Silly Faces Bento Box
Dinosaur Bento Box
Healthy, Homemade Cheese and Crackers
Rainbow Bento
Rock ’n’ Roll Bento
Space Bento Box
Star Wars Bento Box
Superstar Bento Box
Choo-Choo Train Bento
Ballerina Bento Box
Little Car Bento
Puppy Dog
On the Farm
Building Bricks Bento Box
Cat and Mouse Bento
Under the Sea Bento
Pretty Princess Bento Box
Robot Bento Box
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Bento Box
Hip to Be Square
Superhero Bento
Rainbow Bento Box for a Toddler
Woodland Bento Box
Lovey-Dovey Lunch
Bunny Bento
Flower Bouquet Bento Box
First Day of School Bento
Autumn Leaf Bento
Halloween Bento Box
Snowman Bento Box
Gingerbread Man Bento
Christmas Tree Bento
Christmas Gift Bento Box
Antipasti Bento
Artful Leftovers
Cheese Plate Bento Box
Family Picnic Bento
Flower Garden Bento
Bagel and Lox Bento
Pinwheels
Pretty Salad Bento Box
Sausage and Salad Bento
Savory Bread Pudding Bento
Tiny Sandwiches
Stripy Bento
Introduction
“Bento” is the Japanese word for meals that are packed into boxes and eaten on the go. If you were to expand that definition a little, they are also well-balanced with a blend of flavors, textures, and colors.
Although bento meals have long been a staple of Japanese culture, they are a fairly recent export to the United States. The last few years has seen an increase in the popularity of bento lunches here in America for a variety of reasons. The cheerful presentations and variety of healthy foods incorporated into bentos appeal to parents attempting to entice picky kids to eat a balanced diet, while adults are drawn to this style of lunches for themselves because they are economically and environmentally friendly.
Many people like the idea of packing bento lunches, but they assume they’re complex and time consuming to put together. In actuality, packing an attractive bento box doesn’t require a lot of time or specialized skills. Armed with the right tools and some basic techniques anyone can make beautiful bento meals that are a delicious everyday treat.
Traditional bento box lunches often feature foods that are popular in Japan. The ingredients for these dishes can be difficult to find and sometimes they’re so rare in the States that many people have never even heard of them. While the lunches in this book use some Japanese packing techniques, they are based around ingredients that are common in the American diet and — even more importantly — these ingredients are readily available in large chain grocery stores.
I’ve filled this book with simple techniques anyone can master to make bento box lunches for themselves and their families. My hope is that in addition to using the detailed instructions provided to recreate the projects presented here, readers will take the techniques they learn while making these lunches and combine them in new ways to make unique meals of their own design. These versatile techniques can be used in endless combinations to make lunch packing — and eating — more creative and fun.
Bento Box Basics
THE BENEFITS OF MAKING BENTO BOX LUNCHES
THEY’RE FUN! Making decorative bentos is an enjoyable creative outlet. Mornings can be hectic and full of chores, but taking a few minutes to make a beautiful bento box starts the day off on a positive note.
THEY’RE ECONOMICAL. Packing lunches at home to bring to school or work saves money. You don’t have to pay for a restaurant lunch and you also save money by reinventing a leftover chicken breast, tucking in the remaining berries from breakfast, or using the last few vegetables in the crisper.
THEY GENERATE LESS WASTE. Fast-food meals and school lunches generate a great deal of packaging waste, and traditional sack lunches with their plastic bags and single serving snacks aren’t much better. Packing food into a reusable box with reusable accessories generates no waste at all.
YOU HAVE BETTER CONTROL OVER INGREDIENTS. The only way to know exactly what food you or your child is eating is to make it yourself. With bento boxes you are free to choose organic fruits and vegetables, nitrite-free meats, and foods that are lower in sodium. You can also indulge in the occasional not-so-healthy treat if you like, but the choice is yours.
Basic Techniques
BALANCE
An important goal when making a bento is to balance the types of foods in the box—proteins, produce, grains—and also to achieve a variety of flavors and textures. Shoot for packing at least five different colors into your bentos. This helps to ensure that you’re getting lots of healthy fruits and veggies in your bento box.
PACK THE BOX TIGHTLY
When you’re packing a bento it is important to fill the box completely. If the food isn’t packed snugly and filled up to the top rim of the box, everything will mix together and the little bit of extra time you spent to make your meal attractive will have been wasted. When you pack a bento tightly, there’s no extra space in the box and if there aren’t any extra spaces, the food will stay in place when the box is tilted because it won’t have anywhere to go. After you pack the main components, look for any extra spaces. If you find some, plug them up with smaller bites. Grapes, cubes of cheese, berries, and cherry tomatoes are wonderful for