Looking back at one year of bento boxes with Nisha.

Nisha lives in Greater Noida, a suburban city in Northern India. She has been packing lunches for her 7yr old son since he started preschool. Nisha discovered the concept of compartmentalized bento-boxes 1 year ago and joined Teuko at that time as she was looking for lunchbox inspiration.

It all started with food preferences

My son had his preference for pureed or very soft food when he was feeding himself. For initial 3 years of his school I used to pack his choice of food, mostly soft finger food then. But as his school time increased till 2pm, I realized that he was missing on lot of food components and that he should be eating a lot more from morning till this time.
So, about a year back, I started exploring and came across the concept of bento-box. Immediately we ordered one and have never looked back again! Now I can include different food components in his lunch as well as present them in an appealing manner. My son really appreciates and respects all the effort that I put in preparing his lunchbox. So, he tries to finish it most of the time.

I am happy to say that my son has tried and loved so many new food items over the last year.

Tell us about your lunchbox routine.

I don’t believe in the concept of exclusive kid’s food. Whatever is packed in his lunchbox, we, grownups, also have the same meal for breakfast. I pack home-cooked food. No packaged food, except on Thursdays, when he has party day in school.
I mostly plan something that should not take more than 15 minutes to cook in the morning and all prep is done the night before.

I involve my son in food prep. This way he is also invested in the packing effort which motivates him to finish his lunch

I give him 2 options to choose from for next day’s lunch. I also involve him in food preparation which motivates him to finish his lunch. Initially I used to execute my own ideas but there’s only so much one can innovate on daily basis. So now I take inspiration from other Instagram accounts. Since I came across Teuko, it’s also at the top of my go-to-list for inspiration and ideas.

How is Teuko useful to you?

I came across Teuko through my Instagram account while managing and recording all the old lunch boxes. Best thing is I can track various food components like carbohydrate protein etc and can compensate for them by planning lunch around specific food groups. Looking at the lunches packed by other parents surely motivates me on one of those dull days!

What is your best lunchbox hack?

Bread slice with any jam or jelly spread, a banana, an egg and a handful of dryfruits have almost always pulled me through one of those days when I don’t want to give any thought to lunch packing, and this without any mommy-guilt associated with readymade packaged food items.

I also tend to pack lunch according to certain theme or story now and then. That keeps the neurons sparking for both me and my son. His lunch is a hit with his teachers and classmates, so that also motivates and keeps us going.