ADVERTISEMENT

Kids are picky eaters. No doubt about it. From eating solely sweets, to refusing to eat anything that has touched on the plate, to hating specific ingredients so much that they go into a full-blown tantrum with no return. So, getting your kid to love the food you make is one of the biggest parenting challenges not meant to be tackled by everyone.

But one Japanese mom of three is taking her cooking skills to a whole new level. Etoni Mama is treating her children of 12, 10, and 8 years old to intricate, colorful, and mouth-watering meals that get your stomach rumbling just by looking at them.

Incredibly, the mom from Tokyo has no prior training in food art, but she is definitely a master of kyaraben. A form of character bento, kyaraben is an elaborate style of arranged bento that features fun food assembled in such a way that they look like real people and movie characters. Let’s take a look at Etoni Mama’s food masterpieces down below that work wonders for any type of food pickiness for kids and adults alike.

More info: Instagram

#1

Food Art

etn.co_mam Report

Jaded Queen
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It simultaneously looks like infants and goofy grandpa

Angie Larson
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So cute...and a real genius !!!!

Loki’s Lil Butter Knife
Community Member
5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aww, she made the little "bao baby" from cute short film BAO.

View more comments
RELATED:
    #2

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    F. H.
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Cold fried eggs... yum?

    Hilary Mol
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I love over easy eggs, but I'd feel like a murderer or torturer if I punctured Pooh's head or belly! Cute, and then traumatic.

    Kate Johnson
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For a second, I thought she'd made the little bees, too! (Of course, I wouldn't bee [ha!] *too* surprised if she did; she's obviously talented!

    View more comments
    #3

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Lyra Fortune
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Phttt, i didnt need to sleep tonight anyway 😂

    NanZ
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So creative and talented!!

    Janelle Collard
    Community Member
    Premium
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Mike Wazowski! Mike Wazowski!" - Boo from "Monsters, Inc."

    Rory Ell
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    always watching wasouski always watching

    Bored Panda reached out to the creator of this beautiful food art and the busy mom of three elementary school children from Tokyo to find out more about her work.

    Etoni Mama said that she first started making fun dishes in order to make it more appetizing to her kids. “I first got an idea to create a face out of ingredients in order to make it fun for my picky second daughter,” the woman said.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    She also said that even though her children are really strict when it comes to evaluating her creations, she still “enjoys it very much.”

    #5

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Dragonfruit'nrollerskates
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You murdered baby baymaxes for food?!?! how DARE you?!!?!

    Valquerys
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hello, I am Baymax. Your personal food companion. : )

    Perfumista Perfumista
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Are they going to tell nutrient breakdown before being eaten?

    Load More Replies...
    Jaded Queen
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh baymax. If i had an actual baymax. I would cuddle him never tell him i am satisfied with my care. Me thinks he is adorable

    Caffeinated Hedgehog
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    On a scale of 1 top 10, how would you rate my taste?

    Miss Cris
    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What are them? Boiled eggs in a stick?

    Nicole Tomme
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It is dango, a boiled rice dumpling much like mochi that you eat on a stick. It is a traditional Japanese dessert. It is commonly eaten with anko (sweet red soybean paste) or kinako (roasted soybean flour). It can also be savory when grilled and topped with soy sauce. Hanami dango is a pastel pink, white and green version eaten on Girl's Day or during cherry blossom season.

    Load More Replies...
    View more comments
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #6

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Lance d'Boyle
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'll be wontonning some of these for lunch! (thank you, thank you {bow left, bow right})

    Etoni Mama added that: “When I look at the ingredients, I can imagine many characters. But since it’s the food for my daughters, it is absolutely necessary for it to be delicious.”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The woman said she doesn’t have as much spare time as she’d like, because “I work as a nursery teacher,” but it takes her about one hour to finish one intricate dish. She also said it makes her super happy to receive so much positive feedback from people of all ages and all corners of the world.

    #7

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Monty Is Fiennes
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Whoa this lady has got some serious time on her hands....or she is a magician...

    #8

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Andrea Delden
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I’d upvote this more if I could!

    #9

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Lyra Fortune
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Adorable and I bet they taste great too!

    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Awwwww Domo was one of my fav toys

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #10

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Michèle F
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    how do you get a pink yolk??

    kate h
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Cook the egg over med-low heat with a lid. The steam stays in the pan and cooks the thin layer of white that covers the yolk. (it's always there but you can't see it until it's cooked.) A glass lid is best so you can observe the progress.

    Load More Replies...
    #11

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Kate Johnson
    Community Member
    3 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I just got this image in my head of one of them using a blow dryer on the top of their head (or silks!) and it all becoming popcorn, or using it to pop parts of themselves off like today's more extreme body modification, and it's getting sillier by the second, lol!

    #13

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ChinaPandas122
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    kinda want to eat him, kinda slapping myself for thinking that

    Lyra Fortune
    Community Member
    5 years ago

    This comment has been deleted.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #14

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Malene
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    how do you bend the squid-sussage legs? It looks so easy - and cute!

    Kevin T
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When you cook them, they naturally curl.

    Load More Replies...
    Mare Freed
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is the only one I MIGHT be capable of copying...

    #15

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Lyra Fortune
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Id love to get these for breakfast!

    Mare Freed
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm hoping someone answers this. At first I thought it was a color filter, but I don't think so on this.

    Load More Replies...
    ChinaPandas122
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    a magnum opus indeed (latin)

    #17

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ChinaPandas122
    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    winnie the orange pooh oh i mean a ...... a idk what fruit it is in english but it's a 柚子

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #18

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Dinetk
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "I don't wanna use my head!"

    #19

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Perfumista Perfumista
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't normally hug my food before eating it, but in this case...

    Hilary Mol
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Can anybody identify this food for me? Is it mochi?

    Nicole Tomme
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I believe it is mochi filled with anko (sweet red soybean paste). Strawberry mochi is the same but with a strawberry in the middle but she decorated with strawberries instead. The leaves (oak, I think) are edible.

    Load More Replies...
    #21

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Z Alexi
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What is so-o white? No food color since white ain't a color.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #22

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Valquerys
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    UNDER TH SEA OF VEGETABLES

    Dachshunds #1
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Its a carp that Japanese people decorate outside for national childrens day (May 5th) these fish decoration are called "こいのぼり”. (translates to "carp streamer")

    Load More Replies...
    Miss Cris
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I only can recognise the raddish here, but I guess it's not fish or sushi.

    #23

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #24

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Heather Hayllar
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Your children are fussy about chocolate?

    Anne
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They.. wouldn't eat chocolate if it wasn't embellished? o_0

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #26

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Lyra Fortune
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    These are going to haunt me. But... those little hats!

    #29

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Beryl Smith
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    All of these creations are amazing . Such talent almost too good to eat

    Catherine Bridge
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Having scrolled thru all this mom’s posts, I think she is a creative genius!

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #30

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Sara Holt
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wish the ingredients were identified. I couldn’t even tell what many were other than the obvious ones like rice and kiwis.

    Hannah Marshall
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Same, but that's the beauty of food from different cultures.

    Load More Replies...
    Mare Freed
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This whole BP just makes me feel like an inferior person in every way. Hats off.

    Diana Hansen
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    these are so amazing i made bento box for my youngest a few times. they take so long but they taste so good!

    #31

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Alina
    Community Member
    5 years ago

    This comment has been deleted.

    #32

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #33

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    lastof4
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Please, I'm not afraid of this guy, he's a total cream puff

    Perfumista Perfumista
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I eat those I'm gonna look like a sumo wrestler

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #34

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #35

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #36

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #37

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #38

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #39

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wow that is so talented

    #40

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Z Alexi
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Grease-upon-grease? Pig out, fatsos!

    #41

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #42

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #44

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #45

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #46

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #47

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #48

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Alina
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Took me a few seconds to realize it's Ariel and her father

    Valquerys
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Heartwarming and mouth watering

    #49

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #50

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #51

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #52

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #53

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    OMG wow sumikko gurashiii!!! I love it

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #54

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Valquerys
    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Olaf the egg sat on the wall...... Olaf, Olaf has a great crack

    #55

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #56

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #57

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #58

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #59

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #60

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #62

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #63

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #64

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #65

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #66

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #67

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #69

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #70

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #71

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #72

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #74

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #75

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Wolfowl
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Loox, get out of the avocado!

    #76

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #77

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #78

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #79

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #80

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #81

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    Valquerys
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Thehsvgajabab-that’s all forwhvevdge-for today folks!

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #82

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report

    #83

    Food Art

    etn.co_mam Report