Bento!

Have you heard about bento? If you haven't, then click this link and read all about it. Go ahead, I'll wait.


Done? Good.

   
Okay, so now you've been formally introduced to the Japanese wonder that is bento - a single serving meal (usually lunch), packed in a little container. A traditional bento usually contains rice, fish/meat, and veggies. There are stores and websites dedicated to the creation of bento meals as well as the equipment required to make and decorate a bento. 

I first learned about bento on a site called Epicute, which was a blog devoted to cute food. That site is no longer around, since it has now merged with another site to become Must Have Cute (mentioned in my last blog post). If you go on their site and search "bento," you'll see some of the fanciest and cutest little lunches EVER. Go check these out... scroll down to see them all... you won't regret it. 

The people who made some of these have a LOT of time on their hands. I don't think I'd have the patience for it. But seriously... wouldn't your lunch break be a little bit happier if you opened your box and saw flowers and animals and cartoon characters?

So why am I writing about bento? Well, since last year, I've been on a kick to eat healthier. And one of my biggest obstacles was portion control.  To that end, I began packing small containers of snacks instead of one big lunch. Today's lunch, for example, contained the following: 5 chicken nuggets, 7 Triscuits, 1 wedge of Laughing Cow cheese spread, 3 large strawberries, 1/2 sliced cucumber (with drizzle of ranch dressing on top). I like the variety that the small portions provide, and it allows me to mix snacky food with healthy choices (fruit & veg). 
  

from Were Rabbits

Of course, I don't have all the fancy little bento boxes and food separators and picks... but a simple bento can be done in a plastic container. And the food doesn't need to look like flowers and bunnies. Sometimes just the mix of color and texture is enough to make it visually appealing. The one pictured below is right up my alley... Taco Rice Bento! I often have ingredients like this in my fridge. It would be super easy to put them all together in one container and have a fabulous lunch! (And if I bought the teeny little cutters to make the teeny little carrot butterflies, it would be even cuter!)

from Adventures in Bentomaking

Some of my lunches already have a bento-style, even though I still pack my food in separate containers. However, I'd like to take it to the next step... and maybe even buy some of the cute little holders to keep my food in place! I doubt I'll ever take my bentomaking as far as some of these people, but you never know. 


So there you have it. It's okay to play with your food. And when you do, lunch can be healthy AND fun!