Bento Boxes

Mary Ann

I recently read an article that a good way to eat lunch was to graze by making a plate of a few vegetables, fruits, some protein, a few carbs, and a treat.  I would often do this not realizing I was grazing, so I started to think of ways of making this easy, interesting, and healthy. 

Other countries graze in their own unique ways such as smorgasbords or tapas.  In the United States, we supersize foods which end up supersizing us.  So, I set out thinking about how I could incorporate grazing into my life in an orderly fashion. It came to me that Bento Boxes might be a good direction to go.

I ordered a set of five Bento Boxes from Amazon that were dishwasher safe and made of all the safe plastic materials.  You can get boxes that have various size sections. I thought I could make the boxes up on the weekend and have lunch prepared for the next 5 days.  Of course, I would have to shop for food first and have everything ready to go on Sunday.  These are some of the ideas that I found that worked and a few lessons learned about grub that didn’t.  I am still developing menus as I go along.  

The Bento Boxes I used each have five individual sections.   I tried to use one for fruit, one for vegetables, one for proteins, one for nuts and seeds, and one for carbs. These are some of the ideas for the lunches.

Fruits– grapes, cherries, melons (fresh), apples (pre-sliced packs), clementines, kiwis, berries, and bananas (cut to fit the section; the end will turn brown, and you will need to cut it off before you eat).  You could buy a precut fruit tray that offers pineapples and melons to make the prep even easier.  Small containers can be included that might have peanut butter or cream cheese to enhance the fruits.  Another possibility is using dried fruits. 

Vegetables – carrots, celery, raw cauliflower, raw broccoli, peppers, and raw asparagus and beans, and snap peas.  Again, precut vegetable trays would cut prep time. You may have noticed that I didn’t include cucumber.  I found that they are fine early in the week but get soggy as the week progresses.  You can find small containers to put a dip in such as Ranch Dressing. 

Nuts and Seeds – cashews, almonds, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.  I mixed them altogether and used a quarter cup measuring cup to put into one of the sections.  I used the nuts each day.  

Proteins – One of our area groceries stores makes chicken, egg, and tuna salads in small containers that make a perfect and tasty portion for a section.  You, of course, could make your own.  This, however, makes it easy.  You could roll a piece of ham and a piece of cheese around a sweet pickle for sandwich without bread.   This is a perfect place to use a hard-boiled egg.  These can be purchased already cooked and peeled – easy!  Other  possibilities – there are little brie cheese bites from Supreme and Babybel cheese rounds that are both tasty with crackers.  

Carbs –Any seedy, whole grainy crackers (Crunchmaster or Raincoast Crisps by Lesley Stowe) or even a few chips for a treat.  The crackers are great to have with your protein.  

Once the boxes are assembled, put them in the refrigerator ready to be eaten each day of the week.  You are done fixing lunches for the week in a relatively short period of time.  If you are working, your lunch box is ready to go.  Bento Boxes easily go in the dishwasher once you are done eating.  I did find that it was almost too much food.  However, that is a good thing because you have your afternoon snack already to go.  You can graze away your day! 

I am sure you will have some great ideas of your own.  As I said, I am still learning, but as you apply the things you do learn, the easier it gets. There is always room for exploring new ideas and adding tasty items to your menus.  Bon Appetit!