Photo: tiffanywashko, Flickr

Bento lunchboxes aren't scary. Really. A bento lunch can replace that sandwich-in-a-baggie-with-chips carbo blast with a portion-right, colorful array of nutritious foods. No baggies or bags to toss, and fancy rice balls are not required. Read on to take the mystery out of bento and get your kids beaming at lunchtime.

Picky Eaters Love Food Picks. Stop beating yourself up, you probably didn't create a picky eater -- your child may have been finicky right from the womb. A bento lunch can provide just what a picky eater likes, and accoutrements like food picks encourage a choosey kid to eat -- the right stuff. Try stacking grapes and banana slices, cheese and apples, edamame and carrot circles. Have fun with it.

Bento Tools. On-line sources such as O'Bento Lunch 4 Kidz and Bento Crazy have all sorts of fun trinkets for sale, including this Sanrio Cinnamoroll egg mold. Place a warm, peeled hard-boiled egg into the mold, snap it shut, pop in the fridge and all the cafeteria kids will come running to check out this funky shaped egg. Kids love squirting ranch on their carrots or vinaigrette on a small bento salad with these Puppy Smile sauce bottles. Food-touching-food freakouts can be prevented with bento bins or divider cups.

Slice Art. Simply slicing a fruit or veggie differently for bento placement will pique your child's interest. Slice an angled cucumber tower, and who said apples need to be in wedges? Plastic cutters make it easy for Martha Stewarts and non-Marthas alike.

Go Bento Shopping. Involve your children in picking out foods they'd like to see in their bento. They're more likely to eat it if they own a few of the decisions. Bento recipes are all over the internet or you can go the bento recipe book route.

Use Leftovers. It's easy and economical to double a dinner recipe and plan on leftovers for family bento lunches. If your family loves dinner, they'll likely enjoy it for lunch the next day.

Leave those processed Lunchables behind. Going bento fresh for the whole family is an investment in you and your child's nutrition and health.

Fit Family Assignment: Try packing a bento-style lunch this week for you and/or your young ones. Just use the Tupperware you already have and mix it up a bit. A slice of leftover lasagna with cubed watermelon, a mini-salad with dressing and half an apple cut to resemble a pile of french fries. Surprise 'em. And if you want to jump into the bento world, consider this cool Laptop Lunchbox. Get the carrying case, it's worth it.