Just Bento

Bento contents:

• 1 1/2 cups (370ml) sweet potato rice (300 cal)
• Braised spicy daikon radish and carrot (50 cal)
• Japanese-style omelette (tamagoyaki) with green onions (120 cal)
• Stewed dried shiitake mushrooms (5 cal)
• Broccoli florets with wasabi sauce (5 cal)

Total calories (approx): 480 cal (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 30 minutes total (20 the night before, 10 in the morning)

Type: Japanese, no meat (egg) continue reading...

Bento contents:

• 2 small pita breads (or use one regular size) (150cal)
• 3 black bean vegan burgers (150cal)
• Fruit salad containing 1/2 small apple and 1/2 small pear (120cal)
• 1 container low-fat yogurt (60 cal)
• Mixed salad - lettuce, carrots, red pepper, tomato (20 cal)
• 1 tablespoon homemade preserves (about 50 cal)
• Tzatziki salt

Total calories (approx): 550 cal (how calories are calculated)

Type: Sort of Middle-Eastern, bread based continue reading...

Bento contents:

• Vegan mushroom rice, with 1 cup white rice (190 calories)
• Black bean mini burgers with tomato sauce (250 calories)
• Instant radish pickles (5 calories)
• Blanched spinach (20 calories)

Total calories (approx.) 465 calories (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 30 minutes total (20 the night before, 10 in the morning)

Type: Japanese vegan continue reading...

As I touched upon briefly in Bento Basics, there are different kinds of bento box meals, and this site is primarily concerned with bento lunch boxes. Even these come in different varieties.

There are three main types of homemade bento lunches that are popular in Japan at the moment. Here I’ll try to describe them, with example blogs and books from Japan. continue reading...

If you’ve been exploring the aisles of a Japanese grocery store or looking at bento recipes, you’ve probably encountered furikake already. Commercial furikake usually comes in small foil packets or glass jars, in all kinds of salty flavors. Furikake is a dry or semi-dry condiment that is sprinkled on, or mixed into, rice. David Rosengarten, ex-Food Network host and gourmet food expert, declares it to be a miracle in a jar. continue reading...

During the week I often get so rushed and busy with everyday life that I barely have time to stop and think about anything, including making bento lunches. So I try to do a little prepping over the weekend, when I have some extra time. I’m not really talking about spending hours in the kitchen, but easy things that can be done either in a few minutes, or unattended while I do the laundry or just take a long nap. continue reading...

A little site news: I’ve added a new search function to the site that will search both Just Hungry and Just Bento for your convenience. It’s using Google Custom Search, which is a very easy way of setting up multi-site searches. continue reading...

Bento contents:

• 4 shiso onigiri with 1 1/2 cups brown rice (330 calories)
• 2 ‘large’ hard boiled eggs (160 calories)
• Mixed steamed vegetables (about 40 calories)

Total calories (approx): 530 calories

Time needed: 15-20 minutes

Type: Japanese picnic/hiking bento continue reading...