I use bentos nearly everyday. In fact, I got a really cute one from my lovey for V-Day. I've been using bentos for nearly two years when a Korean friend just happened to mention bentos to me in passing. I became obsessed seconds after.

I have a pretty big bento box collection. If anyone wants to see it I can post pics.

A really good site is www.lunchinabox.net.

I get my boxes from ichibankanusa.com, sugarcharms.com, jbox.com and ebay. If this is your first box, I suggest ichiban kan. I have spent a few hundred bucks just on boxes alone. You may not like eating from a bento, and there you've wasted $20-30 on a really cute box when you could have gotten a cute starter one for under $2 at ichiban kan.

Oh, and I also have a Mr. Bento and Ms. Bento. The Ms. id pretty useless in my experience. My 9 year old takes the Mr. to school when she wants hot food that day, otherwise we just pack her a bento and oshibori and pop it in an insulated lunchbox to keep it cool.

No problem, Urth!! I'm really glad I could help. I saw "bento" and KNEW I had to share my info with you all! =)

I bought all my boxes for a HUGE markup when I first got started, but luckily I love bento-ing so it was okay. I was really terrified that I would hate it, though, and waste all that money! Once you really get into it, it's easy to incorporate US (or UK) things into your collection that works just as well as the Japanese stuff.

Feel free to ask me any questions if anyone needs help! =)

Ah you are so lucky to be in the US, Ichiban Kan don't ship internationally and it's such a shame because there is so much I want from there and is so much cheaper than anything in the UK!

Lunchinabox was one of the ones that I was going to mention, I think it was the first blog that I started following and I learnt a lot from it!

I also like aibento and justbento for information and pretty pictures

I would love to see you bento 'stash'!!

Yesterday was payday and I went looking around town to see what I could find. I kept the advice of Jeannette in mind and looked for cheaper boxes so I could "try" bento-ing before I devoted a huge chunk of change to it. The first place I went only had jars--metal and plastic--for $40 each!! But then I went to a second place, and I found a whole huge stash for $1.69 each! So I bought three.



And this is my breakfast this morning. I know it doesn't involve vegetables, but I have a hard time facing vegetables in the morning. At least it fits in the box though!



(If you're curious, that's whole grain baguette broiled with some English cheddar cheese, with a microwave-scrambled egg on top.)

^^^
aiiiieee so cute!
I love the one at the top that you put your breakfast in, the next box I want to get is a long one like that and then a round one that I can fill with liquids like soup or broth!

I have a bento box that I must take a picture of for you guys, it's a triangle so that you can put onigiri in the top and they don't get smooshed easily!

I'll take some new pics this weekend! My daughter broke two of my bentos last year and I've gotten new ones since then, so I'll just take completely new ones!

Glad I could help!

I've had a busy morning!

First I went to Target and picked up a small rice cooker:



I don't need a big one (it's just my husband and me) and I don't need to be able to set it for time. So this one was the right size and the right price, and when I saw the color I had to chose it!

Then I went to the local asian supermarket and picked up some sweet (sticky) rice, and set the rice cooker up. My husband and I went down to the shop where I got my bentos, so I could get accessories. This is what I ended up with:



There's my fresh rice in my cooker, a roughened paddle, two veggie cutters (a flower and a...um...another flower?), two large round and two medium triagular rice-ball-shaper-things (forget the word), small condiment cups with lids, small paper cup separators, and a bag for carrying my bento. I'm all tricked out!

Sticky rice is very sticky! My first attempt at shaping it was a bit of a performance. I've got them wrapped up now in plastic wrap to put in the freezer, but it was probably hilarious to watch me trying to get the rice OUT of the contraption! One question: I read on another site about flavor/spices that you could get at the supermarket to flavor your rice. I don't read a lick of any Asian language (this gives me a whole new appreciation for what my illiterate patients go through every day), can anyone give me any idea what I'm looking for? Thanks for any help!

Sidhe - What you are looking for is called furikake and comes in little pouches that you can re-seal after each use.

If you search google you'll come up with a load of places, but if you have any dietary requirements, you should double check what is in it. I check all the time to see if bonito (fish) flakes are used because I'm veggie.

The trick with sticky Japanese rice (my favourite is Nishiki!) is having a bowl of cold water on the side and to dip the roughened spoon and your hands in it every time you touch the rice, it makes life so much easier!

A rice cooker will save you so much time, and it's such a cute colour. You can steam vegetables in there too! I haven't made bread in a rice cooker yet, that's my next idea!

I will definitely try the cold water thing. I was like a cat with a piece of tape on my paw!!

Oh, totally, the rice cooker came with a steaming pan, too, and instructions in the booklet on how to use it. And for meat, too! So I could totally cook protein, veggies, and rice all in one go. I'm happy.

Thanks for the heads up on furikake. I'll go google it so I have some sort of mental picture.

I have the same rice cooker, also from Target! LOL!

I made something before using vegetables. You put the rice in there like normal, then add the steamer and put your veg in there. It cooks all at the same time so it's really efficient!

I don't like fish so I don't use furikake. Instead I make my own out of salt, pepper, basil, etc. =)

You guys are doing so well! All my friends just kind of stare at me like I'm strange when I go off on my bento tangents! lol

Its a good way.
but im lazy to make for myself.

for those who are making the bento, do careful of the intake of the rice.

My first lunches!

I planned to pack two bentos for each day. I'll eat them as I need them.

This is the first one:



It contains (in one section) lamb garlic kebabs, grilled zucchini with Thai spice, and jasmine mixed with sticky rice; (in the other section) kiwi, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, mango, pineapple, grilled cauliflower, and grilled broccoli. Yeah, I'm not holding tight to the bento "rules". I'm also not Japanese.

This is the second one:



This one contains (in the first section) BBQ ribs and jasmine mixed with sticky rice; (in the second section) grilled yellow squash with Thai spice, grilled broccoli, grilled cauliflower, fuji apple slices, pineapple, grapes, and blueberries. See, I figure I'm doing okay because I'm more heavily weighted toward fruits and veggies, and not so heavy on the rice.

My husband laughed at me and said that he's not surprised that I like bento boxes--"it lets you play Tetris with your food!" He's so right--I had SO MUCH FUN packing my boxes!!

Oh my god those are awesome hon, I am so impressed with people in this forum, they are a million times better than my first bentos...oh they were horrific!

"Tetris with you food" hahahaha....I nearly fell off my chair when I read that!