Somen: mother and son bentos

An outing to the children's museum called for bentos for me and my

An outing to the children’s museum called for bentos for me and my toddler. Hot weather means cold noodles! I curled the somen into bite-sized nests before packing, making them very easy to grab and dip into the sauce. I poured the somen tsuyu into the upper left container in my box, added the green onions and karashi, and dipped the noodles into that. Very convenient to eat!

• cold somen noodles curled into bite-sized nests, with kizami nori and karashi (hot mustard)
• somen tsuyu (bottled dipping sauce for speed)
• green onions for the dipping sauce
• pan-fried shrimp and chive dumplings
• cherry tomatoes
• homemade Cajun creamed spinach (my son’s favorite)
• snack bento of blueberries and cherries

READ MORE:

• Need for speed: A mommy’s lunch manifesto
• Food safety for packed lunches
• How to pack a bento lunch and use “gap fillers”
• Choosing the right size bento box
• Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews