Just Bento

Ketchup is viscous like mayo, so I usually use a mayo cup with a wide mouth and a fliptop lid, rather than a squeeze bottle type thing, just because they are easier to clean. Like the ones in the foreground in this picture.

(edited...wtf I wrote Ketchup is vicious...slapping self)

I don't carry ketchup nor mayo (i'm afraid they'll go bad!! >_<) but when i carry dressings for my salads i usually put it the smallest tupper-like-ware i have, bought at Ikea. It's too big anyway and I'm thinking of other possibilities... Like even a smaller tight-close container. I'll do my research.
Also, I'm always afraid of it getting open and staining my brand-new isolated bento bag! >_<

I own some soy sauce fishes but never use them. mostly because i hardly put soy sauce to my food (i hardly cook sushi for my go-to-work bentos), and if i do, it's in the form of dressing for salads so it goes in my small tupper thingie.

What I do is to put philadelphia cheese and hummus in ultra-small silicon cups i bought at a store in Madrid (entry #22 in my blog here at justbento is an example). they were sold as mini-muffin cups, but i thought "hey, cheap bento gear!!!" **dancing**

I put ketchup and other thick dressings into 1-oz snap top containers from the Container Store. Found in the Travel section, they are under $1 and food-safe. They look a little bland, so I've started putting stickers on them. -- Still waiting for lawyer hubby to ask about those black & white pigs (Monokuro Boo)

I was in my absolute favorite place to shop in the world yesterday and I had a kind of "DUH!" moment! I stopped at the DollarTree to pick up some mini-cupcake-cups and sandwich-cutters I saw the week before.

I went to the sporting goods store next to it to look into Javaman's suggestion. I saw the kit he mentioned but I felt it was not calling me to it (I always wait a week before making any purchase outside of my standard food staples.)

As I was walking back past the $Tree, I noticed there were little vending machines near the exit, the kind that have candy and toys for children. That was when I had my AHA! Moment!

Inside the $.50 machine were assorted crappy cheap toys - encased in plastic bubbles, just the right size to fit inside my lunchbox!

So if you are looking for a cheap solution for katchup or mayo, try one of these!

My boyfriend also suggested plastic easter eggs.

hana.yori.dango