Deciding what to eat that can satisfy both your hunger and nutritional requirements can be difficult. First, there are the concerns of having to meet the one hour scheduled time for lunch. Secondly, the foods available in the vicinity of your office may not be your choice selection when it comes to deciding what to eat.
Enter the Bento set. When you think of bento s what comes to mind? For me it was of Japanese schoolgirls with pink hello kitty lunchboxes and heart shaped tomato sauces. I thought these dishes would probably not have much flavour. I can only imagine the overpoweringly sweet tomato sauce over an over fried omelet and over cooked rice, much akin to a school girl’s fantasy which is beautiful to look at but empty on the inside.
Bentos have long been used throughout Japanese history when it first made its appearance in the Kamakura Period. Since then, Bentos have been redeveloped over and over again.
Today however, the humble bento is revisited by a new wave of hipsters. Ready to make Bentos cool again.
So what defines Bentos from their western counterpart, the Lunchbox, you ask. Well, the main difference is that Bentos are generally more visually appealing than a lunchbox. Imagine opening a box of vibrant colours to whet your appetite. Of course, most of the meals prepared are based on the Japanese diet, and why not? The Japanese have seen the longest life spans, thanks to a healthy light, balanced diet of fish and rice.
There are several websites today that provide ideas to get you started on your bento making!
They even have a ‘bento basics’ to teach you common things like how to make tamago or egg bento.
www.justbento.com
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