Welcome to Gaia! ::

Okay, so among my jap-o-phile friends I went on an excursion to the Sanrio-ish store in China Town a month or two ago and got an adorable mo-mo-monkey lunch box for a mere five bills.

Now, my weight fluctuates like a hyper active druggie's because I'm almost always on the fly during the school week with clubs and such. And lets face it was there ever a time when school lunches didn't suck horribly? And being broke more 'oft than not I either ate not, or gorged on my friends hand-me down snacks. [Sad, yes but I'm going somewhere with this.]

So I figure hey, I've seen some really cute lunch box arrangements and It's good to regulate your eating to the same time every day. I started making my lunch for school. So I usually pack a sandwich, de-yoked hard-boiled egg and grab a fruit from the lunch line.

For the first time since like ever my weight's stayed in the same range without jumping up or down dramatically.

I've been eating in school so I've been more complacent and snacked less after school. [Because those micky-D's trips with your crew post-bell can be a killer]

And instead of eating toxic-waste at 450cal a pizza stick I've been eating actual food stuffs.

Besides the pro's of health it only takes like five minuets to slap together and it's fun arranging it in a cute manner. I'd be a liar if I said I didn't like sitting down with a cute arranged lunch warped up in a bandanna. And I always get complements on how it looks and just the idea of it. Come on getting props on your lunch!

It's fun with never ending possibilities, different style boxes with compartments for utensils from chopsticks to forks and spoons and removable condiment jars and other such goodies.

Additionally it's much better for the environment, no plastic wrapping to Styrofoam trays, no paper bags and it's reusable for years.


So flex your international eco-friendly style and pack a lunchbox!

I love o-bento boxes, and making bento lunches! I also enjoy the Indian version (Indian from India, not Native American), call tiffin (scroll all the way to the bottom post for the explanation, then a little bit up to see the pictures). I have a two-compartment tiffin that's narrower at the top than the bottom, like the ones on the left of the left-hand picture. The smaller one on top, I fill with rice and sometimes meat, fish, or tofu. The bottom part holds vegetables. I combine the two for my lunch. Sometimes I put rice, protein, and vegetables in the bottom, and fill the top with fruit. In summertime, I fill the bottom with a cool lunch, like a salad, and the top with an ice pack to keep the salad cool.

This is such a good idea! I got hooked on obento earlier last year but stopped after a few days because honestly it is a lot of effort. I was really lazy :<
But thinking about it, it really is worth it! I ate less but was more satisfied because of the color/taste combinations, and it's so much healthier than just eating out. I think that I'm going to start back up this semester at school (4 classes 2x per week, I'll be in classes solid from 10:30-4:30 with no time to eat out!)

Thanks for the inspiration!