Somen: mother and son bentos

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