Archive for April, 2009

Poll: How long does it take you to pack a lunch?

Got Bento wall clockHow long does it usually take you to prep and pack a single bento lunch? Unless it’s a special occasion like Valentine’s Day or Children’s Day, I usually avoid decorative food and go for the speed bento, taking about 10-15 minutes max. Prep and organizational techniques from my speedy lunch-packing tips help me quickly prep and pack leftovers, frozen foods, and simple dishes like steamed or sauteed vegetables. I try not to cook more than one dish from scratch in the morning when I’m making lunch, even if they’re speedy packed lunch recipes. How about you?

How much time does it usually take you to pack a lunch?

  • Less than 15 minutes (50%, 380 Votes)
  • 16-30 minutes (37%, 284 Votes)
  • 31-45 minutes (7%, 57 Votes)
  • 46-60 minutes (3%, 21 Votes)
  • Over an hour (2%, 19 Votes)

Total Voters: 761

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Poll voting closes at midnight Pacific on Sunday, May 10, 2009. “Got Bento?” wall clock sold at the Lunch in a Box store on CafePress.

FURTHER READING:

Published by Biggie on April 27th, 2009 tagged poll | 21 Comments »

Giveaway winner & Sacramento Bee article

We’ve got a winner in the Kids Konserve metal lunch kit giveaway (see my full review), and some additional giveaways around the bento community. If you didn’t win this one, the company is giving away another of their metal lunch kits for Earth Day on April 22nd, 2009. Comment on their blog post for a chance to win.

Kids Konserve giveaway winner

Congratulations go to reader Cyntilla in Italy (comment #278), who would pack a double-layer ham & cheese sandwich with crispy lettuce and corn salad, a fruit salad (strawberries, apple and kiwi) in one container, some meat and veg stir-fry in the other, and mint white tea in the drink bottle. Cyntilla, I’ll be in touch to get your shipping address for Kids Konserve to send your kit.

In other news, I was in a Sacramento Bee feature article the other week about bento lunches (”Bring Your Own Lunch“), and filmed a seven-minute video about making speed bentos (it’s on the online article). We filmed it in their kitchen studio in Sacramento, which took almost four hours plus drive time — we were so hungry by the end that Gina, the cameraman and I devoured everything I made right after the shoot. Still, it was the first time I’d done non-live video for bento stuff, which was a really interesting experience. Thanks, guys! Lunch in a Box was also featured on iVillage.com’s parenting site, in a slideshow called “The Rules of Bento”.

Other Bento Giveaways: (taken from the bento contest announcement section of the Lunch in a Box Forum)

FURTHER READING:

Published by Biggie on April 3rd, 2009 tagged equipment, giveaway | 14 Comments »