“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci
Ok! Are you ready to move ahead in your ‘bento-ing”? Excellent! Today we are adding the sandwich press to your growing repertoire. The sandwich press is a very simple tool that makes your child’s lunch the envy of the class. For real. I have had reports from my littlest son that his teacher makes photographs of his sandwiches!
There are many types of presses out there, but I’m going to start you off with one of our favourites for making little tiny sandwiches out of one big one…
It is very simple to use, and it gives you more than one choice of shape, which is more fun for your money! 
You simply cut equal “fronts” and “backs” of your sandwich with the open cookie cutter style piece. Then you “stamp” the “fronts” with the other piece of the cutter, leaving an impression in the bread…
Like this…
Then you can fill your sandwiches with whatever you choose. If you are using meats or cheeses, you can also cut them with the cookie cutter piece to make the meat and cheese match the bread. In today’s bento, I simple spread cream cheese and jam on the backs and laid the fronts on top. (Our schools are nut-free, so there is no peanut butter allowed.)
*I save the bread crusts in tins for making bread crumbs or croutons, or I feed them to our backyard hens. I save the cheese, veggie, and meat bits in containers in my fridge for grilled cheese sandwiches, scrambled eggs, or frittatas. There should be minimal waste in your pursuit of cute food.
This particular sandwich press can be found here.
Now that you know how to use the cutter and press, you can easily put together this week’s bento…
I used the little veggie cutters from last week’s post to cut the carrots and cucumbers. A helpful hint for your veggie and cheese cutting…
I’d like you to just sit back and enjoy these next three images, as 3yr old Little R experiences his very first bento lunch. This one we just made, in fact…
I’d say that boy’s happy expression is worth every extra bit of care I put into making his lunch that day. And he ate every last bite. With a smile.
Thanks for stopping by!
Arlee, Small Potatoes
