A tiffin box is an essential component that we pack for our kids in addition to the water bottle, books and stationery items neatly in the school bag. In order to ensure that the child stays properly nourished with a good nutritious meal, mothers ensure that the breads or rice based items are packed neatly together along with some veggies and fruits in a tiffin box that usually have two or three compartments. Many Indian school lunchboxes also comprises of one small box and spoon along with the main large box. The latter type of lunchboxes is also widely used by Indian school students for carrying their tiffin meals. However, most office goers usually prefer to take tiffin carriers so that large quantities of different food items can be packed separately in each container and they can gorge heartily on a sumptuous meal during tiffin breaks so that they can spend the rest of the hours in the workplace doing their duties with a calm and concentrated mind without feeling irritating of the tiresome hunger pangs.
Ah , the tiffin breaks! It is most pleasurable time for all the folks in their academic as well as professional lives. By keeping duties aside for a few minutes, tiffin breaks gives everyone the liberty to participate in favourite topics of discussion over warm, delicious and aromatic meals. With intervals of entertaining gossips going in smooth transition along with the bites of the tempting delicacies, tiffin breaks are a much needed leisure which gives utmost relaxation to everyone. Moreover, the best thing about tiffin breaks is sharing food items among the members of our group and commenting about the taste of the varieties of food items and discussing the recipes of it in details. The little duration of tiffin breaks are what makes academic and professional lives a sweet memory on which we can dwell on to find tiny moments of happiness later. This is the break which everyone looks forward too daily as it is the time period when fun and light moments of interaction with colleagues / friends happens without disturbances.
If you are have an Instagram account, do search #bentobox and you will be greeted with beautiful and visually appealing colourful images of lunchboxes filled with nutritious delicacies stacked neatly and separately in multiple compartments. Besides neat arrangement of the various food items, another noticeable aspects of these bento boxes would be the aesthetically cut out delicacies that does not only seem drooling but a work of art. These beautiful creative ideas on food are the work of food bloggers, moms who gives various lunchbox recipe ideas and office goers who present tips on healthy meals for the middle part of a day. Bento boxes have become the newest type of tiffin boxes that have been embraced wholeheartedly by many nations across the world because the four / five compartments present inside it gives people the freedom to pack various dishes of their choice for carrying to various places. Most modern bento boxes contains a main carbohydrate dish, one or two proteins followed by assortments of veggies or sweets as a side dish. Unlike the old traditional lunchboxes where only two or three food items were haphazardly packed due to the presence of less space, bento boxes are perfect for carrying dishes necessary for a full fledged balanced diet. With a bento lunchbox, you can easily say goodbye to those irritating hunger pangs by bringing your dream lunch from home to office. You can even use bento boxes to innovatively pack lunch for your kids for school so that they come home happily and thank you later for giving them yummy and good looking food. To pack awesome lunch for your children, you can refer to Instagram and take cues from the number of food bloggers who shares various tips for creating the perfect school lunchbox.
Modern bentos come in all shapes and sizes like traditional lacquered cypress wood, aluminum, or plastic, in standard oval or custom shapes. However, the concept of bento box is not at all a new one. Although many people of western countries have embraced the concept of using a bento box for carrying their lunch meals as it gives them the flexibility to have a variety of textures, flavors, food groups and colors inside a small container, it was being used from ancient times in Japan. A bento is the Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. People in Japan started preparing meals to eat while out traveling or when outside the home around the 5th century. Historical records show that people had prepared hoshii and onigiri (rice balls) at home so that they could eat them while out for purposes such as hunting, farming, or waging war. Hoshii is a type of preserved food prepared by drying rice after first boiling it. When it was time to eat, the hoshii would be put in cold or boiling water, or sometimes even eaten as it is.
Bento lunchboxes are still not so popular in India. However, you can conjure up a bento lunchbox meal easily by buying a Bento Box from Amazon and then using your imagination to cook up some delicious, nutritious and pretty delights for you or your family members. Here are some tips to create a desi bento box-
Conjure up the main dish as per your likes
Create some lavishing rolls with fillings as per your wish or wants. If you are the one who cannot stay without bhaat (rice), take out some leftover rice from the fridge and fry them with lots of different veggies to produce fried rice that will literally spell out the words nutritious, aromatic and delicious once you open the bento box in office and pleases your senses and sights first, the taste buds next and finally the stomach which is where the edible things all go with the sole motive of pushing away the irksome HUNGER! However, sometimes the mood also calls for gorging on some yummy long noodles slowly and taking time so that the long pieces of food slowly satiate our habit of taking large bites. To fulfill this, take time out to prepare a delicious noodle recipe in the morning. As you have guessed, these main dishes are to be placed in the largest compartment of the bento box.
Pack a power punch with a good measure of proteins
Some pieces of fried chicken would not only seem a perfect protein appetizer for your bento box but would also enhance the flavor profile of it to a good extent. There is even the humble egg to provide you with a good dose of protein. Pack them in boiled, scrambled, fried i.e. in any avatar you like in your bento box. However, if you are vegan, you can always rely on the omnipotent chickpeas to increase your protein intake. Besides the various types of beans, raw peas and nuts are also wholesome food items that you can pack in your bento box.
Finish it up perfectly with perfect appetizers
If you scroll through Instagram after typing #bentolunchboxideas, you would find that salads are an essential component of a bento box. If you are packing a bento box for your kid or if you yourself adores pleasing aesthetics, you can use cookie cutters or the knife in a skilled manner to cut out beautiful pieces of your choicest veggies and fruits to conjure up a delicious and pretty salad. The last item you should pack in your bento box is your favourite mithai ( sweet) because we all deserve sweet endings , yes, even if it is a meal.
