Using Bento Boxes for lunches.

LizN63

I got my monbento box and you're right, it is big. I might just use the top layer for pieces of whole fruit, cutlery, little yoghurt pots etc. It's pretty though!

GSMom3

I just got my mail yesterday with my new laptop lunches box. I have been looking on pinterest and there are lots of pins about different menus for easy lunches. Many focus on kids lunches but there are also some great pins for adult lunches. I plan to prep this weekend for next week and try out my laptop lunchbox for the first time. Here is just a sample of the kind of pins i found when i searched: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/232146555766804373/

SpecialKitty7

okay, attempt #2. I ate the first bento two days in a row. This one is a quartered Morningstar Farms black bean chipotle burger, the Trader Joe's harvest grain mix (have that all week!) 85 grams sugar snap peas sauteed in sesame oil, and 145 grams strawberries. I tossed the mini baybel cheese in there because i had an open space that i didn't know what to do with.

GingerbreadCandy

I have not used one yet but I absolutely love the idea. Will definitely give it a try.

SpecialKitty7

it's a lot of fun! i ordered some actual bento boxes, but they haven't come yet. i thought i'd be hungry, but i found i'm not because although it's a little bit of everything, you feel like you're eating a lot, some weird psychology going on there...

ErinK09

I've seen those types of lunch boxes. I'd love to get one, one day.

framingthewheels

Love these ideas! I have a Laptop Lunch but I don't use it often. I'm thinking I have to get it off the shelf now!

mangrothian

I didn't post a pic of my lunch yesterday because, well, it just looks the same as most of my others. I've been at the gym more recently, and I've needed to have a few more calories in my lunch to keep me going through the day. Otherwise I figure out I'm 1000 below my limit at dinner and am too full to eat, but am tired instead. At least it means I'm free to indulge in a glass of wine or a baileys coffee

Today the lunch section (the 3 blue boxes) is 481 cal with the total being 826 for the day. The extra snack that I've allowed myself today can probably be ignored. I honestly don't even know if I'll eat it yet.



- Mini babybel light (seems I forgot to put it in the picture)
- Water bottle with a lemonbalm teabage (again not in the picture >.<)
Blue Snack Box 1 120ml
- 20g of Red Rock Deli Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar Chips (the 1st main calorie increase for this Bento. Trying to convince myself to not take the whole bag would be an issue I used to face).
Blue Snack Box 2 120ml
- 140g mango (berries are starting to get expensive now )
Green Snack Box 70ml (which btw, is my breakfast with the babybel when I get to work)
- 30g blueberries
- 100g natural yoghurt
- mixed spice
Blue Lunchboxes
- 140g moroccan quinoa (this is the 2nd calorie increase for this Bento, at about 100 cal more than the rice I usually have)
- 4 meatballs cooked with sesame oil and ponzu sauce
- mixed blanched vegetables

mangrothian

EAK_09 wrote: »

I've seen those types of lunch boxes. I'd love to get one, one day.

The Bento boxes are pretty, but you definitely don't need to have one to get on board with the concept. I and many others started off with gladware and other basic containers. I was looking at sistema products in my local supermarket last night, and they have a split container that exactly the same size as the majority of my Bento boxes. It even comes with a spoon, a removable compartment, and is leakproof (something which many traditional boxes lack, but then again, the traditional bento box isn't meant to have soupy ingredients floating around).'



They actually advertise it as a breakfast container, but I find their lunchboxes, although well compartmentalised, way too big. Their smallest lunchbox that isn't a sandwich box is over a litre in volume.

SpecialKitty7 wrote: »

it's a lot of fun! i ordered some actual bento boxes, but they haven't come yet. i thought i'd be hungry, but i found i'm not because although it's a little bit of everything, you feel like you're eating a lot, some weird psychology going on there...

and that's the other reason I love them. Can't decide what you want? Have a little bit of everything! It's an extreme comparison, but it's like a little buffet in a lunch bag

MarziPanda95

Those all look SO good... sadly I don't have the motivation to do that and end up just buying a sandwich. Maybe some day, though.

mangrothian

I didn't think I'd do them every day, but it kind of became an addiction....

GeekyPixels

I had never even heard of bento but these sound awesome! Can you give me some really simple ideas for boxes with calories too please if possible. I have never heard of some of the things listed as have never eaten Japanese food! So some quick and easy ideas that don't require posh ingrediingredients would be fab hehehe! Excited to try some!

barbiegirlie2

I already have some egg molds, as well a ton of cookie cutters. I need to pull them out and see what they are good for (larger for meats, cheeses, and bread, small and tony ones for fruits and veggies). I have several small Rubbermaid-type lunch containers that I use for lunches, and I can bento in them. However, I want to kick it up a notch.

I tried shopping near my house, but the stores didn't have what I was looking for. I don't drive, so getting across town is a pain (Houston is HUGE). Therefore, I decided to order several things from Amazon. Woot, free shipping! Furikake, pickled plums, a couple of actual bento boxes, a carrying bag for the boxes, a tamagoyaki pan (rectangular pan for making Japanese rolled omelets, for those that are curious), cooking chopsticks, bamboo mats for rolling, some silicone cups, a julienne peeler (so I can make kinpira easily), and two bento cookbooks. Wah-hoo!

mangrothian

@supershamster Bento's don't need to be Japanese food focused, but the type of foods they use are definitely more portable at room temperature than some western foods. My personal rules for Bento's are:

Once again, I'm sorry for the long post, but I kinda got on a roll, and had 10 mins to spare before gym....

- It must not be a drippy food (it means it has sauce can go through the other foods making them soggy, or potentially leak from a container). If it needs sauce, the sauce can go in a mini squeeze bottle.
- It must taste good at room temperature.
- It must be safe to eat after being at room temperature for up to 6 hours. For example, cream/mayo based food doesn't last at room temp for very long.
- If it's squishy, you need to be able to separate the food from the foods that can squish it. Berry fruits are a good example for this one
- No salt on your vegetables. Trust me, you'll learn they're damn well tasty enough on their own. Edamame (soy beans) are probably my only exception to his. Your blood pressure will also thank you.
- Pre prepare! Cook your meat in batches, portion it out and store it in ziploc bags, wrap it in gladwrap, or whatever. That way you've already got your portion (so you're not going to be deceived by your eyes if you're hungry whilst making your Bento), and it's one less step to worry about during the week. I pre-cook and freeze everything except my vegetables. An hour cooking some different meats one night a week saves you a LOT of time.

In essence, most of my Bento's consist of rice, lightly blanched or raw vegetables and some kind of meat - there isn't that much variation except for the fruits I eat. The main concept is more about portioning your food, packing it well, and have as many colours as possible. The Japanese believe that the more (natural) colours you have in your Bento, the healthier it is. And as @Specialkitty7 said, it can be quite satisfying having a little bit of everything to eat, instead of say, one bowl of pasta or a sandwich.

In terms of recipes, there might be some you may not try if the ingredients are too hard to get, but I can't recommend the JustBento website more. Makiko Itoh has the 500 cal or less Bento down to an art form, and they all sure do taste good.

A good example of portion control/ratios in a Bento. It also talks about easing into using Bento concepts if you've never had/heard of them before:
http://justbento.com/handbook/getting-started-bento-making/aim-for-balance

A "skinny" versus "not so skinny" bento
http://justbento.com/handbook/getting-started-bento-making/skinny-bento-vs-not-skinny-bento

Some of the foods I might list aren't necessary, or I'm using the Japanese name for the food. For example furikake (foo-ree-ka-keh) is a dry rice seasoning. You could season your rice with just salt and pepper, or roasted sesame seeds with salt (which in Japanese is called Gomashio). The umeboshi is a sour pickled plum, and that is DEFINITELY an acquired taste. I just like something sour to finish off my meal, and it's meant to help the rice keep longer at room temperature. Tamagoyaki is a rolled cooked egg with some soy and a pinch of sugar. Ponzu is a soy sauce with citrus in it, so its like a slightly sour soy sauce. Only a few of my ingredients require a specialty store - most you can find in the asian section of your supermarket.

RadiantChange

Makes a much more festive looking gathering then my zip lock baggie lunches...All smooched together and un-recognizable. Hee, hee

mangrothian

barbiegirlie2 wrote: »

I already have some egg molds, as well a ton of cookie cutters. I need to pull them out and see what they are good for (larger for meats, cheeses, and bread, small and tony ones for fruits and veggies). I have several small Rubbermaid-type lunch containers that I use for lunches, and I can bento in them. However, I want to kick it up a notch.

I tried shopping near my house, but the stores didn't have what I was looking for. I don't drive, so getting across town is a pain (Houston is HUGE). Therefore, I decided to order several things from Amazon. Woot, free shipping! Furikake, pickled plums, a couple of actual bento boxes, a carrying bag for the boxes, a tamagoyaki pan (rectangular pan for making Japanese rolled omelets, for those that are curious), cooking chopsticks, bamboo mats for rolling, some silicone cups, a julienne peeler (so I can make kinpira easily), and two bento cookbooks. Wah-hoo!

Man I wish we had Amazon Australia. We can order from the US, but the shipping prices are exhorbitant

NoelFigart1

So, this is the bento I made for lunch tomorrow. Made another one identical to this for my husband, because he likes them, too.



This is a fairly large bento box -- 750ml. The meal has 437 calories, though, because a Japanese person would fill that bottom portion with the onigiri and orange peppers with rice and I filled in a lot of the volume with a low-cal veggie.

SpecialKitty7

I received my new bento box!! Included the lid because it's just so darn cute. Included here: Trader Joe's harvest grain mix, 85 grams sugar snap peas sauteed in a smidge of sesame oil, yellow bell peppers, raspberries and 4 pork potstickers. In the little container is a tablespoon of Bolthouse farms yogurt ranch dressing. Total cals 510. The yogurt and strawberries are for my afternoon snack.

barbiegirlie2

One of the bento boxes I ordered is that Kiki one! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

barbiegirlie2

Dumb question: How do I insert a picture from my phone? Lol