Bento for Your Health

When someone think about a bento, they may picture a adorably cute lunch box with a million side dishes, full of colorful rainbows and sunshines, and rice shaped into characters of your favorite animal or cartoon. To be quite frank, it actually does not have to be like that. In fact, it shouldn't unless the bento is specifically made for a loved one (or loved ones) on a special occasion. That being said, if you're like me who is a fairly average person, then you do not need to put so much effort into your lunch. You actually do not need a fancy box to put it in either. The key here is to make "bento" with the intention of your (or your loved one's) health behind it. It should be full of home-cooked, nutritious, and easy to make side dishes. 

Efficiency is Key

Here is a recent photo of one of my bento lunches on a vegetarian weekday. Now, you may be thinking that it looks time consuming for the average busy person's home cooked lunch, but it is actually quite simple, easy, and quick to make on top of being packed full of wonderful nutrients. It was also very filling! What I made here were sweet tamagoyaki (Japanese style rolled up eggs), simmered potato-carrot-onion, pumpkin, pickled cucumbers, mixed brown rice, and an umeboshi (pickled plum). The eggs cooked up in 5 minutes, the potato-carrot-onion simmered in seasoned broth for 10 minutes, the pumpkin were from a previous day, the pickled cucumbers were also from the previous day, and the rice cooked/prepped for 25-30 minutes. The umeboshi was store bought and is merely the cherry on top. Now mind you, this was cooked and prepped all together at the same time, starting with the longest to make (rice) to the shortest (eggs); thus, overall, it only took me 30 minutes to put together. On a good day with plenty of leftover side dishes from previous cooking, packing a healthy bento lunch can take less than 5 minutes all together. To make bento, efficiency in the kitchen is a must!

Bento for Your Health

Efficiency in the kitchen and learning to cook may take some time to master, as with all skills; but there is a very important reason why you should consider putting some effort into mastering these skills. 

First and foremost, it is very important to be eating whole foods, cooked from your very own kitchen. You've probably heard it all by now, maybe from your mom, your nurse or doctor, your school, or your government entities that you need to eat better for your health. They aren't just saying it to annoy you. Trust me, there is good reason for it considering the ever increasing number of people developing heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even diet and lifestyle related cancer. The frozen foods in your freezer, the junk foods in your cabinet, and the fast food joints in your neighborhood may taste delicious but the high calories, sodium, and sugar content combined with lot nutrients will lead to undesirable chronic health problems for you later in life. 

Don't take your health so lightly; do try to cook and eat more home food! I sincerely believe we can all learn many things from other countries that stick to the traditional value of cooking at home and for each other. Making bento goes back to the basics of taking care of one's health and the health of those close to you. That and it just saves so much more money in the long run compared to eating out for lunch every day!