Bento Boxes: Welcome to the Lunchbox of Tomorrow

Recently we decided we were going to start taking our lunch to work at least a few times a week. Taking your lunch not only helps us watch our calories, but saves a ton of money. We've longed to get a bento box for some time now, as our plastic storageware doesn't fit in our lunch cooler and half the time it leaks because it's not balanced to stand upright.

Bento boxes come in all shapes and forms, from panda bears to simple towers. They've been popular in Japan for hundreds of years, and are just starting to gain popularity in the US. After seeing quite a few people with them in the Medical Center, we decided that those might be a better option for us than just buying different Tupperware.

This weekend, we stopped by 99 Ranch Market for an early lunch with our aunt. While we were waiting for the duck plates to make it into the hot case, we went in search of a bento box. We'd looked on Amazon the previous week - the stainless insulated ones were $50-$70+ and the melamine stacked ones were $20+. No offense to Amazon, but that's a little steep for something that we might lose or leave on the bus. The melamine ones at Ranch Market were under $5 and the 2 liter insulated ones were a whopping $35. So hopefully, this will be an incentive to make us take our lunch - and it's been quite a conversation starter in the office (yes, over a lunchbox). Ours might not be as cool as some of the ones we've seen around, but it definitely will do the job.