I’ve always found food prep a little bit overwhelming.
There seems to be a lot of chopping and cooking and packing and… Instagramming involved. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Then I discovered bento boxes.
I’m not talking about the kind of bento boxes you see on Pinterest, with Giraffe-shaped sandwiches, tiny little sushi rolls, and minion-shaped cheese bites.
I’m talking about bento boxes filled with fresh, affordable food that only take a couple of minutes to assemble.
I shop at one of the major supermarkets once a week and take advantage of what’s on special. What’s in my box each week will depend what’s in season, what’s cheap and what I have leftover in the fridge.
Most weeks I can put together four lunches (on the fifth day I buy lunch or have leftovers) for less than $20.
Here’s a breakdown of how I put together my bento boxes and how much they cost:
LUNCH 1:
50 grams of leg ham =$1.00
One third of a Lebanese cucumber = $0.50
A tablespoon of sweet potato dip = $1.00
Handful of Jatz = $0.20
Handful of grapes = $1.00
6 x Solanto tomatoes = $0.50
TOTAL = $4.20
LUNCH 2:
Leftover tandoori chicken = $1.50
Cous cous salad = $1.00
One third of a Lebanese cucumber = $0.50
3 x Solanto tomatoes = $0.20
5 x strawberries = $1.50
Scoop of hummus = $1.00
TOTAL = $5.70
LUNCH 3:
50 grams of salami = $1.00
One third of a Lebanese cucumber = $0.50
Handful of Jatz = $0.20
Handful of grapes = $1.00
A tablespoon of sweet potato dip = $1.00
5 x Solanto tomatoes = $0.40
TOTAL = $4.10
LUNCH 4:
Leftover tandoori chicken = $1.00
Cous cous salad = $1.00
30 grams of leg ham =$0.60
Handful of Jatz = $0.20
Handful of grapes = $1.00
Scoop of hummus = $1.00
3 x Solanto tomatoes = $0.20
TOTAL = $5.50
WEEKLY TOTAL = $19.50.
My total shopping cost for the week came in under $20.
If you want to give it a go yourself, simply choose a few fresh fruit and vegetables that you'll actually eat, a dip or two, and some protein.
The trick is to make it so easy, you'll actually want to spend a few minutes in the kitchen putting together your bento.
Top Comments
Good Lord! I also meal prep but I eat, uh, quite a bit more than that. For example, today:
- 200gms shaved turkey (that alone cost $5.50 from Woolworths)
- Large salad comprising of red and green capsicum, cucumber, spring onion, celery, alfalfa and low fat mayonniase
- Granny Smith apple
- Biltong
And that is with me being on a diet. And costs something of a metric fuckton more than what is set out above. And is also not on IG.
Honestly, the lack of protein in the meals shown above is concerning.
Those bento boxes made long for a meat pie.