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Monday, July 30, 2007

Bento, anyone?

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Ok, just today I discovered a whole new world of cooking that I'm definitely going to have to explore... soon! I am absolutely amazed by the photos, and I've sat here for too long a while surfing around various sites in awe of these creative meals.

Many of the meals I've seen so far are full of exotic vegetables and sushi, but there are also tons of pictures of kid-friendly meals, like the one below. (Photo found on Photobucket, I don't know who took it.) My 4 year-old daughter would just love this!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket


From what I can tell, Bento is basically a very creative Japanese way of packing lunches in tiny containers and compartments. There are special Bento containers, but you can also do it using simple (frugal) things like cupcake papers.


Since I really do need to go do other things, I'll just leave you with a quick list of the links I've been enjoying:
Lunch in a Box: http://lunchinabox.net/links/
Bento photos on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bentoboxes/pool/
This one includes some cute kids' themed lunches:
http://mmmbento.livejournal.com/
Bento Yum:
http://www.bentoyum.com/
I'm sure I'll have more on Bento later, as I said, I've just discovered this for the first time today. When I have more time, I'll clean these links up and put them into my sidebar. If any of you are into Bento, I'd love to hear from you!

4 comments:

Biggie @ Lunch in a Box said...

Hi Amy, thanks for the shout out on my speed bento blog, Lunch in a Box! I've been having a ball trying out the speed tips in my Japanese-language bento cookbooks for all kinds of food, not just Japanese. I find that my two-year-old now gets really excited about lunch (knock on wood that it continues, right?).

Jennifer Laycock said...

Amy, thanks for the link. :)

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head in terms of what bento has become, at least here in the U.S.

While there are tons of "purists" that focus on the true art of bento (perfect balance of colors, types of fod, etc...) there's a growing trend of folks that focus more on the creative lunch factor.

I've been playing around in bento for about two months now, using some supplies sent from a friend in Japan, some things I ordered off eBay and a ton of stuff I found in my local craft and grocery stores.

I liken it to food scrapbooking. You can do it up expensive or you can do it up cheap. Just depends on how creative you are. :)

Meredith said...

Hi, Amy, thanks for visiting my Bento article! Discovering Bento has really gotten me inspired to make better lunches for my family.

Lunch Buckets said...

Yes, I'm a new addict, and I ain't afraid to admit it! Have fun :)