Bento Lunches!!!

I'm not sure how I came to find the blog, Lunch in a Box, but I've really enjoyed it. Biggie introduced me to the art of Bento.

From Wikipedia: Bentō is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine...Although bento are easily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops, train stations, and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend considerable time and energy producing an appealing boxed lunch.

I've always stuggled with packing my lunch. For one thing, most of the traditional American brown bag lunches are not vegan. The packed lunches I grew up with were usually the same...Sandwich + Chips + Cookie. That doesn't leave a lot of inspiration.

After reading Biggie's blog, I purchased some bento supplies. John and I spent a Saturday on the "Bento Mission." We found a good selection of supplies at Minoya--which is also where I purchased my sushi mat--and picked up a vaccuum pack lunch pail (pictured above) at the May Hua Supermarket at Coit and Park (across from the Stamp Asylum--a very cool art store). I found the Laptop Lunchbox (pictured at the top) by Obentec online via Amazon.

The best part is that it has been really fun. I've also learned how much I enjoy the different colors and textures, and it has been a great way to repurpose leftovers.

Anyway, Biggie covers it way better than I ever could here. Check out what she makes for her preschooler, Bug on the Lunch in a Box blog.