Bento (written 弁当), or obento (お弁当) to use the honorific term, is the Japanese word for a meal served in a box. Beyond that basic definition though, just about anything goes as to what kind of box or container is used, as well as what is put inside that box,.
(See also: Types of homemade bento.)
There are several different kinds of bento, with different purposes. Makunouchi bento are elaborate bento meals presented at formal meals, meant to be eaten at table. This is the type you will see served in restaurants, arranged in elegant lacquered boxes. Kouraku bento are picnic bento, to be shared by a group of people enjoying themselves outdoors - the most popular settings is while enjoying the cherry blossoms in spring ((o)hahanami). Ekiben (a shortened form of eki bento) are boxed meals sold at train stations for travellers (though nowadays you can buy ekiben at many other places, such as department store food halls or convenience stores).
The kind of bento that have garnered the most attention recently, especially outside of Japan are what are called kyaraben or charaben, ‘cute bento’ ‘art bento’ or ‘entertaining bento’ (entertain-bento), extremely elaborately decorated small works of art, as exemplified by the work presented on sites like e-obento (Japanese). These are usually made by mothers for their small children. There can be a high level of competitiveness in this arena - there are tons of contests and such that feature these bentos.
Finally, there’s the plain simple bento that most people bring to work or school for lunch. It’s important to note that most Japanese people do not spend their time making elaborate charaben or ‘cute bento’ - that’s more in the realm of a hobby and craft rather than practical everyday living. The type of bento that JustBento concentrates on for the most part are practical, tasty, healthy everyday bento lunches.
As with a lot of things, my first inspiration for making bento lunches is my mother. Even with three kids and a full time job, my mother always managed to make delicious lunches for us to bring to school. They weren’t always the very prettiest, but they were tasty, filling and healthy. I also take inspiration from other members of my family - my sisters and aunts and my late grandmothers. Finally, I also refer to a number of Japanese bento books.
Here is the basic bento philosophy that’s behind the bento examples presented on this site.
Please also keep in mind that most of my bento are made with adult eaters in mind, rather than kids. They can be adapted for kids of course by perhaps reducing the quantities, or just used as-is for teenagers.
Since one of my main objectives is to make my bentos healthy, many are totally vegetarian or vegan, while all rely heavily on vegetable products. Meat is not used often as a main ingredient. However, some dishes do use non-vegetarian flavoring or texturizing ingredients, such as oyster sauce, fish sauce, dried bonito flakes or dried shrimp, and eggs. I’ve indicated when an obento is 100% vegetarian/vegan or not. Many bentos that are not vegetarian can be adapted to become so if needed. (I also use things like a little bit of sugar, tomato ketchup and so on as flavoring on occasion.)
Rice is the base for Japanese style bentos, and I have chosen to use brown rice (genmai) in most cases, since it’s nutritionally superior to white rice. White can be used instead. About half of the bentos presented here have Japanese flavors, but there are also plenty of not-Japanese bentos.
The traditional Japanese bento ratio of rice or carb (shushoku), protein and other (usually vegetables) components is 4:2:1, or 4 parts rice to 2 parts protein to 1 part other ingredients. The recommended ratio, advocated by various nutritionists, for people trying to lose weight or eat healthily is 3:2:1. I aim more for a 1:1 ratio in terms of volume between rice and protein, with the rest taken up by lots of vegetables. In other words I try to have a bit less rice or other carb, and a lot more veggies. There is usually 3/4 to 1 cup of rice, which is about 160 to 220 calories, in each ~600 calorie bento box.
Below are links to more pages in the Bento Basics handbook.
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And visit our sister site, Just Hungry for great Japanese home recipes and more.

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obento
Thanks for the site. your meals look great! I’d like to try some and lose some weight too!
fredo
Your Site is AWESOME
I have just discovered your site and I am amazed. I am now trying to convince my husband to let me change over our entire diet and kitchen to Japanese and other Asian cooking. I figure all these years of eating American has made us fat and unhealthy, so why not try something completely different? Bento seems to be perfect too for portion control.
losing weight
Bento lunches can indeed help you lose weight via portion control. (Another reader and her husband (who are American) have lost 50 lbs so far together using bento! They don’t have to be packed with just Japanese or Asian food either.
I hope you find the site useful! :)
Wrote about you!
Hey there, just wanted to let you know that I featured your site on a women’s blog I write for (under a pseudonym). Also, thanks for the permission to feature you in the first place :) Hope the link works, if it doesn’t, please email me.
http://www.notesfromvenus.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&...
Re: Bento Basics
this is an amazing site..i spent over an hour on here just looking through everything to catch up! thank you! it reminds me of when my mom used to make me bento everyday for school as a child..i will be making them now!
=)
Re: Bento Basics
Excellent ideas and loved your writing style!
Re: Bento Basics
I noticed so far that none of the bento boxes have a drink listed. So what would you drink if you were to create a bento box?
Re: Bento Basics
I usually just drink water, hot or cold tea, or diet soda (can do without extra calories in my drink!). I've been trying to avoid getting bottled water or tea and using thermal mugs lately...I guess I should do a post about that soon ^_^
Re: Bento Basics
I think I love you. =)
Re: Bento Basics
This is awesome...i can think of an alternative lunch for my daughter since she only eats japanese food....she loves onigiri
Re: Bento Basics
I absolutely love your site. I want to thank you for sharing all your recipes and tips with everyone, it's so helpful. The past year I have been trying to eat healthier and exercise, and most of the time I'm good, but occasionally I slip like a lot of people do. Making bentos is something I've always wanted to do, but was a little too intimidated to actually try, but you really helped me out. I'm an aspiring 5K/half-marathon runner, college student, and lacrosse player/equestrian, so I need balanced meals, but I also need portion control and this has been perfect. I've made some of your recipes already and so far have loved them all. They are so healthy and yet so delicious. Thank you again!
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