Bento Box Lunch Ideas

What Are Bento Box Lunches?

Bento boxes are fantastic options for packing lunches because they contain separate compartments, allowing you to carry several nutritious foods in one container. Gathering healthy bento lunch box ideas for adults and kids can help you prepare enjoyable, nutrient-packed lunches for yourself and your family.

What Are Bento Box Lunches?

Bento boxes are compartmentalized containers people use to organize and carry nutritious meals. With divided compartments, bento boxes make it easy to include several food groups in one container. As an important part of Japanese culture and history, individuals originally used bento boxes to carry food to rural locations. These unique boxes evolved over time, and people now use them to prepare and carry picnic, office and school lunches.

Benefits of Bento Box Lunches

Bento box lunches offer the following benefits:

  • Convenience: Bento boxes typically contain lunch items that are easy to pack and store overnight, allowing you to grab them and go quickly when you’re in a rush.
  • Health: Bento boxes encourage healthy eating. Their compartments make it easy to include a wide variety of protein, fruits, vegetables and grains in one container.
  • Environmental friendliness: You can improve your environmental impact with bento boxes because they allow you to separate food without using plastic wrap, foil and disposable bags.
  • Fun: Bento boxes are fun to prepare and eat, encouraging you and your family to try new foods and eat more nutrients.

How to Make a Bento Box

Consider the following tips as you prepare bento boxes:

Cover Each Food Group

If you’re looking for healthy bento lunch box ideas, it’s important to ensure you cover all of the major food groups. Each box should include most or all of the following for the greatest nutritional value:

  • Healthy protein
  • Whole grains
  • Fresh fruit
  • At least two vegetables
  • A healthy dairy product
  • A healthy treat, if desired

Get Creative

One of the best parts of preparing bento box lunches is the freedom to get creative. You can combine different recipes and food combinations to increase variety, helping your family get excited about healthy lunches. Use your bento boxes to try new foods, experiment with unique recipes, incorporate various textures and flavors, present vibrant colors, and have fun.

Bento Lunch Box Food Ideas

You can start your healthy lunch journey with the following bento lunch box ideas:

Steak, Kale and Rice Box

Steak, Kale and Rice Box

Steak, kale and rice make for a savory, healthy combination full of protein, grains and nutrients. Lean steak strips provide protein, and kale is an excellent source of antioxidants, fiber, potassium and calcium. 

You can add various vegetables, such as broccoli or asparagus, and include a compartment of strawberries or blueberries to create beautiful color variation. To prepare the main part of this box, follow this steak and kale rice bowl recipe using John Soules Foods Steak Strips, cauliflower and brown rice. 

This recipe also includes olive oil, kosher salt, garlic, black pepper, kale, reduced-sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, ginger root and tahini for a delicious sweet and savory flavor combination. If you prepare this recipe for kids, cut the steak into smaller pieces for easier eating and digestion.

Flame-Grilled Panzanella Salad

The flame-grilled panzanella salad recipe uses John Soules Foods Flame Grilled Chicken, red onion, Italian bread, cucumber, mini mozzarella balls and Roma tomatoes to create a colorful, nutritious lunch. This recipe also requires kosher salt, fresh basil, Dijon mustard, olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a smooth, tasty flavor. 

For a well-balanced box, add some brown rice to a separate compartment and consider including some strawberries, grapes or raspberries in another section. If you prepare this for kids or picky eaters, you can substitute any of the salad ingredients they don’t like with alternative vegetables such as chopped or grated carrots.

Chicken Taco Pinwheels

This chicken taco pinwheels recipe is a fun, mouthwatering option for bento boxes. You can pair these delicious, protein-filled roll-ups with a refreshing fruit salad and nutritious broccoli with seasoned brown rice. 

To make the taco pinwheels, you will need John Soules Foods Chicken Fajitas or Flame Grilled Chicken, cream cheese, olive oil, flour tortillas and shredded cheese. This recipe also calls for red and green bell peppers and taco seasoning. You can reduce the taco seasoning if you prepare this for adults or children who prefer milder flavors.

Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad

Preparing a bento box with chicken Caesar salad is the perfect way to pair a classic favorite with other healthy snacks. If you and your kids love chicken nuggets, you will adore John Soules Foods Chicken Nuggets or Southern Style Chicken Bites

You can follow our crispy chicken Caesar salad recipe to prepare a delicious salad using scrumptious chicken, nutritious romaine lettuce, tangy Caesar dressing, yummy Parmesan cheese and crunchy croutons. Fill additional bento box compartments with fresh fruit, vegetables and seasoned quinoa for a balanced lunch.

Grilled Beef and Asparagus

You can prepare a savory, nutrient-packed bento box with this grilled beef and asparagus recipe. This dish uses fresh asparagus and either John Soules Foods Angus Beef Fajitas for a slightly spicy kick or Steak Strips for a milder flavor. This recipe also includes balsamic vinegar, balsamic reduction, olive oil, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, lemon juice, and salt and pepper for a fantastic flavor. 

You can add a salad to one compartment of this bento box and blueberries, strawberries, watermelon or blackberries to another. To add whole grains, consider including brown rice or a granola bar as a special treat.

Bento Box Lunch Ideas for Kids

Bento boxes are excellent for kids because they allow you to present various food groups in fun, unique ways. Japanese parents often arrange food to resemble popular anime characters and animals to help children enjoy trying new foods and eating healthy. If you have kids, bento box lunch ideas such as the following can help them expand their palate and learn to love nutritious foods:

  • Fun faces: You can use small vegetable pieces to create a face on a rice ball, and you can use carrot sticks as ears to create an adorable animal.
  • Shapes: If you have small cookie cutters, you can create hearts and other fun shapes out of fruits and vegetables.
  • Patterns: Incorporating colorful foods in a bento box is a fantastic opportunity to get creative with patterns. For example, you can arrange grapes, strawberries and blueberries in a repetitive pattern to prepare a beautiful box. Making dino nugget fruit and vegetable kabobs is also a fantastic way to create fun patterns and encourage children to try various foods.
  • Dinosaur nugget volcano: Another fun idea is to create a small mound out of rice and surround it with Jurassic World Dominion Chicken Nuggets. You can include a small container of sweet-and-sour sauce, and your little one can pour it over the rice and pretend it’s a volcano for an exciting lunch.

Create Flavorful, Nutritious Bento Boxes With John Soules Foods

Create Flavorful, Nutritious Bento Boxes With John Soules Foods

Bento boxes make flavorful, healthy and fun lunches your whole family can enjoy. Whether you want to make packing your office lunch easier or find creative ways to get your kids to eat healthy foods, bento boxes offer quick and enjoyable solutions. 

John Soules Foods offers ready-to-eat beef and chicken to help you prepare protein-packed bento boxes. From crispy chicken bites and nuggets to grilled chicken and steak fajita strips, we have a variety of products you can use to create unique bento box combinations. Find a location near you to buy John Soules Foods products!