Bento's are traditional meals that Japanese people cook daily for themselves, their spouses and mostly for their children. And the boxes that are used to serve Bento meals are commonly known as a Bento box. Though the concept is originated in Japan, it has become highly popular throughout the world. There was a time when return of school or office entailed return of lunchbox preparation for the next day. Preparing the lunch was a mammoth job in itself.
Bento boxes are handy to carry and good for the planet. But the benefits of this are not limited to these only. Take a while to check the benefits.
Basics of a Bento box
Being hugely popular during the last decade, this is an effective and useful alternative to conventional lunch boxes. The tightly secure lid of the box only gets opened to reveal a apportioned interior where you can place different types of foods. This is not any fresh invention. In fact, the invention of Bento took place long back to 12th century in Japan. The Japanese people used to prepare Bento (packed lunch) to take with them to their workplace. Modern Japanese Bento boxes come in different materials and designs for its presentation and variety that differ significantly. Though they might differ in style, presentation and variety, the key aim of Bento is to serve different types of nutritious foods in a single serving
Benefits of Bento boxes
They ensure health – Preparing Bentos served in Bento box ensure eating fresh homemade meals without harmful chemical or additive.
They are good for the planet – As you know, this box entails several compartments. This helps different foods to be served without leaving any chance to touch each other. And this obviously eliminates the requirement for using plastic wraps to keep the foods separated. And by reducing the use of plastic as well as plastic wastes going into landfills, It is significantly save the environment.
They ensure serving balanced foods – Bento boxes have compartments where you can place rice, cooked vegetables, meat/fish, pickles etc. You can also add some fruits to complete the food groups recommended by the doctors.
They help you with your weight loss effort – Bentos are packed in boxes with a number of compartments. In fact this is the specialty of a Bento box. Each compartment is portioned so you can't fill them with extra food. If you want to lose extra pounds, pick up a Bento box following the rule of thumb – 1 cubic ml serves 1 calorie. If you, for example, want to have an 1800 calorie diet, use a Bento box of 600 ml You can take 3 servings a day to fulfill you daily calorie requirement. Choose yours as per your requirements.
Bento encourages children to try different types of healthy foods – As already discussed, Bento boxes have a number of handy sections where you can serve a wide variety of foods for your kids. The lid of such boxes closes securely ensuring no spill or drop. And so you can put variety of cut up vegetables and fruits without worrying about the juices making other foods soggy. As the children open up the lid, they will see different food items right before their eyes. And this surely allures them to eat their lunch without wasting. Opening up extra containers often make little ones annoyed and thus making your idea of feeding your children different types of food flop.
They don't require extensive maintenance – It doesn't eat up your time to wash and care for this boxes. You can easily wipe them out. In fact, you can wash them in your dishwasher as well. They can go perfect in the topmost rack of the dishwasher.
So what are you waiting for? Join the Bento box revolution – eat healthy; feed healthy.
