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Bento Box

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Z

zuludog

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I've been Surfing YouTube on & off for things like salads, weight loss diets, low carb recipes etc,which brought me onto Japanese food, and have come across something called a Bento Box

Now, I'm not an expert on Japanese food & culture, but it seems that many Japanese take packed meals & snacks to work & school in a fancy lunch box called a Bento Box, and this is an idea we could use
But depending on how keen you are you could probably manage with an ordinary plastic storage box, at least to start with

However, the interesting thing about this is the food itself - lots of salads & vegetables, with only a small amount of cooked food and meat
So most of the preparation is slicing & chopping and an emphasis on neat & attractive presentation.
A lot of the food is low carb or carb free, and though there may be some carbs like rice and noodles, we could just miss them out or adapt
Similarly if you can't find some of the Japanese ingredients, or find you don't like them, then there lots of other options

What is good, though, is that the food looks so interesting, healthy, and attractive, with so many variations, that it would be worth trying, whether you eat it at home or away

Search YouTube for 'Bento Box' and see where it takes you
 
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Yep, there are lots of different bento boxes out there. I have a plastic one with space for a ice pack, but I really like the metal ones.

There are also a number of books and websites too, including one showing children’s packed lunches in bento boxes.
 
There are indeed lots of Bento Boxes!

I had thought of ordering a couple from Amazon for my Grandsons, but there are so many I'll get them to choose their own

But I will order a book for my daughter, their mother. I think it would be something interesting & useful for them to do, and an introduction to cookery & healthy eating

I've had a look on Amazon Books, and again, there are several to choose from - have you any recommendations, please?
 
I’ve got this bento box and bag:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DRP32W8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(Hope that link works - it’s currently unavailable)

My son has a simpler Sistema one.

The metal ones I covet are by Planetbox. They have lunch planners for their boxes but you can adapt them for any box:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...887951283796225381469769487600374697904804106

I ended up not buying a book because I found so many ideas online, often on blogs. I then just made up my own recipes once I got the hang of it. I don’t eat meat so lots of the books didn’t work for me.

It depends on what you’re looking for. There are very good Japanese recipe ones but if it’s just the idea you want rather than the Japanese-ness, then all I would say is ‘Look Inside’ first. There are a number of gross ones full of US food and not very nice at all. There’s a beautiful Yum Yum book where the lunches are so attractive - little pandas and flowers, etc - but I used that book from the library to get ideas because there was no way I’d have time to do all that every day for my children!

Think what kind of meals you’re looking for and go for the book that best represents that. Lots are just jumping on the band wagon. The meals I make are Western, include plenty of fruit and veg, one protein, grain, treat and usually one or two novelty items to make it look cute.

I recommend a browse round that Planetbox planner and a google first, and then go for a book where the recipes seem most like the ones you preferred online.
 
Yes, I got the impression that Bento is now trendy (!) and the bandwagon has been jumped on; and that even the Japanese books are aimed at the American market
But I think that most of it will still be healthy, and we have yet to see rice balls smothered in a High Fructose Corn Syrup sauce

I am happy to use YouTube, but I wanted to get a book so they could look at the pictures, and it might be easier to use in the kitchen - mind you, I think all children are now quite capable with computers.

I looked at the Bento books aimed at children but didn't get them as some of the recipes seemed quite fussy & complicated; probably OK for an activity on a wet Saturday afternoon, but not when Mum is trying to to get everyone ready in the morning
Besides, the boys are 6 & 8; they might like pretty little animals & faces now, but in another few months they might decide that they are far too old for that sort of thing!

If they like it they can always take it up further. And both Mum & Dad work in offices, so they might take to Bento as well
And as you say, once they've got the idea they can adapt & vary it to suit themselves

So, rightly or wrongly, I've ordered 'Simply Bento' by Yuko & Noriko from Amazon, to be sent directly to them, ETA 30/12/20. At least it won't get lost or mixed up with the rest of the Christmas presents

Thanks for your advice
 
That’s a good, solid book and a nice choice 🙂

If they get into the idea of it, they can always expand their library in whatever way they like.
 
A good many of us chose to do this with packed lunches years ago - never did for husbands as they both worked in mucky factories, but those of us in relatively nice clean offices (shedloads of dust on new paper, plus laser toner and goodness knows what) - and if somebody in the office was keen on 'Poison' no way could I sit near em let alone eat with that pong around me thanks. Ruddy Brut was bad enough ..... LOL
 
Well, I've been Searching on YouTube, and I can definitely say that the Bento Box has been discovered!

There are several YT Channels that are inspired by, or copy the Bento box idea
They vary from all Japanese food to Western, but using the same neat packaging & presentation
I haven't watched every video, so I can't comment on how healthy or otherwise the food is

Search YT for -

Family Fudge
The Lunchbox Queen
Eats Amazing
or the general heading of 'bento box style'.

HUH! and Huh again!

I don't think some of these channels have quite grasped the idea that a Bento Box is used so that you can have a healthy meal or snack while you're away from home
I've just watched an American video where they've used white bread to make a sandwich and spread it with chocolate fudge - and I hear that American bread is usually sweet and full of sugar & HFCS anyway
Cutting the sandwich into small fancy shapes does not make it healthy
I'll stay mostly with the Japanese ones, and learn to be very selective about the others
 
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i wouldn't have wanted such a sandwich before I became diabetic nor would I ever feed such c**p to a child. Shudder.
 
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