La petite biscotte Now in Munich…

5 Speed Tips for Bentos

Exams take their toll on students, not only mentally but actually physically as well. Personally, I have to ressort to take-out / fast food / sandwiches just to be able to eat anything (we really have that little time). I really loath this and I feel unhealthy during this period: I’m tired, don’t have much energy and am simply unsatisfied after every meal.

I’m still trying to squeeze in a bento every now and then and I wouldn’t be able to do so without my speed tips:

1. Plan your bento on the way home from work.
When you take the bus or the car to drive back home you probably have a minute or two to yourself. Use that time to plan your bento! Think about what you have in the fridge, what needs to be used, what you FEEL like eating and compose your imaginary bento. If necessary you can even stop by the supermarket and fetch a few ingredients on the way.

2. Cook more or cook in advance.
Once you come home you’ll have to eat anyway, so why not make more of what you eat tonight so you can put some in your bento for tomorrow (given the fact that you make something preservable)? That’s catching two birds with one stone. If you have the main dish already ready for your bento, the other components come together really quickly. There are also great dishes that can be cooked in advance and that preserve really well for up to a week in the fridge. More recipes for such dishes coming soon.

3. The principle of 3.
My bentos mostly have 3 components: Main dish, side dish, additions (decoration/dessert/condiments). If you think like that you are limited in the number of dishes you have to put together, which will prevent you from drifting away too much and cooking up too many things. Try to keep it simple and don’t stuff your bento with too many things, you can always get fancier when you have time.

4. Think about your bentos while shopping.
You can buy great things that are available in every supermarket to stuff your bentos quickly. A few examples: cherry tomatoes, little cheeses, canned foods (say what you want, I don’t find it a shame to use a canned foods once in a while), pickles, frozen vegetables (can be steamed quickly in the microwave), nuts, sweets or crackers in satchets, grapes etc. The trick is, you must stimply think about picking those things up while you shop.

5. Freeze in portions.
When you have rice left over (while it’s still hot) or any other type of food that freezes well, don’t just stuff everything in one bag. Measure 1-cup portions and freeze them individually. This will speed things up greatly because there is nothing more time consuming than trying to chop off one portion from a frozen chunk.