Search

About Me

I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese. (Full profile)

TOP POSTS

• Bento FAQ
• How to pack a bento lunch and fill gaps
• Choosing the right size bento box
• Online stores with bento gear
• Bento Store Locator with Google Maps
• How to care for your bento gear
• Food safety for packed lunches
• Need for speed: A mommy's lunch manifesto
• Bentos & the picky eater
• Avoid airplane food, pack your own bento lunch
• Hot vs. cold lunch packing considerations
• Top 7 things to do with leftover food scraps
• How to make shaped eggs with ice cream sandwich molds
• Speed tip: Make usable portions in freezer bags
• Top tips & reviews from Lunch in a Box

Click for bento from J-List

Recent Posts

• Bento bloggers: Know your worth!
• Rooster sausage bento from A to Z
• Poll: How long does it take you to pack a lunch?
• Giveaway winner & Sacramento Bee article
• Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: California Hanami
• Giveaway: Kids Konserve metal lunch kit
• Review: Kids Konserve metal lunch kit
• Forum highlights: Low-cost Bento of the Month Contest
• Pasta and pork stew bento lunches
• Poll: What containers do you pack lunches in?

POSTS BY CATEGORY

Containers:

• bento box
• food jar
• Laptop Lunchbox
• sandwich case
• thermal lunch jar

Dietary:

• gluten-free
• lactose-free
• vegetarian

Post type:

• admin
• equipment
• for kids
• freezing
• leftover remake
• organize
• reviews
• recipe
• SF Bay Area local
• shopping
• tips
• tutorial or how to

Ingredients:

• beans
• corn tortillas or masa
• curry
• dumplings or buns
• eggs
• fish or seafood
• meat
• onigiri or sushi
• pasta or noodles
• phyllo or pancake or other
• potatoes
• poultry
• rice
• salad
• sandwich or wrap
• soup or stew
• tofu

Recipe videos on iFood.tv

Decorative Food

I’m not big on time-consuming food art, but have had some fun exploring the tricks of turning food into something a little more eye-catching (thus thrilling my three-year-old).

GENERAL

• About oekakiben: Decorative food art bentos (by Amorette)
• Edible Paint (by Amorette)
• Edible glue: How to anchor food decorations (NEW)
• The Waxpaper Transfer Technique (by Amorette)
• Outsmarting seafood allergies and a how-to on Faux Roe (by Amorette)

BOOKS

• Review of Face Food, a kyaraben coffee table book
• Review of Hawaii’s Bento Box Cookbook (NEW)

EGGS

• Curried egg “fish”
• Fun with egg whites (by Amorette)
• Sausage & quail egg “sunflowers”
• Scrambled egg purses
• Shaped eggs using common ice cream sandwich molds
• Thin egg sheets (usuyaki tamago) in the microwave

SAUSAGES

• “Octodogs” (octopus hot dogs)
• Sausage “rabbits” (rabbit-shaped hot dogs)
• Sausage & quail egg “sunflowers”

FRUIT

• Rabbit-shaped apple wedges
• Decorative banana wedges
• Zig-zag kiwi fruit

VEGETABLES

• Skewered tomato/cheese “sandwiches”

RICE

• Cookie cutters can act as onigiri rice ball molds
• “Rice cubes” square onigiri

SANDWICHES

• Fish-shaped sandwich for Children’s Day holiday (Kodomo no Hi)
  

Don't miss a post! Subscribe to Lunch in a Box for tips, tricks and Biggie's packed lunches via newsreader or by email.

Don't miss out!

Get updates via free email

Subscribe to feed Follow me on Twitter Follow on Facebook

IN THE NEWS




• Newsweek
• The Boston Globe
• The Washington Post
• Stars & Stripes
• Lifehacker
• Boing Boing
• Serious Eats: Octodogs
• Neatorama: Molded eggs
• Slashfood: Freezer magnets

More press & awards

THANK YOU!



"Best Theme Blog" "Best Family/Kids Blog"

Recent Comments

How to make decorative banana wedges (27)
• Meg
Japanese auction & overseas shipping services (13)
• Carolyn B
SF Bay Area shopping guide & award nomination (82)
• Folly
Food Blog Award & newspaper cover for Lunch in a Box (36)
• naim emel prahana
Six ways to make sure your lunch gear comes home (48)
• Angel
Williams Sonoma for egg molds?!?! (126)
• Tiff
• Marisol
Bento bloggers: Know your worth! (20)
• Shelly
Frozen rice bento lunch (14)
• Angel
Guide to choosing the right size bento box (103)
• Angel
How to eat whole tamarind (63)
• Cheryl
Guestbook (274)
• linda
• grane
Rice cube & mushroom bento lunch (49)
• CatLover84257
Box lunches: Hot or cold? (28)
• Carla

Polls

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

 Loading ...

• Polls Archive

Lunch Links

• Online lunch communities
• Packed lunch blogs
• Biggie's photos on Flickr

since 6/6/07

Copyright © Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento | Raindrops by Headsetoptions + MandarinMusing