equipment and supplies

Bento box and accessories review: monbento bento boxes and accessories from France

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An in depth look at the monbento line of bento boxes and accessories, including the boxes themselves, the sauce cups, cutlery and the brand new silicone molds.

Upcoming: Bento box and accessory reviews

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Expect several bento box and accessory reviews soon...and maybe a few surprises.

xmas-onigiri.pngFor some reason I've only done this every couple of years on JustBento, but to celebrate my Return To Blogging, I thought I'd put together a short list of bento related goodies that have caught my eye.

I've even hauled out Christmas Santa Sideburns Onigiri-man to bring in the cheer. Onigiri-man has evolved over the years that he's been the JustBento mascot, and now he has a goatee instead of sideburns. But originally, he was firmly stuck in the '70s.

There should still be plenty of time to order any of the items mentioned, although in some cases you may need to choose express shipping.

But enough with the preamble: here we go.


Making bento lunches in a dorm room

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[It's back-to-school time! This article was originally posted in September 2008, and revised several times since. There are lots of great ideas in the comments, so be sure to check them out! ]

Here's a great question from reader Jan:

I live in a college dorm, and I only have a microwave, water kettle and George Foreman-style grill (we aren’t allowed to have hotplates in here). Is it an option to grill tofu? And do you have any other suggestions for cooking with my limited resources?

Eating healthy in a dorm room can be a challenge indeed, especially without a fully equipped kitchen. I actually lived in a dorm-like setting (it was off-campus housing but set up like a dorm) for a few months during my early days in college. We had access to an ancient refrigerator, which was compartmentalized inside into lockable litle safe-like boxes with nameplates and keys (!). Each box was about the size of a hotel room safe, so there was barely enough space there for each person to store an apple and a can of soda. We could have a water heater in our rooms, but that was about it (though there were suspiciousl smells periodically wafting about the place from various rooms). I did move to a better place as soon as I could, but here's what I remember doing from those days, plus some ideas about using those luxury items, a grill and a microwave!

Bento box review: The all-stainless steel LunchBots Quad

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An in-depth look into the newest all-stainless steel bento box from LunchBots. Includes a special discount offer for JustBento readers!

Bento box review: Atsuben Kun heats up your lunch

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A review of a sleek little bento box that actually heats up your food without a microwave.

Bento box review: The Idea bento box may just be the ideal bento box

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A review of a very versatile bento box that's especially good for bento beginners.

xmas-onigiri2.pngWelcome to the 3rd and final part of the 2010 Holiday Gift Guide for bento fans! In Part 1 we covered under-$10 gifts, and in Part 2 we looked at gifts in the $10-50 range. Now it's time to look at gifts for that really special bento person in your life - including yourself!

I had a bit of a hard time putting together this list actually (which is why it took some time to post). At first I was going to recommend some bento-friendly appliances, such as a nice rice cooker. But I did that kind of thing in my original Holiday Gift Guide 3 years ago. So, this time I am going to concentrate on the pure indulgences - high end bento boxes, sets and other stuff. I know, I have said time and time again on these pages that you can do bentos with inexpensive, practical plastic containers - and you can, and should start out with those until you're sure bento-ing is for you. But just as you might want to indulge in a beautiful dinnerware set from Wedgewood or Royal Copenhagen or something, you might want to splurge on one special bento box. After all, a special bento box is something a lot more intimate than a for-company-only dinnerware. Or how about this; think of a special bento box as a treat for yourself (or your favorite bento person), like a set of really nice silk lingerie instead everyday cotton underpants.

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