Just Bento

Bento contents:

• One pan braised kale with bacon and new potatoes, 1/4th the recipe, 430 cal
• Angel shaped cheese cutout (Gruyere), 30 cal

Total calories (approx): 460 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 5-10 minutes in the morning (from leftovers of dinner the night before: see recipe for timing of kale dish) continue reading...

Bento contents:

• 5 small Sweet Potato and Carrot Oyaki filled with ham and cheese, 250 cal
• Sausage bunnies and cauliflower sheep using 2 cocktail franks, 70 calories
• 1 Tbs. mayonnaise, 60 cal
• Blanced broccoli, carrot butterflies and other vegetables, 30 cal

Total calories (approx): 410 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 15 minutes the night before; 20 minutes in the morning

Type: Quick, not-rice-based charaben continue reading...

Bento contents:

• 3 Karaage Chicken Lollipops, each about 40g of dark chicken meat, 180 cal
• 2 onigiri with mixed in furikake, containing about 1 1/2 cups total white rice, 360 cal
• Boiled asparagus, 10 cal
• Cherries, 30 cal

Total calories (approx): 580 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 10 minutes the night before; 15 minutes in the morning

Type: Japanese picnic continue reading...

Bento contents:

• About 2 oz / 60 g Poached frozen tofu, 90 cal
• 1 US cup (240ml) brown rice with sesame seeds, 240 cal
• About 5 radishes worth of Instant radish pickles, lined with shiso leaf, 15 cal
• 1/2 cup Baby zucchini (courgettes) sautéed in oil with soy sauce, 50 cal
• 4 Zucchini blossom-end fritters, 150 cal
• Asparagus spear ends, 5 cal

Total calories (approx): 550 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 10-15 minutes in the morning

Type: Vegetarian, Japanese with a twist continue reading...

Bento contents:

• 1 cup (240ml, about 150g) brown rice, 240 calories
• 3/4 cup (180ml) vegan iri dofu, 225 calories
• Snow peas and pickled red ginger (beni shouga) for garnish

Total calories (approx): 465 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 15 minutes the night before; 5 minutes in the morning

Type: Traditional Japanese, vegan continue reading...

Bento contents:

• Panfried salted salmon, 2 oz / 60 g (120 cal)
• Green Pea Rice, 1 US cup (220 cal)
• Asparagus with vinegar (10 cal)
• Scrambled egg with green onion (100 cal)
• Cherry tomatoes and snow peas (10 cal)

Total calories (approx): 460 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 10 minutes the night before; 15 minutes in the morning

Type: Traditional Japanese continue reading...

This is a guest post by Erin, who writes a frugal lifestyle blog in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, called The Cheap Chick.

My name is The Cheap Chick, and I have a confession to make: I’m addicted to online bento. It’s shocking, but true. Every day, sometimes two or three times a day, I log on to my favorite site and look at what other people packed that week for their lunches.

However, if there’s a 12-step program to help me stop, I don’t want it. Because not only did Just Bento (and its sister site, Just Hungry,) help change the way I cook and eat for the better, bento fits in perfectly with the ‘be cheap and fabulous’ gospel I’m trying to spread across the globe. What could be thriftier than packing your lunch and using the pantry items and leftovers you already have, rather than buying your lunch every day at a restaurant or fast food joint?

When Maki asked for guest writers for Just Bento, I knew it was time for me to join the world of bento makers. And I promised her I could make a bento that would be frugal, use many of the ingredients I already own or buy on a regular basis, and would look and taste delicious. Here’s how it turned out… continue reading...

This is a guest post by Smalerie, who blogs about bento making and her other hobbies in her blog Boston Bento. Here she shows us how to make fun sweet dessert bentos to share with friends…or, well, I guess you could reserve one for yourself for a super-indulgent occasion too ^_^; -(maki) continue reading...