All-American Bento

(See Note on Bento below)

This All-American bento is super fast and a real favorite with my kids. The sandwich roll is filled with Deviled Egg Salad and wrapped with waxed paper. The other munchies are cereal mix, grape tomatoes, baby carrots and celery sticks, waxed wrapped cheese and red & green grapes.

This is like deviled eggs in a sandwich -- traditional egg salad with a mustard kick.

Deviled Egg Salad:

Hands-On Time: 10 minutes
Ready In: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

4 large eggs - hard boiled
4 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly snipped dill - optional

1. Remove yolks from eggs and set aside. Chop egg whites finely.
2. Combine yolks, mayo, mustard, paprika and dill. Mash with a fork until smooth.
3. Fold egg whites back into yolks and spread on bread or flour tortillas to make 4 sandwiches.

A Note on Bento: Bento is, very simply put, a Japanese lunchbox that's making waves across the U.S.. Traditionally made with rice, meat, poultry or fish and pickled or other cooked vegetables, bento can be as intricate or simple as you'd like. The bento I send always come back empty and the kids prefer them to the usual bagged lunch.
Bento boxes can be as simple or elaborate as the food they hold, from laquered boxes with built-in dividers to reuseable plastic containers available just about everywhere lately. It's important to keep moist foods separate from dry foods to decrease the risk of spoilage. Silicone muffin liners are ideal for keeping foods separate, but anything from dry lettuce leaves to waxed paper works as well.
While leftovers are perfect, any food that tastes as good chilled as it does hot will do. To keep foods cold until lunch time, small condiment packets like kethcup, mustard, mayo or relish, when frozen, are the perfect size ice-pack whether meant to be consumed or not.
Fill-ins help food keep its shape and stay put; some ideas for fill-ins are grape tomatoes, grapes, baby carrots, individually wrapped cheeses and dried fruit. Experiment with your own kids' favorites and have fun with it, your kids will have the most envied lunches at school.