Using Bento Boxes for lunches.
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@Narcissora All Things For Sale is where I have gotten my items. That and my local grocery store had some boxes too. There is also JBox, Amazon, Bento&Co, and I know I am missing some. Also, if you can find an Asian market in your area they will have some too.
Hubby's lunch on Friday was chicken chili, fritos, cheese, and m&m repeat. Weekend now, not sure if I will make a box for the kids, but I never know.0 -
Today's bento (for yoga teacher training):
Very similar to the last one but with egg and a strawberry and less almonds.
Layer one: ham, egg, string cheese, almonds, blueberries, strawberries, and carrot
Layer two: kale salad with Gorgonzola, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, and egg and tomatoes. Served with honey mustard dressing. Yum0 -
@sagj your bentos are so pretty!0
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »@sagj your bentos are so pretty!
Thank you0 -
Weird, I've tried to post a longer message twice about the reaction to my bento lunch today and it didn't save it...
I repeat:
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Narcissora wrote: »Alright, I really want to order a bento box so I can stop using the same tupperware every day. I'm sure there are suggestions somewhere in this discussion, but there are so many posts at this point that I don't know where to look.
I'm worried about size - Monbento and Bentgo seem so big while this adorable Kotobuki seems like it might be too small.
Any suggestions? I don't have a dishwasher, so it doesn't need to be dishwasher safe, and I don't microwave my bentos, so it doesn't matter if it is microwave safe or not.
When it comes to bento size, it completely depends on what type of food you eat and what your rough caloric amount is for your lunch. Also take into account if you box will include a morning/arvo snack or not. Many of us also have a separate set of snack boxes.
If you don't mind a bit of trial and error, I'd suggest going to the 'all things for sale' or Daiso websites and ordering one of their 500ml two tiers, one of the 700mls (or two 350ml ones) and a snack box set (120ml and 70ml) which should cost you under $15 total since the boxes are really cheap. Using different combinations of those boxes should give you an idea of what you need, and from there you can buy the fancy and a little more pricey boxes of you wish.
As a reference, my bento boxesmostly range from 500-700ml in size , and range from 400 to 750 Cal. With the exception of the last week which I haven't logged due to my travel, my diary is open to see what kind of things I manage to get into my bentos when I'm at work.
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Narcissora wrote: »Alright, I really want to order a bento box so I can stop using the same tupperware every day. I'm sure there are suggestions somewhere in this discussion, but there are so many posts at this point that I don't know where to look.
I'm worried about size - Monbento and Bentgo seem so big while this adorable Kotobuki seems like it might be too small.
Any suggestions? I don't have a dishwasher, so it doesn't need to be dishwasher safe, and I don't microwave my bentos, so it doesn't matter if it is microwave safe or not.
When it comes to bento size, it completely depends on what type of food you eat and what your rough caloric amount is for your lunch. Also take into account if you box will include a morning/arvo snack or not. Many of us also have a separate set of snack boxes.
If you don't mind a bit of trial and error, I'd suggest going to the 'all things for sale' or Daiso websites and ordering one of their 500ml two tiers, one of the 700mls (or two 350ml ones) and a snack box set (120ml and 70ml) which should cost you under $15 total since the boxes are really cheap. Using different combinations of those boxes should give you an idea of what you need, and from there you can buy the fancy and a little more pricey boxes of you wish.
As a reference, my bento boxesmostly range from 500-700ml in size , and range from 400 to 750 Cal. With the exception of the last week which I haven't logged due to my travel, my diary is open to see what kind of things I manage to get into my bentos when I'm at work.
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Let's see if MFP will be friendly and let me post today.
Today's bento is:
Box one: left over turkey taco meat, blueberries, strawberries, almonds, broccoli, and string cheese
Box two: cabbage, onions, and tomatoe salad with carrot flowers and slice mushrooms. Not pictured is my creamy chipotle dressing
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I had a lovely email when I landed home last night that told me I only needed to be at an off-site meeting for the first half of the day, so it meant I could be in my office for lunch instead of out. I don't know if my stomach could handle much more restaurant food, so I was soooooooo glad - it meant when I got home I could actually prepare my own lunch for today! I still had a working breakfast, so I didn't get to eat the yoghurt & raspberries in the photo below, but it's there for another morning.
Ginger beef (I put my microwave on cook instead of defrost and managed to burn it, but it still tasted good), some mini hambaagu, rice, veg. My snack box has some crackers to have with my laughing cow cheese. The bento itself came to 600 Cal
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I bought a new bento from Amazon, and it arrives tomorrow! Yayayayay!!!
On the other hand, I didn't make a bento for today because I bought a bag of the kale quinoa salad mix from Trader Joe's, and the salad is just too big and bulky to bento-ize.
So, below is a tuna salad bento that I made before I started posting here. I had to cover for our runner at work, so I needed a high-protein meal to get me through to day. It ended up being way too much food, so I only ate half of it. The big container has tuna salad, greens, tomato, and a couple mini pita. The small container has almonds, pickles, and red bell pepper strips. The banana and applesauce were snacks.
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Here is today's bento:
Top layer: some fire roasted chicken (leftovers from a restaurant), almonds, lots of blueberries, tomatoes, broccoli, and a little goat cheese
Bottom layer: Cabbage, tomato and onion salad (leftovers from taco night), and two mushrooms. Creamy chipotle dressing for the salad not pictured.
I love looking forward to my little lunches! And what is funny is that my box was a big conversation starter at yoga teacher training this weekend. What I thought might get me labeled as a little eccentric became an "I love bentos!" and "that's so pretty" segue into talking about my job in nutrition. It was a nice tension breaker since I'm usually a little nervous around new people and in new situations.
I'm already starting to plan my next bento purchase (oh no!
) 0 -
@Narcissora -I fit my salads into the box by chopping up everything small (putting my pesto making skills to use out of season ) It wouldn't be an option with everything but I like it. I just eat the little section next to my salad (mushrooms above), take out the divider, and then use that space to mix it around with the dressing.
You weren't asking but maybe it will help some else looking for a bento salad solution
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Ok! Finally got to make a bento again. Not too exciting but here's my snack bento and my lunch bento. Snack is an egg and strawberries, melba chips, laughing cow cheese and scottie dog licorice. Both snacks, 259 cals. Lunch is soba noodles with edamame and shrimp, top tier is strawberries, salad cucumber, sugar snap peas and italian dressing in the pot. Total cals 338. I accidentally made this too small (miscounted the cals) so hopefully it holds me until dinner.
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »Ok! Finally got to make a bento again. Not too exciting but here's my snack bento and my lunch bento. Snack is an egg and strawberries, melba chips, laughing cow cheese and scottie dog licorice. Both snacks, 259 cals. Lunch is soba noodles with edamame and shrimp, top tier is strawberries, salad cucumber, sugar snap peas and italian dressing in the pot. Total cals 338. I accidentally made this too small (miscounted the cals) so hopefully it holds me until dinner.
Ooo, I love your Hello Kitty bag! I need to get some snap peas next week for my bento. Yum. Your lunch looks delicious 0 -
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mangrothian wrote: »
umm...<shuffles feet>...I know not of which you speak??
<walks away whistling...>
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »Ok! Finally got to make a bento again. Not too exciting but here's my snack bento and my lunch bento. Snack is an egg and strawberries, melba chips, laughing cow cheese and scottie dog licorice. Both snacks, 259 cals. Lunch is soba noodles with edamame and shrimp, top tier is strawberries, salad cucumber, sugar snap peas and italian dressing in the pot. Total cals 338. I accidentally made this too small (miscounted the cals) so hopefully it holds me until dinner.
Ooo, I love your Hello Kitty bag! I need to get some snap peas next week for my bento. Yum. Your lunch looks delicious
Thanks! It's my new HK bag, it fit both bento boxes and my yogurt breakfast. Lunch was tasty.
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »mangrothian wrote: »
umm...<shuffles feet>...I know not of which you speak?? <walks away whistling...>
Lol, like I'm one to talk. I have my eyes on a totoro set at the moment. So very tempting.....
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I've bought a Bento box as a result of reading this thread and can't wait to use it, and there are some great snack ideas in here which I wouldn't have thought of! Since I have coeliac and have to take a lunchbox with me any time I know I won't be able to get suitable food (which is often) the Bento box is a far nicer-looking, more convenient box than the crappy tupperware I've been using. I love the little silicone cupcake cases for keeping things seperate too, I'm going to buy a couple of them. Thanks for the inspiration, all! 0
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SteampunkSongbird wrote: »I've bought a Bento box as a result of reading this thread and can't wait to use it, and there are some great snack ideas in here which I wouldn't have thought of! Since I have coeliac and have to take a lunchbox with me any time I know I won't be able to get suitable food (which is often) the Bento box is a far nicer-looking, more convenient box than the crappy tupperware I've been using. I love the little silicone cupcake cases for keeping things seperate too, I'm going to buy a couple of them. Thanks for the inspiration, all!
More converts! More MORE!
*cackles maniacally*
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I got home late last night, so I didn't get a chance to make my Bento, but I got the next best thing. I can get a sashi-don box which is pretty close to a bento. Its what I usually get if I forget or didn't have time to make my bento, and I keep meaning to take a pic, but usually demolish most of it before I remember.
It has salmon sashimi, a small amount of salad, pickled ginger, pickled cucumber (the red stuff in the bottom right corner), wasabi, tofu, aburaage (fried tofu skin), and rice with some shredded wakame. I add some soy or ponzu sauce and oui la! Mock bento lunch!
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mangrothian wrote: »SteampunkSongbird wrote: »I've bought a Bento box as a result of reading this thread and can't wait to use it, and there are some great snack ideas in here which I wouldn't have thought of! Since I have coeliac and have to take a lunchbox with me any time I know I won't be able to get suitable food (which is often) the Bento box is a far nicer-looking, more convenient box than the crappy tupperware I've been using. I love the little silicone cupcake cases for keeping things seperate too, I'm going to buy a couple of them. Thanks for the inspiration, all!
More converts! More MORE!
*cackles maniacally*
I have been to other threads(official nightshift, what does your food look like(pictures)). We have a LOT of lurkers guys...they are buying and using bentos. World Domination is imminent.0 -
Is that a bought thing? WOW. If I don't make lunch all I can buy is a very sad looking soggy tuna sandwichmangrothian wrote: »I got home late last night, so I didn't get a chance to make my Bento, but I got the next best thing. I can get a sashi-don box which is pretty close to a bento. Its what I usually get if I forget or didn't have time to make my bento, and I keep meaning to take a pic, but usually demolish most of it before I remember.
It has salmon sashimi, a small amount of salad, pickled ginger, pickled cucumber (the red stuff in the bottom right corner), wasabi, tofu, aburaage (fried tofu skin), and rice with some shredded wakame. I add some soy or ponzu sauce and oui la! Mock bento lunch!
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mangrothian wrote: »I got home late last night, so I didn't get a chance to make my Bento, but I got the next best thing. I can get a sashi-don box which is pretty close to a bento. Its what I usually get if I forget or didn't have time to make my bento, and I keep meaning to take a pic, but usually demolish most of it before I remember.
It has salmon sashimi, a small amount of salad, pickled ginger, pickled cucumber (the red stuff in the bottom right corner), wasabi, tofu, aburaage (fried tofu skin), and rice with some shredded wakame. I add some soy or ponzu sauce and oui la! Mock bento lunch!
That looks so good! If I don't pack a lunch, I am pretty much stuck with Subway.0 -
Narcissora wrote: »mangrothian wrote: »I got home late last night, so I didn't get a chance to make my Bento, but I got the next best thing. I can get a sashi-don box which is pretty close to a bento. Its what I usually get if I forget or didn't have time to make my bento, and I keep meaning to take a pic, but usually demolish most of it before I remember.
It has salmon sashimi, a small amount of salad, pickled ginger, pickled cucumber (the red stuff in the bottom right corner), wasabi, tofu, aburaage (fried tofu skin), and rice with some shredded wakame. I add some soy or ponzu sauce and oui la! Mock bento lunch!
That looks so good! If I don't pack a lunch, I am pretty much stuck with Subway.
I can eat for free at my work cafeteria but I still tend to bring my lunch, if that says anything about the food. 0 -
@satansees @narcissora food like this is one of the reasons I love living in Melbourne. The quality and variety of the food is fantastic here. That box is from a little japanese restaurant called dondons. They have about 9 things on the menu, you can't change anything, and once you order your food, you're walking away with it in under a minute. It's also cheaper and nicer then the standard soggy salad and fried food that the cafe in my office building has.0
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GUYS!!! My new bento box is supposed to arrive TODAY!!! I'm so excited!!! This could quite possibly be the last Tupperware bento I ever make!
I took Sagj's advice on chopping up the salad this time - great idea! The little bit of salad in there actually takes up the entire container before it is chopped up.
In this bento: kale and quinoa salad from Trader Joe's; roast beef; whole wheat penne with pasta sauce; banana with yogurt and chopped pecans (the yogurt keeps the banana from getting icky - or it keeps you from seeing the ickyness so you will never even know. Don't think - just eat); and tomato. Under 500 calories again. Woot!0 -
I have yoga teacher training again tonight so I packed two, count 'em, two bentos for today. They both basically have the same thing (I had no time this morning to be creative). Above is a regular flat container with the little flower cups. This picture was after traveling to work, it really kept it together and didn't go flying. Yi ha! (I'm in the southwest US, I think I'm allowed to Yi Ha occasionally )
Basically it is my same kale salad from before with ham, blueberries, almonds, and tomatoes. Served with lemon herb dressing (had no time to make a scratch dressing, bottled all the way today!)
Happy Tuesday!0 -
Narcissora wrote: »GUYS!!! My new bento box is supposed to arrive TODAY!!! I'm so excited!!! This could quite possibly be the last Tupperware bento I ever make!
I took Sagj's advice on chopping up the salad this time - great idea! The little bit of salad in there actually takes up the entire container before it is chopped up.
In this bento: kale and quinoa salad from Trader Joe's; roast beef; whole wheat penne with pasta sauce; banana with yogurt and chopped pecans (the yogurt keeps the banana from getting icky - or it keeps you from seeing the ickyness so you will never even know. Don't think - just eat); and tomato. Under 500 calories again. Woot!
Yeay! I'm glad that worked out on the salad. I like that idea with the bananas and yogurt, practical and delicious! I'm excited to see the new bento box too!0
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