What is a bento?

Now I’m somewhat of a beginner myself but these are the things that I’ve learned about bentos recently. Don’t quote me on this stuff though.

Generally, the word bento is Japanese for meal in a box. The traditional ratio in a bento lunch is 4 parts rice, 2 parts protein, 1 part everything else. By the new FDA food pyramid, that’s not exactly a healthy ratio and I’d venture a guess that the healthy ratio would be more like 2 parts rice (whole grains healthier) 2 parts vegetables, and 1 part each of fruit, protein and dairy.

Here’s a picture of the new food pyramid that I found on google image search. Myfishcook.com has a good example of how we all should be eating.

The nature of bentos is to eat them at room temperature (scary at first, I know!) but recently a lot of bento boxes (we’ll get to that later) have become microwave safe and so people have more options open to them. Due to the fact that bentos sit out at room temperature, there are some stead-fast food-safety rules that you should stick to.

1. Avoid moisture and condensation
2. Avoid foods that spoil quickly (such as mayo)
3. Avoid handling foods or taste-testing them as you make them
4. Avoid raw fish, undercooked meat, eggs and tofu

Why choose to make bentos?

Bentos are a really great way to monitor your health and weight, save money and (amazingly) have fun.

Another aspect to bento making is what is referred to as charaben. A quick google search will give you an idea of what I’m talking about. Cute food!

What about the bento box?

One of the reasons I chose to get a bento box is for portion control. I purposefully ordered a box with a 600ml capacity (which is about ideal for someone of my height and physical activity level). Also, bento boxes mean going green! No more paper bags, no more plastic bags…everything reusable.

Essentially, you could choose to make your bentos in reusable gladware containers every day but the idea didn’t suit my purposes. I wanted to have a little more fun with my food than that.

If you’re lucky enough to live in or near Asia, Japan, Hawaii, Little Tokyo etc., you may be able to find supplies in your local stores. For the rest of us, there are Asian grocery stores scattered here and there which often carry bento supplies AND there are also plenty of stores on the Internet.

How do I choose the right box?

When it comes to buying bentos, there are a lot of options available to you. Bentos come in copious amounts of sizes, volumes and qualities. You can purchase something cheap that is not microwave or dishwasher safe or you can spend quite a bit of money on a microwave/dishwasher safe, insulated, leak-proof, click-snap set complete with thermos and insulated lunch bag. It all depends on your needs.

I read somewhere that a good starting place for choosing the size of your container is to start at about 600ml for women and about 800ml for men. Add 100ml for being taller than average or increased exercise and subtract 100ml for being shorter than average or little to no physical activity. Keep in mind that you can fill about 1 calorie for every 1ml into a bento if you stick to the healthy ratios. If you usually eat big breakfasts and small lunches, adjust accordingly.