I just simply could not get over the fact that I really wanted to see pictures on the same page as the recipe. For me a bento book would show how they packed that meal into a bento box. More than a few recipes lacked a picture—- For me I eat with my eyes.

There are some good recipes included such as Salmon teriyaki bento. The pictures that are included are really delicious looking and well done. I think I would maybe flip through this book at a library get a few good recipes from it. I personally would choose a different book that pictures the bento lunch packed. A decent Bento book, but not one I would purchase for my bookshelf.

Simply Bento will teach you how to pack a lunch that will keep even the pickiest eater happy. From a long history of Bento boxes, the authors have developed simple, excellent recipes and guidelines to make even the newest cook an expert. with over 140 recipes, you are sure to find enough ideas to keep you looking forward to lunch hour for a long while. Whether a noodle lover, vegan, or lover of everything rice, there are recipes in here for you. This book would make an excellent gift for anyone who loves Japanese food or needs some new meal inspirations.

A bento box for every occasion, season, for home or to go! The most comprehensive book on the subject!

The duo behind the popular website Japanese Cooking 101 have written a cookbook concentrating on bento box meals. If you'd like to see their trailer for the book, click here.

I am always excited about trying new recipes especially for lunches (and breakfasts, snacks, and dinner, you get the drift--food!). The great thing about the recipes in Simply Bento is that they have been created for the individual who might not have ready access to a microwave at lunchtime and are intended to be eaten at room temperature.

The different sections, presented in the blurb above, show that bento boxes can be made for a variety of diets as well as for occasions and meal types. Some recipes are geared toward a more adult palate, while some, like chicken nuggets and mini-pizzas, are for kids (or big kids). And vegans and vegetarians are not overlooked, as they so frequently are in most cookbooks. The authors are quick to point out that substitutions are encouraged.

In the introduction, the authors acknowledge that bento boxes are probably a bit more time-consuming than throwing a sandwich together, but they are prepared with the well-being of the family in mind. After glancing at the mouth-watering pictures that accompany the recipes, it is obvious that the boxes are designed to be well-balanced with attention given to almost all food groups.

Non-traditional recipes, such as hot dogs, falafel, and pizza, are included next to traditional recipes.

As a vegetarian, I always look to see how recipes geared toward omnivores can be adapted for me. Most of the recipes in Simply Bento can be made for vegetarians and vegans with a substitution here or there. A lot of the vegetable side dishes need no substitutions. and plus there are recipes for different vegetable pickles (I love pickled vegetables).

Besides the huge variety of recipes, the authors also discuss the types of bento boxes to use, pantry essentials, ingredients, and accessories. If you're new to bento boxes, like me, all of this information is necessary and so welcome.

I am practically salivating over some of these recipes and can't wait to try them!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book was not available on Kindle so I could not read it. It is a shame because I wanted to read this to get some great ideas as to what I can do for meals. I wish they would make this Kindle friendly.

Race Point Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Simply Bento. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

The trick to successfully making bento boxes for school or work lunches is about the preparation more than anything else. Each segment of the meal is made separately and put together at the last minute. To help prevent bacterial growth in the food, the authors suggest that the already prepared food be heated in the microwave until hot, then cooled before adding to the bento box. The idea of bento is to have balanced meals, but it is key to keep in mind the particular preferences of the eater. The authors stress the importance of having the right kind of bento box, as people often eat with their eyes before devouring a morsel. I like how the authors have given information about how to plan ahead, as the tips on time management will come in handy.

There are not a lot of recipes in this book that I would place in a child's lunch, except in those cases where the food can be heated. Unless there are insulated bento boxes, I just do not think that kids would like cold noodles or chicken nuggets. I would be more likely to utilize a bento box for an adult lunch, provided that a microwave is handy. The idea of a well balanced lunch is nothing new, as parents have been packing lunch boxes and bags in a very similar manner. The bento box does make the food seem more appealing and many readers will find the information in this book to be quite eye-opening.

This is a beautiful looking book. I enjoyed getting to learn more about what Bento are and how to create your own. That information was very helpful. As a vegetarian most of the recipes are not for me unless I made adjustments to the recipes. I did like that there was a vegan box section in the book.

The pictures were stunning but they did repeat a few times so as a result not all of the boxes had photos in the book.

I will definitely try making some bento with the guidance given in this book.

I have been a fan of Yuko and Noriko (japanesecooking101.com) for quite some time, and Simply Bento is my new favorite cookbook! Fast and easy recipes with clear instructions and stunning photographs. What I love about this cookbook is that the fact that the author includes the food-safety tips and plan-ahead section. For those with a special diet, there are chapters, like, low carb bento and vegan bento that I found interesting.

My only complaint is the serving size. The recipe is scaled for 2 servings and we are a family of 4. Most of the time I don't have enough leftover for tomorrow's lunch (yes, they are THAT delicious!)

If you are a beginner in bento-making affair, this book is definitely for you. For a more experience "bento-er", this book will give you new ideas to create beautiful, healthy, and delicious lunches.


** I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book, #SimplyBento from #NetGalley in exchange for my honest review **

My family regularly takes their lunch to school in a bento box. We never bought any bento box cookbooks because they seemed to just be smaller portions of recipes we had in other books.

Keep that in mind when I say, this book is different.

Of course the recipes are good. I have made several of them at this point and none have turned out badly. I even found myself using a couple of the sauce recipes in other dishes. (The quick ramen recipe is not to be missed!)

More than anything else though, the “plan ahead” sections made the difference between this being another cookbook in my collection and this being one saved to my tablet to be broken out multiple times in a week. Specifically, each “plan ahead” section for each recipe gives tips on what can be done the night before to speed up preparing the bento box in the morning. As a family that packs at least two boxes every morning before school this makes a huge difference.

Not only is this a good cookbook but it is a great choice for working parents packing for kids or anyone who is taking their lunch to work or school.

Simply Bento...or Simply Delicious? Well you'll just have to get the book and find out won't you? I love to cook and create fast and easy recipes for my family. Whether it's for school, work, home, trips, you name it quick and easy meals are a must. This book allows you to create some delicious authentic Asian dishes right at home. The cute treats are to die for and if you're like me you may even recognize a few from anime which is a hit for my kids. We love anime. The recipes are full of flavor but they are healthier than fast food and you get save that money for more books.

I love the boxes and how there’s a little section on how to plan ahead. I also loved how simple everything was in the book. I can’t wait to try out some of these. Such an awesome book!

Simply Bento by Yuko and Norika is a nice combination of Japanese and American recipes. A few of the ingredients will be a bit difficult to find, but most recipes feature easy to find items. One of my favorite recipes is the Spicy Chicken Wrap Bento. Each recipe features a "plan ahead" section letting you know what steps can be done in advance. The Fresh Fruits Jelly is another easy recipe that can be altered depending on what is in season. Overall this is a nice cookbook with something for everyone.

Bento meals are really very small lunches in a box for school children and workers. Meals in a box have been very popular in the Japanese culture for hundreds of years.
The authors give 7 main points for making bento, and the first point deals with safety - cooking the food thoroughly, which foods can and cannot be packed in a lunch, and how to ensure that no harmful bacteria can grow on the food are only some of the safeguards that are mentioned. You will learn how to pack a bento box, which box to choose, and how you can prepare most of your food ahead of time so that you are not cooking all morning long!
If you are making mostly Japanese meals, you are given a list of staples such as soy sauce, rice vinegar, wasabi, mushrooms, seaweed, rice, bread, and noodles.
You will learn how to cook chicken, beef, fish and rice with vegetables using vegetables and as dividers in the box. You will learn how to make sukiyaki,teriyaki, antipasto, and a simple, elegantly presented hamburger bento with coleslaw. You will also learn how to make sushi bentos with chicken, ginger, cucumbers, rice and carrots.
There is a variety of condiment and sauce recipes to go with your bento lunches.
Experiment with these recipes, and enjoy them - your lunches will become an adventure in taste and texture!

Having visited Japan last year and travelled for many hours on the Shinkansen trains, I bought Bento Boxes on many occasions before travelling and I must say they are the most delicious and varied form of what we call Take Away food. So many choices from savoury to sweet and many sizes also. So imagine my delight to find this little gem of a book with such an array of wonderful wholesome food and beautiful pictures.

The recipes are easy to follow and I will surely be preparing the food from this book for my family, but firstly I am going out to buy a couple of Bento Box containers with all their little compartments for the delicacies I am going to fill them with.

Portion sizes are important for the health conscious and the Bento Box is an ideal way to control this. Absolutely love this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, Race Point Publishing for the opportunity to read and review.

Nice presentation, good reference! Thanks for the advance copy, I will definitely be utilizing this!

Adepte moi-même du bento, j'ai beaucoup apprécié la lecture de cet ouvrage avec différentes recettes d'adaptant très bien à la mise en bento. Je garde quelques recettes à refaire. Les photos sont très belles.

Bento boxes is a concept that recently came to my knowledge and intrigued me. I love how Quarto Publishing has awesome timing with their cookbooks!

I loved the introduction in this book, which explains largely the basics of Bento boxes. The recipes are mostly easy and simple, rapidly prepared and cooked.

The only negative points that I have is that making a Bento box according to the recipes can be confusing, since it mixes 2-3 different recipes that are in different places in the book. And not all the recipes have pictures, even if the concept of Bento boxes is to be appealing to the eye. Or maybe they do, at different places in the book since they mix different recipes... like I said: confusing.

I will try some of the recipes for sure!

I picked this up thinking it would be a fairly Americanized bento book–more about packed lunches than about Japanese food. I was mistaken. Simply Bento by Yuko Yagi and Noriko Yura is a surprisingly extensive look at the art of bento and the many, many recipes that can be included.

I don’t know much about Japanese food, but I will say that this combination of traditional Japanese recipes with some American twists seems like a great place to start. While the recipes necessarily do call for some Japanese ingredients, the details are spelled out in the beginning of the book. The recipes also don’t call for an extensive list of specialty ingredients, which helps.

Another plus is that this book doesn’t simply include recipes, but also contains many, many recommendations for combinations in order to create a complete bento box. One thing I struggle with when packing lunch is figuring out how to put together enough things so that it’s interesting and it fills me up but also doesn’t end up being too much food. Having the complete meal suggestions really helps with this.

I love the idea of Asian American cookbooks that draw not only on traditional recipes but also include new and innovative recipes. It was great looking through this cookbook!

I love Bento Boxes. I adore the cuteness, the small packaging and the healthiness of them. I look forward to opening I open my lunch box, there is happiness there. We all deserve a special packaged lunch. I have been making bentos for many years and am always looking for fresh ideas and found several in this book. My favorite has to be the Halloween bento, I am making that cat for my boxes.
This book is great for the beginner bento maker. The steps are clearly written, the ingredients are readily available in most grocery stores. Anyone can jump into bento making right away and not feel overwhelmed. The photos are beautiful and give great examples on how to set up your boxes. Give it a try, you'll never go back to dull bagged lunches again.

This was one of the most visually stunning cookbooks that I've ever had the pleasure of perusing. While the recipes sound and look delish, I don't know if I'd actually make them. I was hoping for more of a one-serving bento box type of recipe book. However, I'd definitely buy the book and add it to my collection in the off chance that I got courageous and decided to make Chicken Sorboro Bento. OMG...just type the name of the recipe makes me hungry!