la Matriarch

I got this awesome Bentos Laptop Lunchboxfor xmas.  Ever heard of them?   As near as I can tell it’s just a fancy way to bring your lunch and not use all the evil disposable stuff like Ziploc bags and individual yogurts.  It’s sort of like a lunchbox for hippies. 

Wiki says - Bentō (弁当 or べんとう, Bentō^?) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware. Although bento is readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋, bentō-ya^?), train stations, and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend considerable time and energy producing an appealing boxed lunch.

The outside carrying case (above) looks like a thinner well-made lunch box.  Inside the carrying case is a drink bottle and a plastic box (left) which holds all the Bentos, and a fork and spoon. 

The plastic containers are recyclable and very sturdy.  Plus, they are lead and BPA-free. 

I also love that it was designed by a couple of moms who are committed to reducing waste and improving lunchtime nutrition.  Although I think this lunch box is the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time, I’m already concerned about the lack of lids provided.  According to what I found on the Internet, research showed that moms usually pack their kids’ lunches with exactly this number of wet items, therefore this is how many lids (below) are needed.  But, hey, what about grown-ups who want to take left-overs rather than chips?  I’m having trouble thinking of dry, healthy stuff to bring for lunch and it seems that they don’t sell extra lids for these things.  That’s kinda irritating, laptop lunches people!  Can you make one of these things for grown-ups, or sell me some lids for Christ’s sake?

Anyway, I’ll be bringing my lunch in this thing as much as possible over the next year.  It should help me reach one of my other 2009 goals which is to purchase no more than 1 lunch per month from the cafeteria at work or a restaurant.  I’ve been doing OK with this over the past few months but only because I’ve stocked up on Lean Cuisine meals.  I try to find them on sale then buy as many as I can afford at the time.  (If you eat these things, try Target.  They’ve got  Lean Cuisines for cheap). The trouble is that these packaged meals contain a huge amount of sodium and then there’s the packaging.  Each time I throw the empty container in my office trash can, I shake my head in disappointment.

If you own one of these Laptop Lunchboxes or another Bentos type contraption, I’d love to hear from you.  What kind of stuff do you pack in yours?  I need ideas! 

I’ll also be trying to post my lunches here in a new I’m calling In My Bentos.

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