Makiko Itoh - The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go

A bento is a meal that is packed into a box. While in Japan there are several kinds of bentos, including large, elaborate presentation bentos served in restaurants, this book is about the compact, portable bento-box meals that anyone can makethe Japanese equivalent of a packed lunch.

Bento-box lunches were a part of my life growing up in Japan. My mother used to make bentos for my sisters and me to bring to school almost every day, as well as for family outings and picnics. One of my earliest food memories is of peering over the edge of a table, watching my aunts make dozens of onigiri rice balls for a big family gathering, their palms bright red from the salty, hot rice. I can still recall opening up my first bento boxa bright pink plastic one with matching chopstickson my first day at kindergarten; having my grilled salmon stolen out of my aluminum bento box in fifth grade by the boy sitting next to me; the great gabfests my friends and I had at lunchtime in high school as we swapped delicious morsels of food from our boxes.

After living most of my adult years in the United States and Europe, I turned back to bento lunches a few years ago. My aims were to use bento boxes to relearn portion control, to help with my weight-loss efforts, to eat healthier lunches, and to just get out of the fast-food rut I was in. Perhaps most of all, I wanted to reacquaint myself with this often creatively challenging way of presenting a variety of food in such a compact container.

In October 2007, I started a website called JustBento.com as a companion to my existing Japanese cooking site JustHungry.com, to share my renewed enthusiasm for bento-box meals with the world. The response from readers around the world, from all walks of life, has been overwhelmingfrom mothers who want to pack healthy lunches for their kids, students on a tight budget, people looking to lose weight or deal with food allergies in a creative way, to those who simply prefer delicious and economical homemade lunches to fast-food fare.

Ive created more than 150 easy-to-prepare, original, bento-boxfriendly recipes especially for this book. Some of the recipes are traditionally Japanese; some are inspired by other cuisines. With a little preplanning, all of the bentos in this book can be assembled in less than twenty minutes in the morning.

A bento-box lunch is really just a packed lunchbut its a packed lunch prepared with a little extra care, for your family and loved ones, or just for yourself. Bento-box meals are satisfying to the eye and the soul, as well as the body. They do not have to be overly cute or take hours to prepare. With minimal effort and a splash of creativity, they can be things of simple beauty that not only bring a smile to the recipients face but can be as pleasurable to make as they are to eat. I hope that this book will inspire you to make bento-box meals a regular part of your life.

Make the bento healthy and balanced

I make sure to include protein and carbohydrates in every bento box. I always add vegetables, and often a little fruit too, but usually just for dessert, since fruit has a lot of sugar in addition to all those good vitamins. I prefer to get my vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber, from vegetables. Besides, vegetables are so colorful. In my bentos vegetables are not an afterthoughtthey take a starring role alongside the other main ingredients.

Since Im usually watching my weight, I also try to keep the total calorie count down. With a few exceptions, all of the bentos in this book are around 600 calories or less. You can adjust this to fit your nutritional needs by packing more or less food in your bento box.

Keep the bento simple

I dont have the time to spend making multiple items for my bentos. I stick to a maximum of four or five different items per box; many of my bentos contain three items or less.

Make sure the bento is tasty

Any bento I make has to taste so good that the eater (whether its me or someone else) looks forward to lunchtime all morning. I never, ever pack something just because its supposed to be healthy. I also make sure that the food I put in tastes good even when cold or at room temperature, since thats how most bentos are eaten.

Make the bento, fun, colorful, and attractive, but dont fuss too much

We eat with our eyes as well as our mouths and stomachs. A bento box should look colorful and appetizing. I keep elaborate, time-consuming bento decoration attempts for special occasions, however. I have a general rule of keeping bento decorating timethe time needed for the addition of things like cutely cut vegetablesto a maximum of ten minutes per bento for everyday bentos. Usually it takes me no more than five minutes to add a fun, decorative element. Youll find a number of easy and quick bento decoration ideas throughout the book. Also keep in mind that a well-balanced, colorful bento can be beautiful on its own without any additional frills.

Use seasonal, locally grown, natural ingredients whenever possible

I try to make use of seasonal produce as much as possible. I also try to stay away from ready-made, processed foods. Most of my bentos are made with fresh, natural ingredientsorganic and untreated fruits and vegetables, and ethically raised meat and poultry. When I do use processed foods, such as canned beans or processed meats, I try to stick to ones that have a minimum of additives. Sometimes I may stray from these rules for the sake of convenience, but I really do try to use them for all of my cooking, not just for bentos. Besides, in-season fruit and vegetables are usually cheaper and better tasting.

Pay attention to safety and hygiene

When packing food that may have to sit at room temperature for some time before being eaten, its crucial to follow proper, safe, bento-packing practices. See Bento Safety Tips () for more details.

Plan ahead

The biggest time-waster in the morning is peering through the refrigerator and the cupboards, wondering what to make! I try to spend a few minutes every week planning out my bentos using my Weekly Meal Planner (). I may not stick to the plan all the time, but its so helpful to have some idea of what to pack beforehand.