Bento Boxes by RichFood Catering.

5 Tips on Making Healthy Bento Meal Boxes at Home

What is Bento?

Bento is a Japanese term that refers to a compact, nutritiously balanced, and visually appealing meal served in a box. In some ways, it’s like the lunchbox your parents packed for you when you were in primary school.

Recently, bento meals have grown in popularity, rivalling sushi and ramen as a nutritious, well-balanced, and visually appealing on-the-go lunch. Making your bento may appear intimidating at first because they look so good and neat; indeed, they require a lot of time and effort to make one! However, this does not have to be the case. Everyone can make their bento box by following a few simple guidelines. Let’s get started, shall we?

Why Bento?

  • Bentos are Healthy – Each box contains a well-balanced meal of proteins, fibre, and carbohydrates, enough to satisfy taste and appetite without losing interest.
  • Environmentally Friendly – Bento boxes have built-in compartments for different foods, so they don’t touch, reducing the need for single-use plastic. Because the portion of food is small but sufficient, there is much less waste than with a self-serving buffet.
  • Visually Appealing and Instagram-Worthy – The Bento boxes look very colourful and appealing because of the way they are packed. It is a form of art in and of itself. The neatly arranged compartments give the impression that it was custom-made for them.
  • Variety in a Box – You have the freedom to include what is best for your lunch. Just combine what works for you whether you want more chicken, carbs, meat, or vegetables, you are the chef! If you are planning to cater from us, you can just pre-order without concerning too much about the menu as we got you covered!
  • Bento Sets are Economical – Bento meals are much less expensive than a typical buffet. It provides variety while costing less than regular buffets. It’s a cost-effective option because you get much more for your money. It also makes the experience more convenient, enjoyable, and healthy.
  • It encourages Picky Eaters to Eat – If you have children, making bento is extremely helpful. Kids are enticed to taste each item by the box’s visual appearance, and because the portions are tiny, they can consume it so without difficulty. Every item has a different flavour, which encourages children to eat more and finish their meals without complaining.

Bento Preparation & Tips

  • Choosing the Right Container
  • Pick the right bento accessories
  • Plan your bento meals
  • Don’t limit your food selections!
  • Balance and aesthetic!
Choosing the Right Container
A Bento box preserves your food as fresh as it was when you prepared it, keeping it superior to a brown bag or a conventional lunch box. The benefits that a Bento box offers over other lunch bags and boxes are the reason that both adults and children enjoy using them. They are numerous selections of bento boxes out there but keep that in mind that the following important feature is a must-have for bento boxes:
  • Good container, with a secured lid
  • It comes with dividers to separate the food. Note: Bento can be packed in a simple container without a divider as well!
Pick the right bento accessories
Since there is a sizable market for bento boxes and accessories, customers can select from a wide range of products offered online or at conventional Asian or Japanese stores.
  • Comfortable fork & spoon
  • Chopstick
  • Mini skewers to pick small bits of food
  • Food cups (for holding a different types of food)
  • Food dividers (used to separate food for example)
bento meal
Plan your bento meals
You’ll learn how simple it is to make a nutritious lunch that you, your children, and/or your family may enjoy five days a week with just a little bit of planning! Another tip for your Bento preparation is that you can cook an extra portion of your meal to pack your bento the next day. In this way, you may speed up your bento preparation thus saving you a lot of time as well.
 
Don’t limit your food selections!
You’ll learn how simple it is to make a nutritious lunch that you, your children, and/or your family may enjoy five days a week with just a little bit of planning! Another tip for your Bento preparation is that you can cook an extra portion of your meal to pack your bento the next day. In this way, you may speed up your bento preparation thus saving you a lot of time as well.
  • It must be savoury and satisfying – First, think about what you want to eat. Are you a meat lover who can’t go a day without eating pork, beef, or chicken? Do you enjoy a variety of dishes in your kitchen and enjoy a different dish every day? Or do you prefer delicious vegetables? Ease up! Follow your intuition and focus on what you love, and the ingredients do not have to be Japanese.
  • Use the appropriate food, which should be cold, boiled, and packable – The whole point of a bento box is to be carried around for a few hours before eating to replenish your energy. That means the food must be able to withstand room temperature while remaining intact. A good rule of thumb is to only eat cold food (except for stews and soups, which require a thermal container), as warmth encourages the growth of bad bacteria inside your lunch. Stir-fried, boiled, cooked, or vinegared foods should be included in bento boxes. These methods are excellent for extending the shelf life of food that would normally spoil after sitting in a box at room temperature for a few hours. Vinegared carrot salad fired chicken, and hard-boiled eggs are the commonly used ingredients for bento boxes. Rice and carbs should be freshly prepared to avoid spoiling. Brown rice, quinoa, and millet are also excellent choices when packed tightly and stored properly before being served in the bento. You can substitute rice with pasta too!  Our go-to recommendation for bento food selection consists of carbs, meat, vegetables, bean curd, egg, and drink. As for the carb selections, you may use white rice, fried rice, mee goreng, and vegetarian bee hoon. As to complement the carbs combination, you may add fried chicken with cashew nuts, a slice of fish with plum sauce, or Thai Style Chicken Chop. Finally, don’t forget to include braised bean curd, kale, and shrimp omelette, as well as drinks.

Chef’s picks! Our must-try bento menus for the hungry!

Balance and aesthetic!
The concept of bento is strongly intertwined with the word “balance.” Indeed, it affects every aspect of the box: colour balance, texture balance, cooking style balance, ingredient balance, and so on. Of course, the overall aesthetic contributes to the score as well!
  • Types of ingredients – For reference, you may have 40% of vegetables, 30% whole grain, 20% protein and 10% fruit. You can follow it as a guide but as mentioned earlier, you’re the chief of your bento. Being creative is the way!
  • Colour combination – Pick the fanciest colour-looking bento boxes such as red, green, white, or yellow. The rule of thumb for bento packing is the creativity of colour mixing to achieve overall balance. The bento example above is well balanced, and you can see that simple ingredient like a variety colour of peppers complement together with fried chicken.
  • Texture consideration – Just like colours and ingredients, a good bento has texture. For example, the peppers are evenly cooked, and the fried chicken is soft and tender. Adding to that, not only does the combination of ingredients matter but also the cooking method makes a difference in texture.
  • Cooking techniques – Not everything should be boiled, fried, or prepared raw. One balance rule inherently influences the rest, so if they all seem overwhelming, focus on one and see if the rest automatically follow.
  • Aesthetic – After deciding on the ingredients for your bento, arrange them in the container of your bento box neatly and firmly. Pack the carbs and protein in one portion of the bento box and the veggies and fruits in another section to try to keep them separate. For aesthetic purposes and to split foods, use bento accessories (dividers, skewers, etc.). It is important to note that the tighter the food items are packed into your bento, and the less free space there is, the more likely your bento will retain its aesthetics and food will stay neatly in place.

That’s it! Bento preparation is indeed enjoyable to do. We hope this article sparks your interest and inspired you to try making your bento at home. Have a question regarding our bento? Browse our bento menu or reach out to learn more about our food delivery services in Singapore today!