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Bento boxes are not just for kids or adults. No way, your baby deserves to have his or her own unique culinary experience wherever you take them.

A fall park picnic calls for a baby bento filled with pumpkin purée mixed with multigrain cereal and pear sticks.

A date night out that is crashed by a tiny third wheel calls for a baby bento filled with banana, orange & pineapple purée, steamed green beans with cumin and apple & blackberry purée for dessert.

A full day at daycare is fun with a baby bento filled with fresh peach chunks, butternut squash purée and plain Greek yogurt.

Bentos are a great way to pack a full and colorful meal for baby, without carrying around a plethora of bottles, pouches and containers. I tried so many different bento containers when my girls were in their purée days, and this one from Momo is my all-time favorite! It’s not fancy by any means, but it has 3 sections that each have their own lids which makes it completely leak proof! High-five for that! Also, each section can be detached from each other so you can take 1 section or the entire bento with you.

Now that we got our baby bento picked out, I want to go into what my thought process is for packing bentos – don’t worry, I am also a sleep deprived mom, so this isn’t going to be too long.

While packing a bento for any age (baby, toddler, kid, myself), my number #1 goal is to always pack it full of every color of the rainbow! Now, it’s probably not realistic that you are going to get every color of the rainbow in every meal, but the goal is to pack it with as much color as possible. The more color you pack, the more nutrients you serve. As you are packing, add in only the amount of purées and finger foods you think your little one will eat for that meal and save the rest of the purées in the fridge for a later time. Seal bento and off you go!

It really is as easy as that.

Now, let’s start packing (and eating)!

To Make: In the large section, mix together mango purée and a pinch of nutmeg. In one of the top smaller sections add in some chopped blueberries and in the other small section add in some pear, kale and orange purée.

Finger food substitution: If your baby is not at the finger foods stage yet, feel free to sub in some apple & blackberry purée or a Beech-Nut Pouch in banana, pear, & sweet potato instead of the chopped blueberries.

To Make: In the large section, place a handful of chopped ripe plums (you can chop into small chunks or sticks, whichever your baby prefers). In one of the top smaller sections add in some peas, green beans & asparagus purée and in the other small section add in some pear purée. For the purées, I find that as healthy as a three green veggie purée is, sometimes it can overwhelm baby’s taste buds. If you find that happens to your baby, try mixing in a little pear purée for a sweeter taste.

Finger food substitution: If your baby is not at the finger foods stage yet, feel free to sub in some of the Beech-Nut Pouch in pear, banana, & raspberries.

To Make: In the large section, place a handful of steamed green beans (either left whole or chopped depending on what your baby prefers). In one of the top smaller sections add in some banana, orange & pineapple purée and in the other small section add in some apple & blackberries purée.

Finger Food Substitution: If you baby is not at the finger foods stage yet, feel free to sub in some green beans purée instead of the green beans.

To Make: In the large section, spoon in a large serving of the sweet potato purée. In one of the top smaller sections add in some chopped avocado (if storing for longer than 4 hours, squeeze on a little lemon or lime juice on the chunk so they can remain fresh and green in color) and in the other small section add in some guava, pear & strawberries purée.

Finger Food Substitution: If your baby is not at the finger foods stage yet, feel free to smash the avocado with a fork into a chunky purée or sub in some pineapple, pear, & avocado purée instead of the avocado chunks.

To Make: In the large section, add some chopped chunks or sticks of a ripe pear. In one of the top smaller sections add in some pumpkin purée and in the other small section add in 3 tablespoons (or you baby’s normal cereal portion) and a big pinch of cinnamon. When ready to serve, add 1/4 cup warm water to cereal and mix until smooth.

Finger Food Substitution: If your baby is not at the finger foods stage yet, feel free to sub in the pear purée instead of the pear sticks.

To Make: In the large section, add in a serving of apple & blackberries purée along with an equal amount of plain full-fat Greek yogurt. In one of the top smaller sections add in some butternut squash purée and in the other section add in some chopped ripe peach (peel on or off depending on preference).

Finger Food Substitution: If your baby is not at the finger foods stage yet, feel free to sub in some mango purée instead of the peach chunks.