwiches are about the easiest lunches to pack. You can make egg sandwiches, cheese sandwiches or even peanut butter sandwiches if you’re short on time. If you have extra time on your hands, you can make them roast chicken, roast beef, tuna or sardine sandwiches. The good thing about sandwiches is that they can be prepared the night before. To make sure they remain fresh the next morning, ensure they are tightly wrapped in cling wrap or plastic and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For best results, separate any wet ingredients like tomatoes or cucumbers from the bread to prevent soggy sandwiches.

Morinaga Chil-kid

Sometimes children will not finish their lunches no matter how creatively you may have packed them or they may not eat the vegetables and fruits or may have used their pocket money to buy junk food instead.

To ensure that your kids get their Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) daily so that they have the protein and energy to stay alert and attentive in school, give them Morinaga Chil-kid. When combined with complementary foods in a daily diet, two servings of the milk per day will help children meet their daily RNI[2] and stay nourished.

Morinaga Chil-kid is a nutrient-dense formula that is packed with 45 essential nutrients necessary for the optimal growth and development of Asian children aged one to seven. Formulated in Japan with a balanced ratio of protein, fat and energy, the nutrients include brain-centric ones such as DHA+ARA[3], Inositol[4] as well as other Long Chain Polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs). It also contains all the vitamins from Vitamin A to Vitamin K1 as well as the B vitamins, including Folic Acid. Some of the minerals include Calcium, Iron, Iodine and Zinc. Chil-kid also has Nucleotides and Galacto-oligosaccharides and is formulated with zero Sucrose.

For more information on childhood nutrition, read this article on how diet impacts a child’s learning ability[5].

[1]MBBCh, K. Z. (2021, May 3). Suku suku separuh: panduan lengkap untuk Anda mula hari ini. Sihatologi. https://sihatologi.com/ms/suku-suku-separuh/
[2]Product - Morinaga Milk Formula | Morinaga Malaysia. (n.d.). Morinaga Malaysia. https://morinagamilk.com.my/product.php
[3]Product - Morinaga Milk Formula | Morinaga Malaysia. (n.d.). Morinaga Malaysia. https://morinagamilk.com.my/product.php
[4]Product - Morinaga Milk Formula | Morinaga Malaysia. (n.d.). Morinaga Malaysia. https://morinagamilk.com.my/product.php

[5]Food Matters: How diet and nutrition impact a child’s learning ability | Tips and Guides | Morinaga Malaysia. (n.d.). Morinaga Malaysia. https://morinagamilk.com.my/detail-tip-guide.php?article=T2411250102340344