Want a great way to carry your hot or cold lunch to work or school? Then have a look at a Zojurushi Mr Bento Lunch Jar. Originally from Japan the idea of a bento box is now catching on worldwide. Whilst the idea of the bento box can be traced back almost one thousand years this updated version certainly has a lot of uses for the modern world.

Photo Credit Scarlet

Stylish, compact and able to keep food both hot or cold in individual bowls the Mr Bento range from Zojurishi is a great way to take a packed lunch or snack anywhere. Take a look at the range available and discover that once you have your box you will be hooked! No more expensive lunches and endless waste. You will save so much on the cost of lunches and have the added benefit that you know you are being kinder to the environment too!

The Mr Bento Stainless steel lunch jar is the ideal solution for packing both hot and cold food for lunches and snacks. This ingenious design has 4 separate bowls so that you can carry soup,rice and 2 other lunch items which can be either hot or cold.

The soup bowl has an insulated twist on lid with a valve and the rice bowl has a thick lid but this is not airtight. Each of the 2 smaller bowls has a snap on plastic lid. Each bowl is easy to clean although unfortunately not dishwasher safe. 

You can pack healthy lunches so it is particularly good for kids at school. The Mr Bento Lunch Jar is made of stainless steel so is tough and durable. You will find that the initial outlay pays for itself really quickly with the money that you will save in buying snacks and lunches outside the home. We all know how quickly that can add up! 

The Zojirushi Mr Bento Lunch box comes complete with a fork with a cover and a convenient carrying case.

This design is a little different to the Mr Bento as is has an outer container and 3 microwavable inner bowls including one which can hold soup. You will also get a forked spoon and a carrying case for your Ms Bento.

The Ms Bento is ideal for people who want a slightly smaller container than the MR Bento. It does exactly the same job - keeps cold food cold and hot food hot. It is very portable and the bag is a nice addition. I have to say it also looks pretty cool - you will get some admiring glances from your work colleagues if you take one os these into the office!

This is a slightly smaller capacity Mr Bento box. It has 3 containers but unlike the Mr and Ms Bento larger models there isn't one for soup. The mini bento is great for salads and rice. The bento set includes chopsticks, chopsticks holder and easy to care insulated bag.

Main Bowl 9.8 oz. / Large Side Bowl 6.7 oz. / Small Side Bowl 5.6 oz.

There is also a slightly larger version of the mini Mr Bento. This is available in an attractive blue color. What are the comparative sizes?

The green mini version has a capacity of 9.8, 6.7 and 5.6 oz for each of the 3 bowls. The blue or lavender version has 12.7, 8.7 and 7 oz capacity.

Main Bowl 9.8 oz. / Large Side Bowl 6.7 oz. / Small Side Bowl 5.6 oz.

Once you have your bento box you may want some ideas for different lunches and meals to pack. The traditional base of a Japanese bento box is cold rice or noodles. Of course with the Zojorushi bento box you have the option of keeping rice or noodles hot.

The the Okazu or side dishes are added. There are thousands of combinations and you will soon get very creative with ideas of what you can have in your bento box. Some recipe books would help you along!

The new Zojorushi insulated lunch boxes make the possibilities endless as you can pack hot or cold food.

Photo Credit Scarlet