File:Homemade bento.jpg

VERY SIMPLE TO MAKE! (And proof bento's probably cheaper than your school/ office cafeteria lunches :P)

I basically cooked one of those packages of instant udon noodles , which cost about a $1.40 in most places :) Instead of leaving that powdered soup in the noodles, I concentrated it a little more and stuck it in a sauce bottle. I then sprinkled some flying fish roe on top.

More on Flying Fish Roe I got about half a cup of the stuff for $3 at the Asian supermarket and froze it immediately (I mean, apart from sushi and onigiri why waste it all in one go?). It seems to freeze very well; for this bento all I did was chip off a piece off and let it defrost.

Broccoli was frozen and is only about $1 a bag, if you buy the store brands :)

The cuttlefish balls I had bought frozen from the Asian supermarket-- only $1.30 for 10 or so. I fried the cuttlefish balls with the broccoli and added a dash of teriyaki sauce.

The mushrooms looked very odd, but I guess that's what I get for using canned ($1.19)...

I'm not too happy with the mini toasts, I just couldn't think of anything else to stick in the middle-- any suggestions would be VERY WELCOME :)

Kamoboko costs about $3.79, but you can always freeze half of it-- it's not like you'd use it all in one go, apart from the fact I usually end up making bento for myself and two others >_>

As for Peach Bunny's Sister , I used the apple rabbit technique as demonstrated by Biggie at lunchinabox.com, only I simply peeled off the peach skin instead of cutting it off, with the peach's delicate texture.