Bento boxes have become almost as famous as sushi and ramen. They are known as nutritious, balanced, and colorful healthy lunches. Lunch boxes make school or work lunches more fun to pack than usual. They are easy to customize and create healthy, balanced meals with compartments filled with color and texture. Making your own Bentos can be intimidating at first – they look great and definitely take a lot of time and energy! However, this is not the case. With these tips and techniques, you will soon become a master of Bento boxes.
What Is a Bento Box?
These beautifully packed lunch boxes are one of the most popular traditions in Japan. For daily travelers or busy people, Bento provides the best convenience. The bite-sized food is carefully packed in small boxes, easy to carry, and can be eaten almost anywhere. More importantly, it is a way to enjoy delicious and balanced meals.
Usually, Bento consists of rice, meat, fish, vegetables, or fruits. But modern society encourages new and exciting changes in this concept. Today’s Bento boxes are designed in various shapes and sizes, and meal combinations do not avoid sandwiches, salads, yogurt, or simple sweets.
So, whether you’re making adult or children’s Bento boxes, it’s time to be creative. You will be amazed at how to turn the simplest ingredients into an exciting and healthy meal!
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Basic Rules to Remember
Maintain nutrition balance. Lunch is the only meal of the day that can give you energy, so cherish it. Use a delicious combination of carbohydrates, proteins, vegetables, and fruits.
A basic concept behind Japanese food is that the dish should reflect its taste. You may be tempted to throw the leftovers into a container and then quit work. But when you open your lunch box and eat a well-matched meal, it will taste and feel much better. So imagine your box as a blank canvas and enjoy the taste, texture, and rainbow-like colors.
Make it quick and easy. Although the bento box may be a bit time-consuming, there are many ways to make it simple. Especially when choosing the right recipe. Our goal is to eat cold food. So think of salads, tortillas, sandwiches, fruit, and so on.
Save some money by the way. The bento box is simple and convenient. That means it doesn’t need fancy, expensive food. Recipes such as tuna salad, Greek salad, or chicken salad are very affordable. In addition, each recipe can cover at least 2-3 meals a week. This means no waste!
How to Make a Bento: Tips & Tricks
Start With the Right Container
The Bento box you use for lunch can be delicate or simple. Various brands and styles of Bento boxes are available at various prices for your choice; however, when you choose a bento box that suits you and your lifestyle, remember the following important features.
Storage space: Although many bentos are on one floor, some are stacked compartments. This gives more room for things like sandwiches or packaging. Just make sure you plan ahead what kind of food you want to pack.
The container has a partition. As small as one diaphragm can create two segments, as large as three to four segments. Note: Bento can also be packaged in a simple container without separation.
The container has a good, safe, and re-openable lid.
Safe containers: in order to keep food fresh and prevent food spillage, look for containers with safe covers and leakproof.
Accessorize
The bento box and accessories market is very important. Consumers can buy a large number of bentos in traditional Japanese or Asian supermarkets or online.
Accessories include:
- Fork
- Spoon
- Chopsticks
- Small string or fork – used to hold small bites of food
- Decorative food cups (or baking cups) made of silica gel, paper, or aluminum have different shapes and sizes – used to hold different types of food
- Food partition (small and thin partition made of silicone) – for example, it is used to separate food with sauce from fruit
Plan Ahead
With a little planning, you will find how easy it is to prepare a healthy lunch. You, your children and your family can enjoy it five days a week! If you’ve planned your daily dinner according to your weekly eating plan, you’ve probably got quite a few healthy foods to choose from. You may find that as far as the Bento plan is concerned, what you really need to do is make an extra dinner so that the rest of the food can be packed into the Bento the next day. Easy!
Create a Fun and Balanced Meal
Now that you have an idea of what you can use, it’s time to plan your diet. Bento is all about balance and appetizers. So you need to include a variety of proteins, fruits, carbohydrates, and lots of vegetables. Just make sure things are packed clean and organized.
At the same time, use the rainbow colors of fruits and vegetables to light up your box. Add a layer of green vegetables to your sandwich or turn a cubicle into a fruit salad. Anyway, having a nice dinner will not only make your stomach happy but also make you proud of the dinner you created.
Final Thoughts
Once the Bento items are identified, pack them neatly and tightly into the bento box. Try to put vegetables and fruits in one part of the bento box separately, and grains and proteins in the other part of the bento box. Use Bento accessories (separator, string, etc.) to separate food and increase beauty. Note that the tighter the food is packed in the Bento, the smaller the space, the more likely the Bento will be beautiful and the tidier the food will be.
