Tools of the Trade: Bento Boxes

I have a lot of friends ask me where I get my bento boxes. I have gotten a few of them from the internet, but the website I used is no longer functional. The rest I got from Daiso in Washington, and, unfortunately for most of us, they only have stores in WA and CA. The good news is that I will hopefully have a chance to go to Daiso in November, and will be picking up extra bento boxes for those who want them.

Here's the basic anatomy of a standard bento box...

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A bento box typically has 2 stackable food compartments, each with their own lid. Many bento boxes are oblong, though they come in many shapes and sizes. Many also have an additional lid under which utensils can go.

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One nice thing about stackable bento boxes is that they are also nestable, which is space saving for storage. That also means that if you just want to use one layer of the bento box, say, for a snack instead of a meal, you can.

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When using both layers, one stacks on top of the other, and the layers are held together by an elastic strap (not pictured).

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Of course, as I said, bento boxes come in many shapes and sizes. I am one for more standard boxes, so I don't have all the cute novelty ones. It would be fun, I just don't. Here are the bento boxes I have...

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These are some of my favorites.

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These are pretty fun, too. =D

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This was one of my first bento boxes and the only one I've ever had break. The lid has a crack in it. I should probably get rid of it, but I haven't.

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Cherry pink!

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I actually have a couple of these, one in yellow and one in pink.

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These are the oddest shaped bento boxes I have. Not all that odd, but I probably use these the least, since they are the least standard I have. I like standard. =D And here's how I store my bento boxes...

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