Edible Articles

Low-calorie lunches can still be delicious

Bentos, with their small size and focus on satisfaction over quantity, are ideal tools for weight loss or weight maintenance.

Portion control is key. Frequently bento boxes are sold with no dimensions listed, or with size but not capacity (Amazon.com bento boxes are particularly bad about this). A good range of sizes for low-calorie bentos would be:

• 500 – 700 mL
• 1.5 – 2.5 cups
• about 4 inches square (very rough guide)

A very broad rule of thumb is that a well-packed bento lunch will have the same number of calories as its capacity in milliliters- a 600 mL bento will be about 600 calories- unless, of course, you’re adding butter, mayonnaise, or another high-fat, high-calorie ingredient.

As a general guide, bentos marketed for children- with faces, like the ubiquitous panda/pig/frog/duck face version, or printed with child-like messages- or described as for ‘lighter appetites’ will be smaller. Bentos with the words ‘for men’, ‘dinner’, or ‘picnic’ will be oversized.

Low-Calorie Sized Bentos at Amazon.com

Low-Calorie Sized Bentos at Bento&co (double-check the sizes on each box- their keyword search is a little buggy)

Avoid ‘snack’ or ‘onigiri’ bentos, which are really sized for a small snack and won’t hold enough to fill you up at lunch.

Shopping Ideas

Each week, I buy these items without even thinking about it, and I’m never at a loss for a low-cal bento:

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 small box of blueberries
• 1 large box of strawberries
• A bunch of green or red grapes
• 2-3 oranges
• 1 head of lettuce

Weight Loss Bento #1: Smoked Salmon Sushi Wraps (348 calories)

Weight Loss Bento #1: Salmon Sushi Wraps

This bento is packed with 1 cup of sushi rice (recipe) in the larger bottom half of a 580 mL Kotobuki bento. The top layer includes blueberries in one little cup and about 2 slices of smoked salmon in another little cup. I buy huge quantities of smoked salmon at Costco, since it’s my favorite bento protein (and much cheaper that way!).

I included a very small divider with wasabi and filled a plastic container with teriyaki sauce. The flavor of teriyaki sauce complements the salmon nicely, and is a little more interesting than soy sauce.

I cut a sheet of nori into four long strips and packed them in a Ziploc baggie, tucked in beside the bento box, and threw in an orange.

At lunch time, you take a sheet of nori and pack it with a little rice and a little salmon. Roll it loosely, and instant sushi! It’s a great way to prevent the sogginess pre-made sushi rolls take on after a long morning in a bento, and the wrapping slows down the eating process to give you time to feel full.

Calorie Count

1 cup of sushi rice: 165 cal
2 oz smoked salmon: 66 cal
1 sheet nori: 10 cal
3 tsp teriyaki sauce: 16 cal
1/2 cup blueberries: 42 cal
1 orange:  65 cal

Total: 348 calories

A low-calorie bento packaged and ready to go!