Why pack a Bento?

First of all.  What is a bento?

Bento is the Japanese word for lunchbox or boxed lunch.  Technically it means, ‘useful thing.’  I lived in Japan for up to 20 years, and that is where I raised my children.  So, these varying forms of lunch boxes are not new to me.

In fact, it was the norm.  I Woke up at 5AM, cleaned, then prepared lunches, breakfast, and if there is time, meal prep for dinner.  Then, wake the kids up.  Though waking up at 5 can be hard, it made for seamless transitions in the morning, and fairly smooth routines once the kids were awake.  Best of all, the work of the day was mostly done, and I could feel good knowing that my family would have healthy, balanced meals.

There are all kinds of TV shows in Japan dedicated just to the making of ‘bento.’  – Bento making shows for the toddlers, Kinders, Primary grades, all the way up to adults.  To top it off, ‘make your bento in 20 minutes’ seemed to be the trend, a skill that made time for a slow cup of coffee in the morning!   I have to say, I am very grateful for having had this experience.  For sure, making Bentos could be VERY stressful at times, as my kids would compare my efforts to those of the Japanese mothers.  Uggh.

Yet, I continue this practice into my life in America.  Why?

First of all, it truly reduces garbage!  We can call it being earth-friendly! There are so many options with Bentos that you can completely eliminate the use of disposable baggies and what not.  And ease up on your shopping list!

Second, they create beautiful aesthetics.  Even if your little cherub isn’t so picky,  making a presentation is just as important as what you put into a lunchbox. They can be colorful, fun, and perfect for portion control.  Haven’t you ever been keener to eating all your food when it is presented in a pleasing way?  And, you can make it so the foods are not touching, or, slightly touching, or whichever design works for you.  Again, there are a number of choices for boxes that can cater to these important things.  I will write a blog in the future about the art of putting foods together in a bento NOT designed with completely separate compartments.  Either way, I can vouge that my children are MORE apt to eat more of their lunch than not, with a creatively designed bento.  AND — for the less creative like myself, it is not hard to do with a bento.

Third,  Your child is going to have healthier lunches.  When you take the time of putting a bento together, you tend to naturally choose healthier options.  It just somehow happens.  But also, because the food is all on display, it offers easier access to all the options at once.

Piggybacking onto reason #3, Leftovers seem to be a great choice for Bentos.  So you are utilizing food that might otherwise have been thrown away, OR, are using food from what is often our healthiest or most balanced meal in America: dinner.

I tend to rotate leftover food in from throughout the week and try to prepare or present it in a different way than its original meal.

By Thursday or Friday, my family is getting fried rice in their lunches.  (A typical way for Asians to utilize leftovers)

This pic attached to this blog are pictures of this week’s lunches.  All of them took under 30 minutes to make.  And yes, we had pasta twice this week!  The second pasta uses quinoa noodles. And I add a touch of broth that I prepare weekly to add to the sauce so that it does not get so thick and gunky.

I try to only buy one fruit for the week.  I still had a couple of apples and oranges from last week that I rotated in.  The thermos had leftover vegetable stew.  I quickly sauteed up a tiny amount of sausage to add to it, to make it different.  And simply boiled two eggs for even more ‘meat’ protein. (We can argue whether eggs are vegetarian or not, but… )  I try to have higher protein foods at lunch.

In terms of presentation, I do my best to pack a ‘rainbow.’  This is something I learned in Japan.  If you calculate your nutrients, having 3 – 5 different colors of foods in your meal comes out to a very balanced meal under the Western system of using a food pyramid!  I keep bell peppers around for this very reason!  And it is a nice crunchy item that you can either sprinkle salt on, add peanut butter for ‘dip’ or some other kind of nutty spreadable!