18 Inspiring Bento Box Lunch Photos

When I pack my next day's lunch at 11 p.m. the night before, the last thing I consider is what it looks like. Sandwiches get shoved in plastic bags, and leftovers are unceremoniously crammed into old Tupperware. Bento boxes, on the other hand, offer beauty and creativity as well as nutrition. We turned to the marvelous bento designs of Flickr user gamene to inspire our next yummy lunch creations! - Sara Yoo, YumSugar

That cute ladybug crawling through a rice and veggie garden is actually a Japanese pickled plum decorated with toasted nori.

Roasted veggies are a healthy counterpart to a whole-wheat sandwich decorated with lovely beet "flowers."

Hot dog fried rice hosts pretty purple potato blooms and a bounty of fruits and vegetables.

An artfully made bento features a woman in a traditional kimono made of cheese!

Falafel and corn and carrot salads are vibrant counterparts to fruits and veggies.

Vegetarian buffalo wings spice up a colorful bento alongside purple and yellow cauliflower and tiny multihued tomatoes.

Banh mi in a basket turns to fruit, veggies, and a decorated Babybel cheese for support.

Radish slivers moonlight as octopus slices beside miso salmon and yellow wax bean "coral" in this trompe l'oeil bento.

Thai leftovers make for a great lunch, especially when given a happy face!

Don't forget the soup! Leftover Korean soft tofu stew fits nicely in one compartment of this pretty bento.

Soy nugget chicks peek out from the vegetable garden.

A more traditional bento of burdock and lotus roots gets its stripes from Japanese pickles and sprinkled seasonings.

Roasted halibut and zucchini risotto are a Western take on a traditional Far East bento!

A mini portobello mushroom slider nestles among cherry tomatoes and olive skewers.

A corn "dog" sniffs his surroundings for nearby vegetarian chili.

A few dumplings and a rainbow of fruits and vegetables take flight in this bento box.

Veggies and fruit frame simple little sandwiches.

Spring rolls cozy up to a wheat berry salad in a filling boxed lunch.

Check out more treats from YumSugar:

Pretty But Functional Bento Boxes For Grown-Ups

10 Easy Lunches to Bring to Work

5 Meals That Only Require 5 Ingredients (or Less!)