ワーママの園児時短弁当　Working mom’s lunchbox duties

English version of this post is available below.

こんにちは、3児ワーママのマミントンです 。 今日は幼児園・小学校の始業式でした。緊急事態宣言から一夜明けどうなることかと複雑な思いでしたが、学校は継続とのこと。小学校初日は給食無しでお昼に帰宅ですが、認可外保育施設では終業時間まで預かってくれます。ありがたいけど、年始初のお弁当を作らねば。

お弁当箱を開いたときに子ども達が笑顔になるようなお弁当。栄養バランスの良いお弁当。でも仕事があるので、で朝から手の込んだ調理は体力的も気力的にもできません。妥協が苦手な私が適度に手抜きしながら作るお弁当術は、３人目になっても未だ試行錯誤中です（笑）。本日持たせたお弁当はこちら↓

ピンク色の二段弁当+別皿果物は６歳次女、青色の一段弁当は３歳末っ子のものです。本日の時短技は以下のとおり：

①洗うか切る、もしくは何も下準備無しに入れられるおかず３種：ちくわ、キュウリ、ミニトマト、キャンディチーズ

②オイシックスのお弁当コース定期便より、ヒジキ入り肉団子と小松菜のお浸しをレンチン

③昨日の夕飯の残りの焼きそば少々

④白米も昨日多めに炊いたものをレンチン（子２にはふりかけ、子３には梅干し）

⑤果物３種：いちご、ぶどう、みかん

去年以来だったのですこし手際は悪かったものの、なんとか完成しました。美味しく食べてね♡

Today was the first day of school. Anxiety continues as another state of emergency was declared in Tokyo yesterday due to a dramatic increase in cases over the new years. The government’s expectation is that schools will remain open for the time and the focus is more on restricting dine-outs in the evenings as well as to increase capabilities to work from home. Hence, my children all went to school today with excitement while daddy and mommy hear pray that everyone stay healthy in each of their environments. And children going to school means that mommy needs to pack a lunch for 2 of the 3 children.

I want to make a lunch box (also known as “bento” in Japan) that makes the children smile when they first open the lid. I want the lunch box to be nutritious. But of course, I have to work during the day and I don’t have the physical or mental energy to make a fancy lunch box in the morning. Yet, I have never been good at settling for less, so although I am already at my 3rd child, my strategy for making an effortless nice lunch box is still work in progress (LOL). A picture of the lunch boxes I prepared is pasted above.

The pink + white fruit case is for Kiddy 2 (my 2nd daughter) and the blue is for Kiddy 3 (my son). Below are the ingredients that made the lunch box preparation not too stressful.

①Ingredients that I can stick into the box by just washing, cutting, or no preparation at all: fish cake, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and candy shaped cheese

②Frozen lunch box ingredients I purchase from Oisix

③Left over fried noodles from last night

④White rice that I made a little extra for last night

⑤Fruits: strawberries, grapes and tangerines

It is the first time of the year so I took a little longer than I hoped to arrange the box itself, but it was not bad a Monday. Happy lunch time children♡