Bent(o) On Better Lunches

Bento boxed lunch example

As an intern and as a college student, I need to be very conscious of my spending.  I am fortunate enough to not have to worry about tuition and housing, but I don’t receive an allowance for my social life, clothing, transportation, food, and school books.  I also only work during the summer time, so whatever I save then gets me through the year.

For this reason, and obvious health reasons, I try to pack my lunch each day rather than buying it.  I’ve noticed though, that often my lunch consists of several plastic baggies or small sheets of aluminum foil that get thrown away at the end of the day.  Super wasteful!  I also found that I wasn’t packing enough protein and consequently getting very hungry by the end of the day.  But, I found a solution for both problems!

The Japanese term “bento” refers to a single-portion packed lunch that is often neatly divided in sections to keep food seperated; a traditional Japanese Bento might contain rice, fish, and vegetables.  Bento boxes have been adapted to American lunches and highly popularized with young children.  Mothers spend a considerable amount of time designing (yes I mean designing, check out some of these lunches) nutritious, creative, AND trashless lunches for their kids.

Sure, the cutout sandwiches and the cheese-and-crackers with faces are cute, but I see a huge value in Bento lunches for young adults who wish to save the world, save money, and save calories simultaneously.  Here are some items that will be in my Bento lunch in the next couple days, I’ve starred the items with substantial protein:

• Scoop of tuna salad*
• Goat cheese with crackers
• Greek yogurt with a bit of honey*
• Prosciutto rolled around cantaloupe*
• Cut celery with hummus
• Hard-boiled egg*
• Cup of grapes

Depending on what you choose to include, you can craft a set of three lunches at a time or perhaps a whole weeks worth of lunches!  And there is no start-up costs if you have a medium-sized square Tupperware container!  Tupperware with dividers makes things easy, but you can also use aluminum cupcake tins, smaller plastic containers, and food such as celery or string cheese to seperate your chosen items.  I will post some of Bento boxes I have made soon!

More resources:

• General, Bent On Better Lunches
• Heartier Meals Ideas for Adults
• Creative Gourmet Ideas For Adults
• Gluten & Nut Free Ideas for Kids

 

Take out the cut-outs and faces, and these Bento lunches are perfectly adaptable for young adults!

Take out the cut-outs and faces, and these Bento lunches are perfectly adaptable for young adults!

Take out the cut-outs and faces, and these Bento lunches are perfectly adaptable for young adults!

Creative Classroom

Zak Peric filmed this time lapse video of his students designing a wall mural entitled, “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do!” In three days, his students created an incredible mural using only black ink. I think more schools and educators should encourage creative expression from their students, rather than stifle it.

Introductions

Bear with me while I repeat much of what will be included on my {About Me} page at the top of my blog. I am a 19 year old college sophomore and DC native in the process of transferring from one university in Philadelphia to another back home in DC. I created Urban Prep as an outlet for sharing inspiring and creative fashion, design, art, photography, food, and travel. I hope that someday in the near future Urban Prep will become a hub for busy but creative and curious people who wish to stumble upon new ideas every day without pouring through dozens of blogs on their own time. Finally, I am always open to feedback and would love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.