I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese. 
Opinionated guide to lunch gear & cookbooks
A couple of weeks ago I started putting together a blog entry on commonly available containers doing double duty as bento boxes or sauce containers, but the list of products quickly grew extremely long and difficult to organize. Instead of putting all of the information into a normal entry, I’ve created the Lunch in a Box Amazon aStore with opinionated notes on the products, suggested cheaper alternatives or stores, and references to equipment reviews from respected sources like Cook’s Illustrated magazine (accepts no advertising).
I’d like to emphasize that you do not need a lot of fancy, expensive equipment to pack your own lunch!!! But if you’re looking for something in particular, these links may give you ideas or point to low-cost alternatives that you can purchase locally. If you will be buying from Amazon.com anyway, using these links to get to Amazon will help support Lunch in a Box, even if you wind up purchasing different products. Orders are fulfilled by Amazon. Thank you!
Lunch bags & ice packs
Drink containers
Condiment containers
Packing accessories
Utensils & napkins
Kitchen equipment (mini pans/pots, reasonable rice cookers, fish roaster, toaster oven, etc.)
Speedy prep tools
Shaping & decorating
Cookbooks
Japanese
My favorites
For kids
Food reference
Grocery
Japanese
Other international (under construction)
Picnic gear (under construction)
Feel free to comment with any ingenious products or how-to’s you’ve stumbled upon that you’d like to share with readers. I’ll continue to add and delete products accordingly.
READ MORE:
- Need for speed: A mommy’s lunch manifesto
- Food safety for packed lunches
- How to pack a bento lunch and use “gap fillersâ€
- Choosing the right size bento box
- Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews
April 30th, 2007 | Categories: equipment | 
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April 30th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Bows to the kitchen guru.
I think you should be Iron Chef, Japanese!!!!
Your site is doing very well.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
I’ve been stealing my son’s Sassy Lunch on the Go box lately! Just the right size….and the right price!
April 30th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Oho Oho! And there’s the Light My Fire…combo spoon, fork and knife! I haven’t gotten one of these yet, but the next time I hit REI, I’m going to grab a handful!
April 30th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Oh these are awesome!
April 30th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Added. Thanks for the tip!
April 30th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Added. Thanks for the tip!
April 30th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
*bows back, shakes head, rejects compliment*
No no, thank YOU, industry_hippy!
April 30th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
There will be no rejecting of compliments on my shift
Honestly, I love what you do and keep an eye, always. So many wonderful ideas and great bento.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
That is an awesome box!!!
May 1st, 2007 at 10:59 am
Do you know any containers that aren’t made of plastic?
There’s increasing evidence that all plastics leach harmful chemicals into our food and drink. Especially if the plastic is microwaved but even if it isn’t. I’m always very torn between using my beautiful little bento box and lugging a heavy old pyrex bowl. I wish there was a *nice* non-plastic alternative but I have yet to find one. I’d love something like the old post WWII aluminum bento boxes.
Plastics aside, I love your LJ!
~jan
May 1st, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Hi Jan! I absolutely do know of non-plastic containers (aluminum bento boxes, wood boxes, using bamboo leaves to carry onigiri, etc.) — I’ll put together some links and put them here shortly.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:59 am
*is a random reader*
Haven’t heard of aluminium bento boxes, but I was reminded of metal tiffin carriers? Something like the item here?
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
For some reason LJ won’t let me reply to a reply… maybe because I don’t have an LJ or because I’m on a Mac… anyway,
I love the Tiffins! I’d never heard of them before. And I like the To-Go Ware lunchbox too. Steel doesn’t lend itself to pretty colors like aluminum does but for now I’ll settle for functional rather than flashy.
thanks!
~jan
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Jan, glad you found the tiffins and the To-Go Ware stainless steel lunchboxes I added to the Lunch Containers pages in the Amazon Lunch container list (page 3, at the moment). But there *ARE* pretty aluminum ones that are used in Japan, especially in preschools where they have big bento warmers (not microwaves) for aluminum bentos in the winter. I’m looking for a better selection, but at the moment if you scroll down this page and click in the “Search J-List” icon at the bottom, enter “aluminum bento” and hit the search button — a couple of aluminum Totoro bento boxes will pop up. I don’t know the sizes (300ml, 400ml?) — worth asking them. I’ve seen the little aluminum boxes in many characters that appeal to the preschool crowd: Anpanman, Pokeman, Miffy, etc. Will post an update as I find a good source for other aluminum bentos.
With the little Japanese aluminum boxes, though, you need to be careful how you pack them because the seal is not secure at all.
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Welcome! If you click on the “Search J-List” box in the bottom left corner of my blog, and type in “aluminum bento” it’ll come up with two Totoro aluminum bento boxes that I described in detail in a reply to Jan below. Seals aren’t secure at all, but can be warmed in a big special warmer that Japanese preschools have going during cold weather.
May 3rd, 2007 at 8:53 am
I’ve checked out the J-List ones before haven’t ordered one yet. I don’t mind that they don’t seal completely as my regular bento doesn’t either and I don’t tend to carry sloshy things.
I do have a Sigg aluminum box, which does seal up nicely (on Amazon it’s at:
http://www.amazon.com/Switzerland-Aluminum-Available-Sizes-Colors/dp/B000HYHBP6/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7585571-2995857?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1178204022&sr=8-1
but there are no dividers. The To-Go Ware and the Tiffin solve that problem, and because they are steel they can be put on the stove to reheat.
I’m very happy about all my new choices! Thanks so much!
~jan
May 13th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
I love your tips and pics! I just got my first bento box in the mail and can’t wait to start packing it. Thanks so much for all the healthy ideas!
May 14th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
My pleasure! You might also want to check out the Flickr lunch groups linked on the left-hand column of my page (Bento Boxes, Kid Eats, Laptop Lunches, Mr. Bento Porn, Lunchbox Recipes) — there’s a lot out there to give you ideas. Enjoy!
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I have both a Mr. Bento and this. It has a slightly smaller inner diamter, but the containers work the same as the Mr. Bento. http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Nissan-JLN1400X-Stainless-Insulated/dp/B0007W1RJY/ref=sr_1_24/103-7476346-4219044?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1179858325&sr=8-24
I like the Nissan container because it is fully insulated unlike the Mr. Bento which has a plastic top. Where the spoon thing fits in, you can put one of those chopstick holders instead. It fits perfectly.
In searching for an alternative to the plastic containers because I like to microwave my food at work, but I don’t like to do it in plastic, in the Mr. Bento, I use both http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=850&f=204 and http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=850&f=3227 or somethign similar which fits perfectly in the Mr. Bento.
Unfortunately, those are too big for the Nissan stainless. But, I have these covered Duralex ramekins that fit perfectly in the Nissan. Unfortunately I think duralex went out of business, but you could try other covered ramekins!
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Ooh, I really like those little glass containers! I’d seen something similar from Lock & Lock at a local Korean market, but hadn’t noticed them at a mainstream store before. Excellent tip! BTW, I also have the Thermos Nissan JLN1400X — it’s great.
July 6th, 2007 at 7:56 am
Walmart has an 800 ml container in their MainStays line that’s been fairly effective for me. On top of having several of these, I’m slowly collecting things, from Wally world and other stores, so I’ll eventually be able to go for broke with a proper Japanese bento, some day…..
July 6th, 2007 at 9:37 am
@21 from Jese:
Good tip on the 800ml container from Walmart! If you poke around stores with your eyes open, there’s so much that can be used (or repurposed) for bento-type lunches.
August 16th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Love your site, love Bento boxs (or in theory cause I’ve yet to try it). Do you have the dimensions or volume size of the Sassy Baby Mealtime On the Go Feeding Set? I’m wondering if it will be big enough for my Pre-K son.
January 16th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I love your site. I have just discovered Bento, and have gone crazy over it. Your site is very informational. Thanks.
December 11th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I found these unusual pyramid shaped ones here http://happytiffin.com/store/store.php?Pyramid-Tiffins-Lunch-Box-pg1-cid7.html I mostly use mine for work and people always stop me and ask what it is, that and they want to eat my lunch!