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The Just Bento Cookbook 2: Make-Ahead, Easy, Healthy Lunches To Go
The author of the best-selling Just Bento Cookbook is back with hundreds of delicious new Japanese-lunchbox-style recipes -- including many low-carb, vegetarian, and vegan options -- that can be made quickly and without a lot of fuss.
The passion for bento boxes shows no signs of letting up. Leading the way in popularizing these compact and portable boxed meals has been Makiko Itoh, blogger extraordinaire and author of the perennial bestseller, The Just Bento Cookbook. Itoh was instrumental in spreading the word that bentos are perfect for busy adults-on-the-go -- they don't have to be cute and they don't have to take a lot of planning or prep time in order to be tasty, nutritious, and economical.
In THE JUST BENTO COOKBOOK 2: Make-Ahead Lunches and More, Itoh offers hundreds of new recipes for bento-friendly dishes. The premise of this second cookbook is that anyone can make delicious, healthy bentos quickly and easily. Itoh focuses on three types of bentos with specific and appealing benefits: bentos that can be made ahead of time, "express" bentos that can be put together fast, using components right off the shelf or out of the refrigerator, and bentos for special dietary needs. Full-color photos accompany the directions and showcase the finished dishes.
THE JUST BENTO COOKBOOK 2 opens with Itoh's basic bento rules, revised to reflect comments she's heard from her many fans after the first book came out. "Build Up Your Stash" explains why having some items ready to pack up and go is the key to stress-free bento-making. Here are tips on making foods that store well, organizing storage space, the best containers to use for different foods, what store-bought items to have on hand, etc.
The first section, "Make-Ahead Bentos," features recipes for a wide variety of dishes that can be prepared the night before or first thing in the morning. Here are different kinds of meatballs and burgers, including both Western versions and Japanese variations; mouth-watering chicken, pork, beef, egg and fish dishes; a section on "Tofu and Vegan" treats such as Ginger Tofu Teriyaki and Green Lentils and Brown Rice; and recipes for Rice Sandwiches such as Egg-wrapped Rice Sandwich with Bacon Rice Filling. A special section of Low Carb recipes based on shirataki noodles and konnyaku (konjac) offers fun and creative ways to use this no-cal, no-carb, no-sugar, gluten-free "miracle" noodle in dishes like Rice and Shirataki Pilaf with Shrimp, Shirataki Chicken "Ramen" in a Lunch Jar, and Shirataki with Sesame.
"Express Bentos" presents very quick-to-assemble boxes comprised of foods that don't require detailed recipes and don't rely on pre-homemade items. From Mediterranean Pasta and Yakisoba bentos to a Deconstructed Taco Salad and Stir-fry Bento, the ideas here will prove to be lifesavers for busy people who need to get out of the house in a hurry but still want their flavorful, filling, and healthy lunch.
Other new and exciting additions to this second volume include an entire section of recipes for Vegetable Side Dishes (Roast Asparagus with Balsamic Vinegar, Spicy Broccoli, and Potato and Corn Salad), and one for Japanese Vegetable Side Dishes (Buttery Kabocha Squash, Crunchy Stir-fried Soy Beans, Hijiki Seaweed with Garlic). Recipes for different versions of dashi will help readers keep a supply of this staple ingredient at the ready. And advice on tools and equipment, types of bento boxes and accessories, as well as a glossary and resource section, will ensure that preparing bentos is as enjoyable as eating them.
The passion for bento boxes shows no signs of letting up. Leading the way in popularizing these compact and portable boxed meals has been Makiko Itoh, blogger extraordinaire and author of the perennial bestseller, The Just Bento Cookbook. Itoh was instrumental in spreading the word that bentos are perfect for busy adults-on-the-go -- they don't have to be cute and they don't have to take a lot of planning or prep time in order to be tasty, nutritious, and economical.
In THE JUST BENTO COOKBOOK 2: Make-Ahead Lunches and More, Itoh offers hundreds of new recipes for bento-friendly dishes. The premise of this second cookbook is that anyone can make delicious, healthy bentos quickly and easily. Itoh focuses on three types of bentos with specific and appealing benefits: bentos that can be made ahead of time, "express" bentos that can be put together fast, using components right off the shelf or out of the refrigerator, and bentos for special dietary needs. Full-color photos accompany the directions and showcase the finished dishes.
THE JUST BENTO COOKBOOK 2 opens with Itoh's basic bento rules, revised to reflect comments she's heard from her many fans after the first book came out. "Build Up Your Stash" explains why having some items ready to pack up and go is the key to stress-free bento-making. Here are tips on making foods that store well, organizing storage space, the best containers to use for different foods, what store-bought items to have on hand, etc.
The first section, "Make-Ahead Bentos," features recipes for a wide variety of dishes that can be prepared the night before or first thing in the morning. Here are different kinds of meatballs and burgers, including both Western versions and Japanese variations; mouth-watering chicken, pork, beef, egg and fish dishes; a section on "Tofu and Vegan" treats such as Ginger Tofu Teriyaki and Green Lentils and Brown Rice; and recipes for Rice Sandwiches such as Egg-wrapped Rice Sandwich with Bacon Rice Filling. A special section of Low Carb recipes based on shirataki noodles and konnyaku (konjac) offers fun and creative ways to use this no-cal, no-carb, no-sugar, gluten-free "miracle" noodle in dishes like Rice and Shirataki Pilaf with Shrimp, Shirataki Chicken "Ramen" in a Lunch Jar, and Shirataki with Sesame.
"Express Bentos" presents very quick-to-assemble boxes comprised of foods that don't require detailed recipes and don't rely on pre-homemade items. From Mediterranean Pasta and Yakisoba bentos to a Deconstructed Taco Salad and Stir-fry Bento, the ideas here will prove to be lifesavers for busy people who need to get out of the house in a hurry but still want their flavorful, filling, and healthy lunch.
Other new and exciting additions to this second volume include an entire section of recipes for Vegetable Side Dishes (Roast Asparagus with Balsamic Vinegar, Spicy Broccoli, and Potato and Corn Salad), and one for Japanese Vegetable Side Dishes (Buttery Kabocha Squash, Crunchy Stir-fried Soy Beans, Hijiki Seaweed with Garlic). Recipes for different versions of dashi will help readers keep a supply of this staple ingredient at the ready. And advice on tools and equipment, types of bento boxes and accessories, as well as a glossary and resource section, will ensure that preparing bentos is as enjoyable as eating them.
128 pages, Paperback
Published January 2, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 29, 2018
I calculate at the rate of 12 years x 40 weeks x 5 days, that I ate 2400 lunches at school, every one of them prepared by my mother. My superhuman mother had four children, so she made going on for 10000 of these damn (as she may have thought) lunches, on top of working full time and studying almost full time. Every single one had the same components: a sandwich - if it was cheese it was Kraft, that one wrapped in alfoil in a box - fruit, and for morning tea either a simple cake or biscuits she made herself. Definitely the highlight. On Mondays, lack of fresh bread meant that they were cold toasted sandwiches, an ugh for we children who critiqued our basic lunchtime fare. At some point she started making them in bulk and freezing them. It didn't seem to make much difference to us, defrosted or fresh. And in the waste not, want not way of the world back then, once she started using gladwrap, we would bring it home, she'd wash it, hang it out on the line and it would get used again. And again.
So for me, the idea of a bento lunch is fantasy world. I love the occasional lunchtime bento restaurant outing as a grownup, but I look at it and think 'all that trouble', 'all that time'. Who can do that? Maybe people like S-L, who makes her own lunch to take to work and introduced me to Makiko Itoh's blog. But my mother? Surely not.
Having said that, the thing that is most striking about Itoh's writings is that they are dominated by the pragmatism of saving time, eliminating trouble. She manages to walk some very fine line between this and maintaining the aesthetics of food that are so important to Japanese culture. Each bento box section addresses the following:
1) the things to save time - so much can be cooked and frozen ahead of time, or prepared and kept in the fridge for a few days
2) the things that need to be done in the morning
3) things that need to be done to ensure eating safety
4) the aesthetics of how to pack the box
She also constantly stresses health considerations, both specific - if you need low salt then....if you need sugar free then.... - and general - variety is the key to healthy eating, the more colours you have on the plate the more balanced and healthy your eating will be.
One of the things that attracted me to the Just Bento blog was that Itoh lives in the French countryside, not so far from me. This lends itself to thinking out of the box (so to speak), being adaptable, using what is available in one's local area. Itoh's pragmatism is seen in her flexibility as to what one can put in a bento box. She isn't constrained by ideas of being true to tradition. She suggests lots of dishes which start off as a dinner dish, with the left-overs becoming part of the bento lunch, and Western dishes find places in her suggested menus. Buy pre-cut and packaged vegetables, tinned fruit - she is not judgemental about these things.
In any case, what is tradition? We see through this book, that the idea of 'bento' in Japan is no fixed, timeless thing. Hence her section on 'Rice Sandwiches', introduced with the comment that
For those overwhelmed by the idea of having to prepare several things, involving lots of ingredients, even if much of it has been done beforehand, there is a section on one-dish bentos, ranging from yakisoba and fried rice, to rather Western ideas like 'Chicken, Chickpea and Swiss Chard'
I don't have an excuse as an adult to even consider going bento, as I've (almost) never worked away from home. However, I use the recipes and ideas for cooking at home, nothing is beautiful, nothing is bento, but it all tastes good. Not surprising since, as mentioned, she suggests using left-overs as part of the bento box menu.
On my first trip to Japan I discovered the most foreign place I'd ever visited. Not least that applied to the cookbooks I'd buy to bring back home. Although they had the comfort of being in English, there any sense of familiarity ended. They were organised in ways I didn't understand. The ingredients were often completely unintelligible and unobtainable, with no idea what one might do as a substitute. I'd come back from my trips to Japan full of enthusiasm, buy a bunch of mysterious things at a Japanese grocer, and before long none of them would have any meaning at all for me.
The Just Bento Cookbook 2, like its predecessor, is quite the opposite of these sometimes challenging experiences. Itoh uses basic ingredients which are obtainable anywhere. As luck would have it I have a couple of excellent Japanese grocery shops close to hand, but most supermarkets these days stock the basics called for here - miso, soy, sesame, mirin, sake, Japanese rice, a couple of vinegars, oyster sauce. There are a few more esoteric ingredients, but nothing that the ideas stand and fall by. It is worth pointing out that she uses the microwave a lot, but as far as I can see, not having one doesn't matter, most things are straightforward to make without.
There is a vast amount packed into the pages of this nicely laid out and organised book, covering a lot of ground. To end with an example, I love the sound of this, 'Miso Soup Balls'.
rest here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...
So for me, the idea of a bento lunch is fantasy world. I love the occasional lunchtime bento restaurant outing as a grownup, but I look at it and think 'all that trouble', 'all that time'. Who can do that? Maybe people like S-L, who makes her own lunch to take to work and introduced me to Makiko Itoh's blog. But my mother? Surely not.
Having said that, the thing that is most striking about Itoh's writings is that they are dominated by the pragmatism of saving time, eliminating trouble. She manages to walk some very fine line between this and maintaining the aesthetics of food that are so important to Japanese culture. Each bento box section addresses the following:
1) the things to save time - so much can be cooked and frozen ahead of time, or prepared and kept in the fridge for a few days
2) the things that need to be done in the morning
3) things that need to be done to ensure eating safety
4) the aesthetics of how to pack the box
She also constantly stresses health considerations, both specific - if you need low salt then....if you need sugar free then.... - and general - variety is the key to healthy eating, the more colours you have on the plate the more balanced and healthy your eating will be.
One of the things that attracted me to the Just Bento blog was that Itoh lives in the French countryside, not so far from me. This lends itself to thinking out of the box (so to speak), being adaptable, using what is available in one's local area. Itoh's pragmatism is seen in her flexibility as to what one can put in a bento box. She isn't constrained by ideas of being true to tradition. She suggests lots of dishes which start off as a dinner dish, with the left-overs becoming part of the bento lunch, and Western dishes find places in her suggested menus. Buy pre-cut and packaged vegetables, tinned fruit - she is not judgemental about these things.
In any case, what is tradition? We see through this book, that the idea of 'bento' in Japan is no fixed, timeless thing. Hence her section on 'Rice Sandwiches', introduced with the comment that
A recent bento revolution in Japan is the rice sandwich, known as an onigirazu, meaning 'not pressed (into a ball),' a play on words on the traditional onigiri rice ball. The advantage of a rice sandwich over a rice ball is that you can vary the fillings a lot more, and put in a lot more filling too, making a satisfying lunch.
For those overwhelmed by the idea of having to prepare several things, involving lots of ingredients, even if much of it has been done beforehand, there is a section on one-dish bentos, ranging from yakisoba and fried rice, to rather Western ideas like 'Chicken, Chickpea and Swiss Chard'
I don't have an excuse as an adult to even consider going bento, as I've (almost) never worked away from home. However, I use the recipes and ideas for cooking at home, nothing is beautiful, nothing is bento, but it all tastes good. Not surprising since, as mentioned, she suggests using left-overs as part of the bento box menu.
On my first trip to Japan I discovered the most foreign place I'd ever visited. Not least that applied to the cookbooks I'd buy to bring back home. Although they had the comfort of being in English, there any sense of familiarity ended. They were organised in ways I didn't understand. The ingredients were often completely unintelligible and unobtainable, with no idea what one might do as a substitute. I'd come back from my trips to Japan full of enthusiasm, buy a bunch of mysterious things at a Japanese grocer, and before long none of them would have any meaning at all for me.
The Just Bento Cookbook 2, like its predecessor, is quite the opposite of these sometimes challenging experiences. Itoh uses basic ingredients which are obtainable anywhere. As luck would have it I have a couple of excellent Japanese grocery shops close to hand, but most supermarkets these days stock the basics called for here - miso, soy, sesame, mirin, sake, Japanese rice, a couple of vinegars, oyster sauce. There are a few more esoteric ingredients, but nothing that the ideas stand and fall by. It is worth pointing out that she uses the microwave a lot, but as far as I can see, not having one doesn't matter, most things are straightforward to make without.
There is a vast amount packed into the pages of this nicely laid out and organised book, covering a lot of ground. To end with an example, I love the sound of this, 'Miso Soup Balls'.
rest here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...
September 1, 2019
Not nearly as good as the first one, unfortunately. Many of these recipes feel half-baked and the reliance on microwave and pre-packaged food is disappointing.
January 16, 2021
It had somewhat helpful information. The ebook formatting was not kind to it. In addition, I felt like of spent more time saying how to build a bento than how to cook the food for the bento.
July 25, 2023
I bought the first Just Bento cookbook years ago, but hesitated to buy Vol. 2, having found valuable free online resources for real Japanese recipes. I'm glad I borrowed this book instead of investing more money, as it is very much an extended version of Vol 1. It's very repetitive, as if Ms Itoh tried to see just how many permutations of a handful of recipes she could draw out to cover as much page space as possible. Said recipes are also very much for a Western audience; not much in terms of authentic Japanese cooking here that doesn't already appear in the first JBC. Soboro? Check, had that one. Japanese meatballs and their multiple variations? Yup, they also appeared last time. And on and on. Even her explanations of "Bento Stash/Freezer Stash" recipes are repetitive within their sections.
If you've never heard of bento, it's the Japanese word for "lunchbox". You don't need to invest in those beautiful bento boxes available online and in specialty shops. (OK, yes, I own three though not the pricy ones, and I don't even carry my lunch. But.) Any lunchbox will do, or even a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. It's okay--these recipes aren't particularly Japanese.
If you've never heard of bento, it's the Japanese word for "lunchbox". You don't need to invest in those beautiful bento boxes available online and in specialty shops. (OK, yes, I own three though not the pricy ones, and I don't even carry my lunch. But.) Any lunchbox will do, or even a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. It's okay--these recipes aren't particularly Japanese.
February 12, 2018
I have followed Maki's blogs for years, and her recipes are both reliable and delicious. Like volume 1 of Just Bento, this book concentrates on recipes that can be easily prepared ahead, then frozen or refrigerated to be combined in different ways. Mostly using easy to find Western ingredients, there is a short section on using traditional Japanese vegetables - including dried daikon radish which I've never found available to purchase here, but I do have both a dehydrator and - so it turns out - a garden that daikons love to grow in.
February 20, 2018
Think of Ms. Itoh's first book as a beginning bento book, and this as the intermediate version. This book is incredibly realistic in that the recipes are primarily make-ahead, freezer-friendly entrees and sides, though I did miss the first book's inclusion of timelines for making the complete bentos.
There are a lot of adaptations and variations of recipes. I made the "white fish with lemon butter" entree for dinner one evening, and made a couple changes - turned out very good with what I had available.
I do like that there is a complete section of vegetable sides.
There are a lot of adaptations and variations of recipes. I made the "white fish with lemon butter" entree for dinner one evening, and made a couple changes - turned out very good with what I had available.
I do like that there is a complete section of vegetable sides.
January 22, 2022
The quality of your bento relies on the quality of your bento box, as evidenced by the photos in this cookbook. A definite pro is that this book contains a ton of recipes so that the bento creator can mix & match foods. My main con is that these recipes do seem to require enough cooking that they turned me off; the solution—for me—would have to be making these recipes for dinner and cooking enough for a bento of leftovers the next day.
July 26, 2019
This is the first bento book to read since I know how to make Japanese-style rolled eggs and lunches. I still learned how to make a different style of Japanese-style rolled eggs, onigirazu, or rice sandwiches, spinach namul, and other dishes. Even the art of packing a bento--the importance of arrangements, balancing dishes and side dishes, and looking at food olors--is in this book.
April 14, 2023
Makiko Itoh's second book about bentos has the same qualities as her first.
It is a bento book for adults full of new, tasty recipes to combine for a bento meal. Again she offers different variations for most of her dishes and there are extra tips how to pack a bento, how to handle frozen edamame correctly, etc.
It is a bento book for adults full of new, tasty recipes to combine for a bento meal. Again she offers different variations for most of her dishes and there are extra tips how to pack a bento, how to handle frozen edamame correctly, etc.
October 28, 2018
I think I ultimately got more enjoyment from the first book in this series, but I also really liked this one. I think maybe I'll enjoy it more if I actually take the time to work myself through the first book rather than just flipping through without making any of the recipes.
April 27, 2025
Fun book I picked up from the library. I liked some of the ideas as far as how I can spruce up my lunches for work a bit. I haven't made anything from here directly as I was really reading it for the supplementary ideas of it here and there.
March 6, 2019
Really good recipes with a LOT of options for each one.
Honestly, I haven't tried many of these yet, but I plan to.
Honestly, I haven't tried many of these yet, but I plan to.
August 20, 2022
This was a nice little cookbook to introduce me to bento boxes
December 31, 2019
[Leído en inglés]: Hace poco me leí el primer libro y ahora voy por el segundo. Quedo completamente feliz de las recetas nuevas que puedo probar, ya tengo bien marcado este nuevo libro y de verdad espero poder recrear algo pronto, de igual manera me los llevaré a donde quiera que viva para poder ser, o intentar ser, una adulta responsable.
Espero que mi habilidad en la cocina mejore y que mi amor por Japón nunca desaparezca.
Espero que mi habilidad en la cocina mejore y que mi amor por Japón nunca desaparezca.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews