Quirk Perks: Yum Yum Bento Box

Posted by Julie Leung

Yum Yum Bento Box by Crystal Watanabe and Maki Ogawa: Only $3.99!

Oh, boy-obento! These cute, yummy, healthy lunches are all the rage in Japan, where mothers think of them as an expression of love for their children. Yum-Yum Bento Box is one of the first cookbooks in English devoted to these healthy and adorable meals–they’re fresh, they’re tasty, and they’re almost too cute to eat!

Each step-by-step recipe in Yum-Yum Bento Box is simple and adaptable. Readers will learn how to form their favorite foods into a variety of shapes-from zebras, panda bears, and monkeys to kitties, piggies, and puppy dogs. Chapters include instructions for classic bento boxes and character-driven bentos (called Kyaraben), plus shopping advice, general tips and tricks, and much more. Stop wasting money on prepackaged lunches-and start making beautiful, healthy bentos!

CRYSTAL WATANABE makes bento boxes for her two preschool-aged children; her website “Adventures in Bento Making” is a popular forum for bento makers worldwide. MAKI OGAWA is a mother whose bentos have been featured in many Asian magazines. She lives in Japan.

Julie Leung

Julie Leung is the social media and marketing manager at Quirk Books—tweeting up storms and surfing blog waves. She is also the author of a forthcoming trilogy, Mice of the Round Table (out October 4th), and Mother of FictionToFashion.com. You can follow her at @jleungbooks or simply at @QuirkBooks, where she drops pithy word nuggets on the daily.