Bento

  I love bento!  I love bento boxes for lunch.  Bento is used for small lunch boxes which can be one layer or multiple layers that stack.  You might have one in the shape of a square, or a samurai or even a kitty face.  It might come with a bag, chopsticks or a spoon and fork.

Photo credit: munkayo, Flickr, Creative Commons, some rights reserved

In the US, we see small plastic ware that is divided into multiple small compartments or a large container with small pieces that fit inside the larger container.  Although there are books and blogs on bento giving mostly Japanese foods, you don't have to stay fully traditional.  The basic idea is simply to have a variety of food in small portions rather than the peanut butter or bologna sandwich of your childhood.  No more need for those smalls of chips, cookies or bags of cut vegies.

You can put small portions of leftovers from last nights dinner in it.  I often make enough for lunch and dinner for a couple days.  One of my favorites is rice and channa dahl with some naan bread and a few veggies or eggplant in some form with rice and kim chee and narrow sliced raw veggies and fruit?  I sometimes make an oriental salad or include those thinly slice Japanese omelets. 

I own some supplies to turn rice into cute little panda or other shaped balls.  I've got green "grass" dividers to separate items, small tubes for soy sauce and other liquids, nori cutters, etc.  In other wards, I can have a blast and make my lunches interesting.  If I don't feel creative, I just put the food together in it and enjoy.

I love it because I get enough to eat to be full but not enough to overeat.  Its perfect for me.