Hello, Bento...

I have this really great lunch "bag" from Built, which is made of this insulated, flexible, easy to wash material, and I love it. The problems arise because I love to cook. My love for cooking often means that I have leftovers that I can bring to work for lunch the next day. I have to pack these delicious leftovers in containers and then somehow play tetris and squeeze them all into this lunch bag. While researching alternative ideas for the lunch box, I stumbled across the bento box.

The bento originates from Japanese culture and dates back to the 5th century. This version of the "brown bag" lunch was originally used by working and traveling people who needed a convenient way to pack and eat a nutritious meal. Originally the bento was not a box, but was wrapped in natural materials to carry, but in modern times, the bento can be found in all shapes and sizes. A typical bento box will consist of smaller boxes within the larger box, which is said to provide just the right serving size for your meal.

So, I purchased my very own bento box (seen below--isn't it cute?), and I'm looking forward to testing it out this week at work. I'll be posting my bento box lunch ideas at the end of the week, so stay tuned!