Everyday Systems

I haven't been following the forum lately, so I hope I'll be forgiven if I bring up something that has been discussed.

Of course, a lot of the whole point of the No S diet is very sensible -- PORTION CONTROL!

I discovered something that makes it fun. No, you don't have to make things complicated, but it's kinda neat, nonetheless:

Japanese Bento boxes. This is what millions of Japanese people bring to work and school every day.

They fit in very well with the No S diet.

My bento measures 7x4x3 inches. Ver' small. (And the one I have is billed as a large one!).

Now, if you look up the bento blogs that are popping up, you'll note that these things are packed tight when you make a lunch for them. But there's NO WAY you're going over for portion control.


(And if you follow bento esthetics, you're almost guaranteed a healthy meal anyway because of the colorful fresh food you put in it).

No, it's hardly necessary to proper NoS. But it follows the idea well and is fun.

What a great idea. A perfect fit for No-s.

I've actually eaten out of one of these bento trays at a local Japanese restaurant, but I didn't know what they were called or that they were portable (or such a phenomenon!).

Please post links if there's a particularly good bento blog or purchase link to a tray (I did some poking around on amazon but everything I found seemed a little large and formal).

Reinhard

reinhard wrote:What a great idea. A perfect fit for No-s.
Please post links if there's a particularly good bento blog or purchase link to a tray (I did some poking around on amazon but everything I found seemed a little large and formal).

Reinhard

Your wish is my command, effendi

Cooking Cute

Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento

My Lunch Can Beat Up Your Lunch

Livejournal Bento Lunch Community

We got into a discussion of bento on another forum, and I thought about buying one. Then I realized that I was already eating like that, but American style. My lunchbag, which I picked up at Borders, holds my little leftover dishes very nicely, and that is what I take to work with me. I really think it's a nifty way to pack a meal!

OK, I just ordered a box from Laptop Lunches. I had been coveting one of their boxes but I found it too confusing to figure out what to order. This post reminded me and I finally went and did the heavy lifting. There's no stopping me now!

What great timing - right before school starts, and we need to replace lunchboxes anyway.

A little pricey, but SO cute!

KCCC wrote:What great timing - right before school starts, and we need to replace lunchboxes anyway.

A little pricey, but SO cute!

You can find them cheaper on ebay, and in Japanese stores if you live in a large city.

They're very small, though. Won't hold a sandwich unless it has been cut up. A classic Japanese bento is 4:3:2:1 Four parts rice, three parts protein, two parts veggies and one part sweet (but sweet in a bento really means fruit).

Astonishingly, they're filling!

NF, I just want to thank you for starting this topic. I've been having so much fun with my new Laptop Lunch box, and I'm eating a lot more healthily too. The little containers make it easy to eat tiny servings of a variety of foods, which I've found is really important to me for sticking to the No-S plan. I'm packing my lunch Western-style for now, although it might be fun to get some cherry-blossom shaped cutters and some furikake sprinkles to dress up my food in the future. Here are some sample menus:

Big Container 1: tuna sandwich on rye
Big Container 2: yogurt with blueberries
Little Container 1: spinach sauteed with red pepper and pine nuts
Little Container 2: a sliced peach, sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning

Big Container 1: leftover pasta with herbs (I didn't think this was going to work, but it did, beautifully)
Big Container 2: meat(less)balls (made with soy and mushrooms) and tomato sauce
Little Container 1: lima beans
Little Container 2: a small plum and a few dried cranberries

florafloraflora wrote: The little containers make it easy to eat tiny servings of a variety of foods, which I've found is really important to me for sticking to the No-S plan.

Oh man, I hearya on that one. Variety is what does it for me, too! I feel a lot more satisfied and happier after a meal if it isn't a "one dish" meal.

This is a link to a pic of a representative lunch for me now that I'm doing bento.

http://noelfigart.livejournal.com/1342925.html

NoelFigart wrote:I feel a lot more satisfied and happier after a meal if it isn't a "one dish" meal.

Yeah, and the compartments are also a reminder not to have a too-huge portion of any one thing.