Glad the forums finally got put up, now all us bento enthusiasts can get to know each other! ^^ i did a little bit of bentoing to work over last summer and now I want to get back into doing it for lunches for school. I also want to try to eat healthy and not have to eat out as much so i can lose weight AND save money AND help with my fiance's IBS. So here's to healthy eating and bentos!

Just wanted to say "Hello" and introduce myself. I've been blogging about recipes for about 1.5 years, but I had a static recipe page for years before that. I actually only started blogging because I thought it was an easier way to periodically add new recipes than to write a new page every time. Then I got addicted! I have 2 blogs now (the other is fertility related, so I won't post it here unless someone requests it), and I'm planning on starting a 3rd when my husband gets around to restoring his 1969 Mustang.

Hi everyone, Joanna here from Southern Alabama. The military drags us all over the globe. We are not at all into all the hooah gung- ho stuff. Hubby just loves to fly his choppers and medevac, so here we are. Our daughter and I tag along for the ride. I originally hail from the Netherlands and used to live there and in Germany before I met my husband. Pretty much all my life I have been fascinated by Japanese culture.Despite having had the fortune to travel a lot of the world and see many beautiful places I have not yet been to Japan.

Hi everyone, i'm really bad at introductions but here goes. I'm 26 and live in the UK and i go by the name Minami (Not my real name but i don't want to share that info =P). I got into making bento a few months ago, but then got out of the habit, so i'm hoping this challenge will inspire me again. I love Japanese food and love to experiment with cooking.

Awkward introduction is awkward! I used to be a student but now I just work part-time. I'm looking forward to the bento challenge for a number of reasons, but mostly because I recently realized that although I started bento making over a year ago, I've actually only made 19 of them ?! but I think part of the problem is that I'm not motivated to cook dinner most nights, so I rarely end up with bento-suited leftovers since dinner usually ends up as fast food. Been trying to think of a way to fix that problem, so suggestions are welcome :))

Nice to meet you all, I'm Polly, from the very cold North East of England. I love making bento for work, and as I have recently started working in a call centre (lots of sitting...not much else) I need to watch my calorie intake! I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone's delicious creations once the challenge gets started. When not bento-ing, I love live music, painting and drawing, retro video games and immersing myself in all kinds of Japanese popular culture.

Hi everyone, I'm from Paris, France. I'm 23 and I'm studying IT. I do love cooking, especially japanese cooking. I started to make bentos for almost a year. But I have so bad habits : I tend to eat too much so I need to lose some weight. :) I'm very interesting in portion control with bento. I started to learn japanese by myself (I'm not very serious, I should work more!) and I love reading : japanese literature, american novels... Have a nice day!

My name is Lauren (Fossil on here). I love fossil watches/purses, hence the name, though I do enjoy archaeology. I got started on bentos....er....I think 2 years ago, when I took my first japanese class, and ordered my first one from jlist.com, and have made them every since. I think I either have a slight wheat allergy/intolerance (whenever I eat bread, it usually kick-starts acid-reflux), thus I'm trying to cut it out of my diet.