Just Bento

(Originally published in April 2008, and updated substantially.)

A very frequently asked question is where and how to buy the bento items and boxes mentioned here, especially in the Bento Item Spotlight (formerly Bento Item of the Week) feature, as well as on other bento blogs and sites. I’ve listed you several options, which I hope will be useful.

Look locally first

As much as I love online shopping, I believe in shopping at your local stores first. You’re supporting your area’s businesses, and you don’t have to pay shipping costs. Besides, it’s arguably a bit better for the environment (especially if you take public transportation!) since the goods have already travelled to your area.

You might argue, “but I don’t have any stores near me that sell bento stuff!” I don’t either. But it’s always possible to find alternatives for lunch boxes, dividers, picks and other accessories. As I wrote in one of the earliest articles on this site, it’s not necessary to buy a box that is labeled as a Bento Box in order to bring bento lunches. You can use cupcake cups, paper or silicon, as bento dividers, picnic utensils, and so on. Check out the Bento Gear Flickr pool for a lot of creative ideas from fellow bento enthusiasts. continue reading...

When I saw this unusual looking lunchbox via the delicious bento tag stream, my first thought was, “Wow, that looks so cool”. The Goodbyn™ Lunchbox is a one-piece, molded plastic container with fitted lid, that looks like an odd/cute (or in anime parlance, kimo kawaii) space alien or animal. continue reading...

I really, really don’t need any more bento boxes. But when I spotted these incredibly adorable little onigiri boxes, I just couldn’t resist.

Since I have adopted them, it’s a good opportunity to show how to use this type of single-onigiri box. continue reading...

This week’s bento box is an example of a type of bento box which is designed to hold onigiri or omusubi (rice balls) securely.

While onigiri are very portable, they can get smashed around if you just carry them loose, and fitting them in a regular flat bento box can be a bit awkward sometimes. This is where the onigiri bento box comes in. continue reading...

This week’s bento, or rather food-on-the-go, box is from the popular Fit & Fresh™ line from Medport. Fit & Fresh™ products are plastic containers with a cooling element included in some way. This makes them interesting for use with food that needs to be kept chilled, especially in the warmer months. continue reading...

As I posted yesterday, making individual pies in muffin or cupcake liners is a great way to make ‘planned leftovers’ from dinner look neat enough to put into a bento box. As Sile suggested in the comments, if you don’t want to use throwaway paper cups, silicone cups are a reusable alternative. Calphalon makes a nice silicone liner and cupcake pan set which would be perfect for this. The liners are in pretty pastel colors.

You can also use the liners as dividers in your bento, for salads, fruit, and so on. They sell the tin and liners as a set, as shown here, or the liners on their own. Extras might be a good idea to have if you do freeze the food ‘cupcakes’. continue reading...

This week I’m going back to the handcrafted bento boxes that I love. The material in the spotlight is bamboo. continue reading...

This week’s bento item of the week is something that goes into a bento box for a change - microwaveable rice. continue reading...