I mentioned sometime back how I thought obento or bento box lunches looked really interesting. There is an article this week on The Dollar Stretcher about it.

Pack a School Lunch with Punch 

Does anyone pack lunches with flair frugally? Do you find your children are more likely to eat foods that appeal to them visually?

I have tried, but usually don't have the time to do it up so that it looks cute. I did buy a bunch of small tupperware containers from the Korean market to use in lunches, and that's been really successful, but I separate each item so that they don't mush together. When I tried to put an assortment of foods in a larger flat container, they were mushed together by lunch, even if I tried to separate them, which my girls didn't like. There are techniques for keeping things separate, but I just use the small containers, which also greatly cuts down on plastic bag and wrap use.

One recipe I have learned from reading about bento is "onigiri" or rice balls. Those are fantastic for lunches or picnics. Here is a good description on how to make them:

http://www.cookingcute.com/onigiri_with_filling.htm

You don't have to wrap them in nori if you don't like it. I usually make ham/mayo filling (not too much mayo, or they fall apart) and ones with "sprinkles" - Japanese seasonings I got at the Korean market.

There are a couple of blogs out there that I can't think of specifically at the moment that also do bento with only Western foods or a mix of international foods. Really it is a healthy way to make lunch if you follow the Japanese proportions: http://www.howtodothings.com/food-drink/how-to-make-bento and http://justbento.com/handbook/downloads/weekly-bento-planner

I find the kids here like food there size ....  and I make yummy food too 

they like alot of finger food .

Iguana:

but usually don't have the time to do it up so that it looks cute

I have admired some photos and those who do this but I too lack the time. I also am not packing lunch for my children so it would be for food eaten at home if I ever did this.

 I've tried the cute lunches with my son but he likes things such as sardines and smoked oysters and is quite happy with a bologna sandwich everyday.

cyn

 I came across this information again. Does anyone do bento box lunches?

 Sort of.  My son has a Laptop Lunchbox that is like a bento box.  He's in 7th grade and was eating school lunch but I wasn't happy about the quality of the food he had to choose from so I got him a Laptop Lunchbox because it looked a little bit "cooler" than the standard lunchbox he was used to.  I like it because we don't waste plastic baggies or plastic silverware because there are individual compartments in the lunchbox and it came with silverware.  I usually make him some kind of salad for the week, like a broccoli bacon salad, or this week I made fried rice with lots of veggies.  I also made some rice balls, which he helped with.  I would like for my younger son to take one of these lunchboxes to school too, but he has no interest in them.  He brings a regular lunchbox instead.  The individual containers have a little design on the two that have lids, showing which one is for fruit and which is for vegetable so that helps remind him that he needs to pack a fruit and a vegetable.  The lunchbox also came with a sleeve that insulates it.  I'm really happy with it and he seems to be too.

Stacycue:

 Sort of. 

I remain in awe of how they look but I lack the time and energy for it. It seems a bit much for me to do all that for the kids to take into the dining room to eat anyway, lol.

 I don't have time for the cutsey picturesque bentos either, but people in Japan don't usually take those kind either.  I go to a website called Just Bento, and this person is more like me in that he makes bentos that are functional and tasty, but not character style.  He gives ideas of what to fill the bento with.  My son wants another bento for Christmas, so I'll be getting him that.

 Is this the site?

Just Bento