Just Bento

This is a very versatile vegetable-only or vegetable and chicken mix that can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week, or for a month in the freezer. As long as you use a vegetarian/vegan protein it will be vegan/vegetarian, but if you are an omnivore you can use chicken. Let me give you the recipe first, and then show you a couple of ways to use it. continue reading...

A classic Japanese style bento using winter vegetables (since it’s still pretty cold here) made by my mom from bento stash ingredients. continue reading...

Learn how to make sushi rice, plus tips for sushi as bento. continue reading...

The winner of the Just Bento Cookbook giveaway is…

….drumroll—— continue reading...

A review, of sorts, of a very compact rice carrier called the Smart-Han.

(Warning: Nothing at all here that’s not safe for work, but if you are the type of person that’s easily offended, please skip this post. Thank you. ^_^) continue reading...

Welcome to the last lesson of Bento 101: Getting Into The Bento Habit. In this lesson we’ll talk about the best reasons to get into the bento making lifestyle, and some tips for keeping it going. continue reading...

I'm very happy that JustBento is featured on the website of Redbook Magazine, in a slideshow titled Bento Lunches for Grownups. It has 9 bentos from this site (maybe you'll recognize a couple) that are all very easy to put together. It was a real pleasure to work with Ava on this, and I hope it will introduce even more people to the world of bento. (For those of you not in the U.S., Redbook is a major women's magazine, aimed primarily at American working women with families. Wikipedia on Redbook.)

If you found us via Redbook, welcome! You'll find a lot of information here, from the very basics on up. We're just concluding a Bento for Beginners online course called Bento 101: Getting Into The Bento Habit (start here, and follow the links at the bottom) which may be helpful if you're curious about how it all works.

I'd also like to belatedly say hi to everyone who came over from LifeHacker. Hi guys! Bento really is a pretty good life hack. ^_^

To those of you who follow JustBento but don’t follow JustHungry: the first lesson in the Japanese Cooking 101 course has been posted. If you’re interested in cooking traditional Japanese style bentos, you will find the course to be a good foundation to that. Join us! continue reading...