Okay, I Pride myself on my Love of Lunch, and I, of all people missed the Blogger Lunch. If only I read my e-mail, this has got to be a message to make me read my e-mail regularly, anyway thanks to Holly, who told me about it, I hope we have another one so I can bring a Bento Buffet. Hopefully we can have another event. Plus, even if I had known, I would have been in my Midterm.
Alright, so onto the post.
BENTO CHIC VS BENTO CHEAP
Obviously, I did not make the fantastic Bunny, it is a picture from a Book called Food Face. I WISH I had made it, but then again it would be a shame to eat, my counterpart, the not-so-chic Bento Cheap, comprised of leftover Chinese Food. I want to discuss the differences and similarities beween what I do and what others do. Alright, this is going to be a long post.
I get most of my boxes, at yard sales, or in department stores, they are just regular containers. I get the cute assesories from the Bins and Bins, I walk past it on my way home from the University and find myself in there looking at everything and wanting them all. If I wasn't on a students budget I would be swimming in Bento items I'm sure.
Okay, so Bento, in short is about, well, bringing your lunch with you, taking the time to appreciate making and eating it, two things we probably don't do alot of with the billion dollar industry of single serving microwave meals and fast food.
To Bento, you don't need Fancy tools (But it sure is nice). This is going to be a comparison mostly between my own Bento's. What is Chic(I work I hate, but ryhmes nicely with Cheap) and what is Cheap.
BentoBoxes
These are terrible photo's, but from left to right it chic to cheap. Obviously, I do not own the fancy red Bento Box with the decorative pattern and little lids, but I want to. Alas, I have the Box in the middle, a Lock and Lock, with little square compartments inside. And on the end, that's a plastic takaway, y'know, if you have these containers, you can just rinse them and use them a few times when you get a takaway. Re-using the container even once is a great way to start Bento, (Maybe if there is another lunch or Blogger meeting of some kind, I would bring Bento's in these for disposability.) Size wise, there are Bento guidlines for the amount of ml a Bento should hold for your age and gender. For me, I make about 500-700 calorie Bento's, but depending on my activity levels and stress that number changes. (I had a mid-term quick Bento that just had cake..hehe)
FOOD
Food wise, anything goes. This was Monday's lunch. I think it is a combinatin of Chic and Cheap. Grapes, cheap and easy, just wash and eat. I had some mini-meatballs leftover which aren't that chic so I just put them inside a cookie-cutter to make them more appealing. The little added foodpick adds a little more fun too. Pick up some mini-sword picks the next time you go for mixed drinks if you want them for free. And the yellow object is actually a tub filled with mustard for dipping the meatballs. The long pastry-looking thing is a cabbage roll, not everyones favorite, but this could be a slice of pizza or a sandwich. The chicness I added was the mini-bottle of soysauce for the cabbage roll, honesty this is the cheapest thing in the Bento, but is so cute. It was an empty food dye bottle. Last but certainly not least is the cookie. A tiny Giraffe I coloured with food dye pens. I don't expect anyone else to do this, but decorating cookies with my little cousins when they visit for the holidays is so much fun, so I always make a tonne and put them in the freezer, these are so tiny, proably no bigger than an inch so I have hundreds of them. Yes, I know, I'm extreamly obsessed.
ASSESORIES
Okay, these are mini-assesories Bento's.
Alright, I have mini spoons and other cutlery, honesty, these are those souviner spoons you see all over the place, when I eat, I am reminded of places I've been so I get to enjoy the memories of those places while I eat. If you don't have tiny spoons use plastic or a regular sized one. We have the sword food picks that come with those fancy mixed drinks. These are a collective bunch, not only my own, don't think I'm drinking myself silling for cheap Bento assessories. And finally, the mini-bottle and some fancy shaped corn holders I use for bigger food picks.
Alright, so here is another. We have fancy mini-muffin cups that make great dividers, little takaway tubs I got at Tammy's and a bunch of little condiment packets and of course other fancy picks. If you like condiments with your lunches, just save them from restaurant visits and you'll always have quick things to add to your lunches.
I want these so much. They are the cutest, little mayo tubs with clovers on them. I want them so much, but the shipping and handling kills you on orders, so I will proabably never own them. This is just the tip of the iceberg for cute Bento assesories that I don't own, I won't show the other to you, there are just too many.
This will be the final idea for today, I think this is going to be an epic post. I could write so much more about Bento, but I will just keep it to myself before the entire University thinks I'm unbalenced (I think it may be too late) Anyway, these are tiny cookie-cutters I use to shape foods for extra fun. Very Chic. And some more adorable pics and a mini-bottle of Tabasco. It is so tiny, it only hold 10ml. I love it.
