Bento for Lunch

I guess I will follow the trend. I promise it's Random Monday, not Health Food Monday, but these just seem to be what I am thinking about lately. It's probably all this getting serious about being fit. Although...if this trend keeps up maybe I should dedicate a day to health & fitness. What do you think?

So...bento. What is it? In the simplest of terms, bento is a packed lunch. A bit more specifically, bento is a Japanese style of packed lunches. In Japan there are convenience store, or pre-packed, bento as well as homemade. Bento actually has a rather elaborate history, and today it is a rather common sight in the Japanese schools.

Bento wrapped in furoshiki

Bento in drawstring bag

The reason I like bento so much (aside of my infatuation with the Japanese culture--blame that on my best friend in grade school having moved here from Japan and me being immersed in the culture at her house n_~), is the portion control. My favorite bento box is two tiers, measuring 3.3 inches l x 4.3 inches w x 3.5 inches h. I know this sounds very small, and indeed it looks very small, but you would be surprised how much food you can actually fit into it!

My favorite bento!

A better view of both tiers

The top tier of the bento holds 1 cup, and the bottom tier holds 1.5 cups. I find that either tier is plenty big enough to hold a decent sized side salad. I know it sounds and will look small, but if you were to take the salad out of the tier and put it onto a salad plate you would be quite pleased with the result. I often stick with the smaller tier and put salad dressing in a small 1 Tbsp container, which is just enough.

Salad in bento tier

Same salad on salad plate (on top of dinner plate for reference)

The other tier is actually large enough to hold a small sandwich and a few grapes or cherries. You could also fit a wrap, an egg and veggies, humus with veggies and crackers, pasta, etc. The options are endless. And you don't have to stick with a salad. I've done a meat in the small tier with side veggies in the large tier (usually my packing of leftovers). You could also go a more traditional route in which the small tier holds rice and the large tier holds sides (stir fry, meat, veggies, eggs, etc).

L: egg, cucumbers with hummus R: wrap, and cheese wheel	The same lunch on a dinner plate. Perfect portion size :)
L: egg, strawberries, cheese & crackers R: salad & dressing cup	L: pork & veggie stirfry R: rice & soy sauce

Bento is just breaking into the non-western world, so sometimes it is hard to find "traditional" bento boxes. My favorite place to buy online is Bento USA. They have great prices and pretty fast shipping. You will also get an idea of the fun accessories that exist for bento (as moms may make character, picture, or other themed bento for their children--they get pretty elaborate!). Another good place to find some neat, although a bit pricey, bento is JBox.

If you are interested in bento, don't feel like you need to buy a special box! There are plenty of alternatives like your normal Tupperware. There is a really neat Tupperware like set that you may want to look into called Easy Lunch Boxes. It really doesn't matter what you use, and you don't have to make it cute. Just be aware of your portion sizes--smaller containers aid in this.

Another thing is variety. I've heard it said that Japanese mothers want their children's lunches to be colorful (no I don't know how accurate this is, sorry). This actually isn't a bad plan. Color means fruits and veggies, it means variety of foods, it means not everything is a starch. Variety, particularly of healthy options, is also another thing to be aware off. I find the smaller boxes help with this as well. You are trying to make your lunch colorful, so you don't pack as much of one thing (specifically starches & proteins).

Do you bento? What are your tips and tricks? Any favorite sellers, items, or accessories? What about food choices or recipes? Share them in the comments!