Bento are traditional foods that the Japanese cook daily for themselves, their spouses, and most of all, for their children. And the boxes that are used to serve Bento meals are commonly known as Bento box. Although the concept originated in Japan, it has become very popular around the world. There was a time when the return from school or office involved the return of the lunchbox preparation for the next day. Preparing lunch was a gigantic job in itself.
Bento boxes are practical to carry and good for the planet. But the benefits of this are not limited to just these. Take some time to check out the benefits.
Bento box basics
Being very popular for the last decade, this is an effective and useful alternative to conventional lunch boxes. The hermetically secure lid of the box only opens to reveal a distributed interior where you can place different types of food. This is not a new invention. In fact, the invention of Bento dates back to the 12th century in Japan. The Japanese used to prepare Bento (packed lunch) to take to their workplace. Modern Japanese Bento boxes come in different materials and designs for their presentation and variety that differ significantly. Although they may differ in style, presentation, and variety, the main purpose of Bento is to serve different types of nutritious foods in one serving.
Benefits of Bento boxes
They ensure health – Preparing Bentos served in a Bento box ensures you eat fresh homemade meals without harmful chemicals or additives.
They are good for the planet As you know, this box has several compartments. This helps different foods to be served without leaving any chance of touching each other. And this obviously eliminates the requirement to use plastic wrap to keep food separate. And by reducing the use of plastic and plastic waste going to landfills, the environment is significantly saved.
They claim to serve balanced meals – Bento boxes have compartments where you can put rice, cooked vegetables, meat / fish, pickles, etc. You can also add some fruits to complete the food groups recommended by doctors.
They help you with your effort to lose weight. The bentos are packed in boxes with several compartments. In fact, this is the specialty of a Bento box. Each compartment is divided into servings so you can’t fill them with extra food. If you want to lose extra pounds, choose a Bento box following the general rule: 1 cubic ml serves 1 calorie. If, for example, you want to have an 1800 calorie diet, use a 600 ml Bento box. You can take 3 servings a day to meet your daily calorie requirement. Choose yours according to your requirements.
Bento encourages children to try different types of healthy foods: As already mentioned, Bento boxes have a number of useful sections where you can serve a wide variety of foods for your children. The lid of such boxes closes securely, ensuring that it does not spill or fall. And so you can put a variety of cut vegetables and fruits without worrying about the juices being soaked from other foods. When children open the lid, they will see different foods before their eyes. And this surely attracts them to eat their lunch without wasting. Opening extra containers is often annoying for little ones and thus makes their idea of feeding their children different types of food fail.
They do not require extensive maintenance – It does not consume your time to wash and care for these boxes. You can easily remove them. In fact, you can also wash them in your dishwasher. They can be perfect on the top rack of the dishwasher.
So, what are you waiting for? Join the Bento Box Revolution: Eat Healthy; feed healthy.