Using Bento Boxes for lunches.

mangrothian

SpecialKitty7 wrote: »

On a side note, i just got my new Monbento! I didn't realize how much larger they are than what i've been playing with, so I'm going to need a new strategy. On the plus side, they should be more than enough for my husband, so i might actually get him to try one!

One of the first things I check now is the volume of any box that I order online. I've ordered a couple that are tiny, even for me, and a couple that are over a litre in capacity. Once you've been using a 500ml box for a while, a 1L looks humongous! To think I used to take a 1.5L container to work and sometimes think it was small....

mangrothian

You know, I've just realised that all this time, I've neglected to mention one of my favourite recipe sites for getting some variation into my Bento's (not that there's much, but hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!).

Cookpad is a Japanese recipe website, and there is a version with recipes translated into English by some wonderful volunteers; this also means there are a few weird translations, but you can get the gist of any recipe there. They have a whole section dedicated to Bento recipes. Granted, some of them are for charaben/kyaraben (the cutsie artistic bentos of Hello Kitty and the like), some are generally a bit high on the calories for some of us mfper's, but there are some great meat & veg recipes in there.

Do beware..... stay away from the dessert section matcha lovers....I did warn you....

craftylatvian

My bento today:
Cucumber slices
Cheese
Deli turkey
Soy sauce egg
Wasabi almonds

craftylatvian

@SpecialKitty7 I have a recipe for the miso balls you referred to. I should make them as they are easy to transport and we have a hot water dispenser here at my work.

kristydi

Y'all have inspired me. I make bento-ish lunches for my 1st grade daughter. I am planning to get some sushi rice and try making some onigiri. I've also been looking at Bento boxes because the divided zip loc containers I've been using are really to big to pack tightly. If I put in enough food to go it up, it'd be about twice what she'd eat.

And because pictures are fun, here's a pic of the type of thing I usually pack. Chicken chunks, kiwi, apple slices, yogurt with granola, and cheez-its.

SnuggleSmacks

craftylatvian wrote: »

@SpecialKitty7 I have a recipe for the miso balls you referred to. I should make them as they are easy to transport and we have a hot water dispenser here at my work.

Would you mind sharing? I would like to do that as well.

allofme32

wow that looks good!!. Thanks for sharing. Im going to try this for sure!

craftylatvian

@SnuggleSmacks here is a link to the miso balls recipe: http://justbento.com/handbook/johbisai/make-your-own-instant-miso-soup-ball

ANewCrystal4Life

Yes I got it from here. They were really delicious! And much easier than I expected.[/quote]

@snugglesmacks thank you I plan to give these a try this weekend

PixieGoddess

Today's bento has the same larger tier as yesterday (rice, pork chop, veggies) with shrimp, edamame, and a halo orange in the smaller tier:

k8mcminn

This has been inspiring. I have been in a real lunch rut so I will give this a try

SnuggleSmacks

craftylatvian wrote: »

@SnuggleSmacks here is a link to the miso balls recipe: http://justbento.com/handbook/johbisai/make-your-own-instant-miso-soup-ball

Thanks! I just ordered this little guy, and a miso ball will be the perfect thing for under his hat.

craftylatvian

@SnuggleSmacks It will be very small, just larger than a soda can but you can fit a lot in it. Plus the top tier has a domed lid and you can pile food higher than the height of the container.

SnuggleSmacks

craftylatvian wrote: »

@SnuggleSmacks It will be very small, just larger than a soda can but you can fit a lot in it. Plus the top tier has a domed lid and you can pile food higher than the height of the container.

Yeah, I read the reviews and am prepared for it's size. I have a Lock & Lock box which is pretty small, but I tend to feel very satisfied when eating from it, even though I have to pack smaller portions than I would otherwise eat. I've played with eating dinner from salad plates and other tricks which help with satiety, and I think the small bentos really work.

kbolton322

following to read more later

AsterUchiha

I just started packing my lunches- or actually food for the entire day. I go to class back to back from 10 am to 10 pm Mondays and 10am to 5pm on Wednesdays. I've been thinking about using bento because I thought it would be easier to carrier and lend itself better to my meals/portions. Does anyone else just make one to carry through the entire day? Breakfast through dinner, snacks included?

SnuggleSmacks

AsterUchiha wrote: »

I just started packing my lunches- or actually food for the entire day. I go to class back to back from 10 am to 10 pm Mondays and 10am to 5pm on Wednesdays. I've been thinking about using bento because I thought it would be easier to carrier and lend itself better to my meals/portions. Does anyone else just make one to carry through the entire day? Breakfast through dinner, snacks included?

You'd be hard pressed to find one big enough to keep a day's worth of food. But you might consider packing one with an ice pack for dinner, and packing a separate one for lunch, and then a snack or two. Your biggest challenge will be finding things that are ok outside a fridge for that long. The freezer gel packs only last so long.

SpecialKitty7

@AsterUchiha I actually pack two bentos, one for lunch and one for snacks. My bentos are all pretty small, my lunch one is somewhat bigger than a soda can, but the new ones I bought are much larger, I could probably put lunch in one half and dinner in the other. Check out my posts above, in one of them my cat is in the picture so you can see relative size (although my cat is huge, so the bento looks kinda tiny).

SpecialKitty7

SnuggleSmacks wrote: »

craftylatvian wrote: »

@SnuggleSmacks here is a link to the miso balls recipe: http://justbento.com/handbook/johbisai/make-your-own-instant-miso-soup-ball

Thanks! I just ordered this little guy, and a miso ball will be the perfect thing for under his hat.

Oh, he's adorable! I was worried that my mad bento skills were not good enough for something that small, you'll have to let us know how it works out.

Amerane

Another day, another bento. This one has red wine vinegar chicken, white rice, a slice of ham and some cheese, fresh asparagus, and pickled radishes. All together (not counting the thin mints I also ate...) comes to about 440 calories.

SpecialKitty7 wrote: »

On a side note, i just got my new Monbento! I didn't realize how much larger they are than what i've been playing with, so I'm going to need a new strategy. On the plus side, they should be more than enough for my husband, so i might actually get him to try one!

I know, right? When I first got mine, I was blown away by how big it was. All of the stuff I had been packing before wouldn't fill it up all the way! Now I've gotten a system down, which is filling as much space with meat and veggies first, then putting in my starch last. The bento I packed above has almost a full cup of rice in it, and it only takes up about a third of the container.

satansees

I feel like a should've got another lid and band with mine, and then the bf could've used a tier.

My onigiri box is teeny, and there's all that head height I rarely even use! Doubt I'll be using two tiers of monbento anytime soon

mangrothian

AsterUchiha wrote: »

I just started packing my lunches- or actually food for the entire day. I go to class back to back from 10 am to 10 pm Mondays and 10am to 5pm on Wednesdays. I've been thinking about using bento because I thought it would be easier to carrier and lend itself better to my meals/portions. Does anyone else just make one to carry through the entire day? Breakfast through dinner, snacks included?

I do on Fridays. I have work from 8:30am until 5pm, then classes from 6-9, plus my travel time on top of that. I have a 1.1L two tier container that I use. The top 400ml container is my lunchbox, and the bottom 700ml container is for snacks and dinner. I carry this one in a coolerbag with a coldpack in it along with a piece of fruit or whatnot, and it's more than enough to last me the day.

It also stops me from being tempted to go to the awesome ramen bar that is downstairs from my class when I'm finished for the day.

Every other weekday, my Bento consists of brekky, lunch and snacks. You can see what I've packed in all of my bento photos I've posted (my diary is open to public if you want to see the full caloric values of everything I pack), as well as the sizes of the containers for reference.

rtrels

These are so cute! My kids would love these for school lunches. I know my eldest would love the shaped rice too. Thanks for sharing!

craftylatvian

Today's bento:
Ham
Cucumber slices
Soy sauce egg
Cocoa almonds
Not pictured: cottage cheese

HanamiDango

Another box pictured. I am still trying to get into the mind set of making him lunch. This one is left over chicken parmesan, pasta with sauce on bottom and on top is pears, mixed vegetables, and brownie. I need to get smaller cups for the top.

PixieGoddess

HanamiDango wrote: »

I need to get smaller cups for the top.

I just trimmed my cups to the correct height with a pair of scissors. (Tip: fold the cup in half for easier cutting.)

PixieGoddess

NEW BENTO!! And today we have leftover steak, veggies, and Mediterranean quinoa in the big tier, with apple chunks and a boiled egg in the little tier!

Edit: sorry, it's a little out of focus. And that's a star-shaped egg, but it looks more like a flower....or just a deformed egg

SpecialKitty7

PixieGoddess wrote: »

Edit: sorry, it's a little out of focus. And that's a star-shaped egg, but it looks more like a flower....or just a deformed egg

Ha! The first thing i thought was what shape was the egg mold! I'm glad other eggs end up wonky like mine do sometimes

SnuggleSmacks

Pork chop, jade pearl rice, steamed veggies, poached pear and tea egg, plus a thermos for miso and chicken dumplings to add to the miso.

SpecialKitty7

finally got my leftover taco night bento! Here's ground chicken w/ sazon seasoning, black beans, shredded cheese, yellow saffron rice & masa crisps with flax.