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Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento

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I overslept this morning, so today’s lunches were a true test of the speed lunch system (”This is not a drill!”). Having ready-made meatballs in the fridge provided a quick protein; you can also make them from scratch ahead of... See more » I overslept this morning, so today’s lunches were a true test of the speed lunch system (”This is not a drill!”). Having ready-made meatballs in the fridge provided a quick protein; you can also make them from scratch ahead of time and freeze a stash of them. We did wind up being late, but that was because I stopped to snap photos before running out the door. Darn you, lunch blogging obsession! Contents of preschooler lunch: Blackberries, teriyaki & pineapple chicken meatballs, plum tomatoes, honey-simmered kabocha squash with butter, and sliced pita bread. These meatballs are my favorite — Aidell’s brand, sold at big stores like Safeway and Costco (other store locations listed here). Nice short ingredient list, also good in soups or wraps. Morning prep time: 4 minutes, using leftovers and convenience food. The pita was already cut from dinner the night before, and the kabocha was leftover from lunch the day before. So all I had to do in the morning was cut a few meatballs in half to fit preschooler mouths. Packing: Bug & I shared a single container of pita bread (although I photographed it with both lunches), so his lunch wasn’t as large as it looked. Packed in two 350ml containers from a Lock & Lock lunch set. This is the container I always reach for when I’m in a hurry. I like its built-in subdividers — all I have to do is fill three little spaces and I’m done, no real thought required for arrangement (easy on my brain when I’m slammed). Unfortunately I don’t know of a reliable U.S. source for these, so I’ll just apologize in advance. Contents of my lunch: Same as Bug’s, but I packed little skewers of plum tomato and store-bought marinated bocconcini (mozzarella balls) instead of the blackberries. Bug didn’t like the look of the bocconcini when I was packing, so I omitted them from his lunch and tried to make them look fun in mine to see if they would pique his interest when we ate. No such luck with Bug, but all of his little friends were interested in the little Anpanman-themed picks. Anpanman is a popular cartoon for kids in Japan, with characters based on food (the villains are Bacteria Man) — pretty amusing. * Homemade meatball lunch * Need for speed: A mommy’s lunch manifesto * Biggie’s list of Top Speed Tips, tutorials and equipment reviews READ MORE: (Disclaimer: I have no commercial affiliation with Aidell’s or any other business listed here.) Share This My son decided to go on strike against playgroup this morning, so I had more time to think about and prepare lunch before going out for a playdate. Reminds me of a tip I read in a bento cookbook: the night before, think of one item you’ll pack in the next day’s lunch. This’ll help you start to form an image of the lunch so you’re not totally paralyzed when you walk into the kitchen in the morning. Contents of my lunch: Rice balls wrapped in nori, ham croquettes and Lizano sauce (sources here), honey-simmered kabocha squash, and cucumber and tomatoes tossed in sanbaizu sweet vinegar. Ah, tangy Lizano sauce — is there anything you don’t improve? Morning prep time: 15 minutes, using frozen food, leftovers and one speedy side dish. A few weeks ago I made rice balls with extra fresh rice and froze them, so it was just a matter of microwaving to warm and restore texture, and wrapping in pre-cut nori. The croquettes were frozen from a box (Goya brand), so I deep-fried them in a tiny pot to conserve oil while speeding up heating and clean-up. While the oil was heating up and the rice balls were in the microwave, I prepped the squash for the microwave and packed the leftover marinated cucumber and tomato. Packing: I put the fried and cooled croquettes into an oil-absorbent food cup to keep them nice and crispy. I picked up the paper-lined food cups for US$1.50 at Daiso, but you can also just line the container with a bit of paper towel as I did in Bug’s lunch below. My subsequent concern was to keep anything juicy away from the crispy croquettes, which meant that the drained and cooled kabocha would go next to them, then the raw cucumber/tomato salad in another food See less »

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bento, lunch box, lunches, packing lunch

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Comments (2)

From the list : Style & Fashion by mintwrecker

i just love this site so many helpful tips

From the list : Storage and Organizers by slightlypale

This mom is amazing. Her lunches are awesomely organized. I'm jealous... and hungry.

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Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento

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