Using Bento Boxes for lunches.
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Here's yesterday's bento eaten today, lemon chicken, rice mix, edamame, a tamagoyaki fail, and bean sprouts.
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Is it just me or does the bento box lunches seem like alot of food? I've never used one so just going off of the pics...but maybe it's zoomed in or something , making it seem larger? How many ounces do these things hold and what is the typical calorie count for a bento boxed lunch?
I want to try it but I'm scared I might end up eating more than I usually would, filling up the box.0 -
Is it just me or does the bento box lunches seem like alot of food? I've never used one so just going off of the pics...but maybe it's zoomed in or something , making it seem larger? How many ounces do these things hold and what is the typical calorie count for a bento boxed lunch?
I want to try it but I'm scared I might end up eating more than I usually would, filling up the box.
Depends on the box. Mine are a bit larger than @mangrothian. I took a picture of my box today alongside a soda can for reference. They are generally pretty small, we zoom in for the pics. I have no idea how large my box from today is, but I'd have to guess 550-600 ml. The general rule is 1 calorie per ml of size, but depending on the food, and how many veggies you can get in there, the calorie counts can vary widely (think fried chicken vs a salad)
Today's lunch was pretty calorie moderate at 459 cals. If I didn't have the tamagoyaki (a rolled egg sheet), which I normally don't have, it would have only been 389.
Hope that provides some relevance for you @nm212
ETA: My snack box is much smaller. It says 290 ml on the bottom.
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »
Depends on the box. Mine are a bit larger than @mangrothian. I took a picture of my box today alongside a soda can for reference. They are generally pretty small, we zoom in for the pics. I have no idea how large my box from today is, but I'd have to guess 550-600 ml. The general rule is 1 calorie per ml of size, but depending on the food, and how many veggies you can get in there, the calorie counts can vary widely (think fried chicken vs a salad)
Today's lunch was pretty calorie moderate at 459 cals. If I didn't have the tamagoyaki (a rolled egg sheet), which I normally don't have, it would have only been 389.
Hope that provides some relevance for you @nm212
ETA: My snack box is much smaller. It says 290 ml on the bottom.
Thank you!!
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That definitely puts it in perspective. Thanks!0
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Part of it is the picture taking, how close it is to the food. Some are a little bigger as they do vary in size but also some veggies and stuff take up a lot of space but don't involve many calories. Mine is fairly small. It's good for little meals and snacks, or so I've discovered. However, I also only get 30 minutes for my break in order to eat, bathroom, make purchases, etc and I'm a slow eater. So, I don't do a big lunch for work. My penguin has two tiers with one being 200 ml and the other holding 240 ml. The purple one I use sometimes can hold a little more but not by that much.
Just depends what you put in it.
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cool thanks! wow, a thread on MFP with nice people?! That's unheard of lol Any suggestions where to buy these bento boxes?0
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cool thanks! wow, a thread on MFP with nice people?! That's unheard of lol Any suggestions where to buy these bento boxes?
This is the best MFP thread ever!
Also, where you purchase bento boxes and supplies really depends on where in the world you live. I am in the U.S., so I searched "bento box" on Amazon and bought some fun stuff with free Prime shipping 0 -
Depends on the kind you want. Any box will do really, even ziplock or any other type of tupperware. The one I have that actually collapses to make it smaller I have seen in a variety of stores from Walgreens to Grocery Outlet. A variety of locations probably have meal boxes available. If you're wanting the cute ones like the doll, penguin, panda and such designs, online is where I looked. I could probably find a store up in Portland but that means spending time and gas doing that while trying not to get lost too often. So, I found some online places that shipped almost anywhere. I'm still waiting on a set from Bento & Co, but got the penguin and some other items from allthingsforsale.com Bento USA.0 -
I bought mine off of amazon also, but a few weeks later found this awesome international market that has tons of different options. I can see a second one in my future - maybe one that would be good for including soups when we hit winter.0
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Wow, these bentos look amazing and delicious! I may have to get in on this soon! Yum!0
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Made it in time for today. I was going to prep yesterday as it was my day off from work but the meat wasn't thawed. Oops. Today I have thin sliced beef, sautéed mushrooms, my first tamagoyaki attempt, broccoli trees and carrot flowers, plus an avocado. I don't can never get it to not go brown so I just use the whole avocado at one time, plus my fat has actually been a little too low lately dietary wise. The tamagoyaki was a struggle but didn't turn out too bad considering my not so non-stick pan and how our stove top is special (only one burner of the 4 actually works). 500 calories and just under half is from the avocado roughly.
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I think this is a great idea. I have a bento box and I think this will work for me especially my work schedule. I'm new to this as well. Thanks for a great idea.0
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The bento comparison for size purposes looked like fun, so I took a picture at work before eating. The first picture is my penguin bento next to an Amp energy drink (watermelon flavor is delicious) and the avocado that was part of dinner. Second picture is what I got in the mail yesterday. My other bento! Owl box that has little dividers in it, some more cute picks and little cups. Can't wait to use it soon. Also, the lighting is much better at work than my apartment, or so I have noticed.
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cool thanks! wow, a thread on MFP with nice people?! That's unheard of lol Any suggestions where to buy these bento boxes?
I think we've had two trolly comments on this thread in 77 pages, and I think because no one bites (except for me in my hoity toity way), they generally leave the thread alone.
@SpecialKitty7 was right, most of the boxes are small (the pink snack box she has when stacked is exactly the same as my original box). My main ones are all 500mL-ish and I have a few that are bigger than that to cope for a day if I have a salad or just feel really hungry for some reason. Compared to before where some of the lunch tupperware I was using was hitting 2L, the boxes seem small, but now they feel like just enough food. Things like dividers and the type of carbs (if any) you prefer definitely make a difference to the size of the box you would use, as well as if you want one that's microwavable, etc. The biggest box I use now on a regular occasion is my owl box which is 900mL, and I don't fill it all the way to the top. Yay for the fun size comaprison thing:
Since your profile is closed, we can't see where you're from to give you ideas, but other than the all omnipotent Amazon & Ebay, there are bento-specific websites like bento&co, monbento, allthingsforsale, and jbox (Note: be careful when looking at the Jbox website if you're at work. If you accidentally go to the 'jlist' section of their site, you might stumble across some weird adult products).
Oh, and for anyone who's interested, the jbox bento section is now selling mini-rice cookers and electric takoyaki pans! Takoyaki are traditionally octopus ball things (as opposed to taiyaki, the fish shaped desserts), but you can use them to make mini-cakes and the like as well.0 -
@mangrothian - that owl bowl in the background of the picture is adorable.
Today's bento that I made right before work so took the picture but didn't have time to post is a bit of an odd mix. I have cucumber flowers in one compartment and the other has shrimp balls (not sure how I feel on those), ramen and couple pieces of the tamagoyaki attempt. Less than 450 calories this time.
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DawnEmbers wrote: »@mangrothian - that owl bowl in the background of the picture is adorable.
Today's bento that I made right before work so took the picture but didn't have time to post is a bit of an odd mix. I have cucumber flowers in one compartment and the other has shrimp balls (not sure how I feel on those), ramen and couple pieces of the tamagoyaki attempt. Less than 450 calories this time.
You've got the layering right on the tamagoyaki. If you have a bamboo rolling mat, put your tamagoyaki on it when it's still hot, roll it up tight, and putt a heavy chopping board or similar on it until it cools, or dont put the chopping board on it and leave it round. A cheats way to get that uniform shape if you want it that way.
I've just realised how geeky my pic is. Bento box, owl bowl (it's my breakfast bowl I keep at work. The work ones are all too big), "Free!" anime figurine collectible in the background (the bento box is hiding two more from Tokyo ghoul and Haikyuu), and those are some Japanese grammar tables that are stuck to my desk.0 -
mangrothian wrote: »I've just realised how geeky my pic is. Bento box, owl bowl (it's my breakfast bowl I keep at work. The work ones are all too big), "Free!" anime figurine collectible in the background (the bento box is hiding two more from Tokyo ghoul and Haikyuu), and those are some Japanese grammar tables that are stuck to my desk.
But your things are so....beautiful
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Lunch today! The rest of the lemon chicken, broccoli, asparagus, ancient peppers and rice under everything. Cals 350. I wanted to stuff a hard boiled egg in there too to get the calories, but couldn't figure it out, so my bunny egg is now a snack. First time using this box, but I've had it a while.
eta: Ha! If you look real close, you can see my Hello Kitty phone!0 -
Dup!
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I must swim free...........
Ok, finally took a pic of hubby's lunch. Leftover mac/cheese made with ground carrots and chicken and some Reese pieces.
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HanamiDango wrote: »I must swim free...........
Ok, finally took a pic of hubby's lunch. Leftover mac/cheese made with ground carrots and chicken and some Reese pieces.
Oh! I read that without looking at the picture, and couldn't figure out why you'd put Reese pieces in the mac & cheese. Good thing the picture clarified that
Your lunch is very cute!
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I noticed those things in your background right away, and all they did was make me smile lol I was like "かわいいです!"mangrothian wrote: »I've just realised how geeky my pic is. Bento box, owl bowl (it's my breakfast bowl I keep at work. The work ones are all too big), "Free!" anime figurine collectible in the background (the bento box is hiding two more from Tokyo ghoul and Haikyuu), and those are some Japanese grammar tables that are stuck to my desk.0 -
That is such a cute bento! *I have a growing obsession with owls*DawnEmbers wrote: »
Love your little cups, too~0 -
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »
Oh! I read that without looking at the picture, and couldn't figure out why you'd put Reese pieces in the mac & cheese. Good thing the picture clarified that Your lunch is very cute!
You know what the funny part to that is? Yeah, hubby told me tonight that the candy spilled all over the food
I haz the sad panda feels. Lucky he had a spare lunch made by me at work, but still.mangrothian wrote: »Rei-chan loves bento!
Sorry had to chime in ^_^0 -
HanamiDango wrote: »
You know what the funny part to that is? Yeah, hubby told me tonight that the candy spilled all over the food I haz the sad panda feels. Lucky he had a spare lunch made by me at work, but still.
Sorry had to chime in ^_^
b-b-b-b-b-bbbbut I dont have a bento today!
I just have this....
and this....
now THAT is a perfect tamagoyaki right there!
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My bunny egg turned into a blobby egg0
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