#SimplyBento #NetGalley

Healthy and fresh recipes that can be packed in a Bento way. Delicious and easy to cook.

Healthy, pretty and easy to prepare. Simply Bento is a Japanese style lunch box with a Western twist, so that we can still use Western ingredients to create food with Asian flair. Not only the ingredients are wholesome and healthy, I think the look for the bento is great and appetising. It is perfect for spring, as it is fresh and helps anyone change their lifestyle towards summer (in Australia anyway)

This is not your usual Bento book. Where other books in the past feature cartoon characters shaped out of eggs or other staple items, this book focuses on the "why" of bento-making just as much as the "how". This bento book is not just geared towards parents making food for their children, so it's more about the recipes rather than aesthetics.

Here's what I like about this book:
1. A lot of recipes (if you're considering other Bento-making books, this is the one to get for that reason alone) that focus on Japanese cuisine with recipes for vegan and low-carb eaters too. I'd say that this also acts as a perfectly accessible introduction to Japanese cooking since the book also has a section on Japanese pantry essentials most other Bento-making books don't.
2. There's prep time included in this book -- which is helpful and encouraging especially since bento-making requires more commitment, but not considerably more so. Many recipes indicate less than twenty minutes of prep time assuming that the main ingredients (carbohydrates) have already been cooked. There's also a section on "planning ahead" on some recipes to reduce the labor involved in the morning.
3. There are numerous photos that gives the reader an idea of how to go the extra mile with bento instead of just putting them into different compartments.
4. There's a section on typical bento containers and accessories which I actually learned from! For example, wooden containers help make taste rice better apparently, as they absorb moisture.

What I don't like about the book:
I wish the book had better typography -- this is a reference book of recipes you want to try out, but it's not necessarily something that you browse through because it's beautiful. That being said, perhaps that's the point of the book and it shouldn't affect the material.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from Race Point Publishing for my unbiased opinion of the book. This book was so colorful, and everything laid out beautifully. I loved how this book had everything I like to call everything you need to know but the kitchen sink! Lol The photos were crystal clear and mouthwatering. The recipes like Beef Roll-Up Bento were easy to execute and to follow. I can't wait to cook my way through this book!

Simply Bento is a fantastic book for anyone who enjoys Japanese cooking or bento boxes! This book features almost 100 delicious and healthy bento recipes! There is a combination of traditional and non-traditional ingredients which makes for some great fusion recipes! Great book!

*I received an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This is a comprehensive book, including unexpected recipes for Bento versions of hot dogs, quesadillas, etc. Side dishes are included as well as ideas for a special occasions such as birthdays and Halloween. Sadly, I just did not relate to it.

While there have been some improvements to public school lunches since the 80's and 90's while I was in school, I still think they have a long way to go before they get anywhere near the healthy meals I would want my kids buying at school, so my kids take their lunch. Packing kid lunches you can still fall in the trap of unhealthy foods as well, so I am always looking for new ideas on healthy lunch choices. The Japanese food art of bento has always interested me, but I have never found a book like this that breaks down the history and art of it. I love that there are plenty of traditional Japanese options in the book, but that there are also some Americanized ideas as well. There are intricate lunches that might take some time and effort to make, but there are some that would be quicker to throw together. I also love that these are meals my husband and kids would enjoy, and that they are healthy choices for all of them but will still be tasty and flavorful. I recommend this book to anyone looking to up their lunch game or just wanting to learn more about Japanese food culture.

I was excited to come across this cookbook as I LOVE bento boxes and eating Japanese food. How cool if I could create my own healthful bento boxes. Simple concept but had never thought about it prior to this book catching my eye.

The photos were the first thing that struck me. So colorful and mouthwatering! The preliminary pages cover history and benefits of bento, pantry essentials, ingredients and some key points to making bento - great info to springboard me into the recipes section.

Each recipe page contains a ‘main’ recipe and two accompanying “Plan Ahead” and “To Make This Bento” info boxes. To Make This Bento simply means to add suggested ‘sides’ like steamed rice, blanched carrot flowers, shunpike salad, etc (recipes also included within). I heeded the advice of the author and decided to go slow, starting with a couple of their 10-minute bento, a traditional yakisoba bento and the quesadilla bento with black bean and corn salad (sans cilantro). Successful and tasty. Next on my plate will be the sweet and sour meatballs bento.

Some of the recipes sound plain silly - like the hot dog bento, pizza bento and chicken nuggets bento - don’t think I’ll be trying those anytime soon. What I will be doing is buying a few copies to give two foodies in my life as Christmas presents!

*will post in additional online venues upon publication

I'm always looking for ways to improve my lunch options and I love the Bento approach. Some of the combinations are really thoughtful and others are just funny. Halloween Bento anyone?

I’m a huge fan of Japanese cooking, so I like that this bento box book dives right in to recipes using Japanese ingredients and flavors. I also like the numerous pictures throughout the book that show the beautiful outcomes.

Lovely photos with helpful explanations. Helpful for beginners or those familiar with the concept of Bento.

I love this book, not only because I love Japanese food, but it is a great way to break away from the boring packed lunches, eat nutriciously well, and also - a big plus - is that all of the recipes serves 2. This can easily be doubled for larger families, of course, but if there are just two having packed lunches, it is a great book crammed with great recipes that you can also have for dinner, without having the same thing for lunch and dinner the following day. Really inspiring. It also shows the importance of presenting food so that it looks attractive - we also eat with our eyes, so this is a really fresh way of vamping a packed lunch, and quite cute, too.

Do you have to pack lunch boxes for your kids/spouse/partner and have run out of ideas what to put inside? Why not try Bento boxes?

The authors introduce Bento, including food safety issues, what boxes to use, staple recipes and ideas what to pack and what better not to pack into a Bento box.

The recipes in this book are easy to follow and look very delicious - I hope I can put together a lunch box for my kids that looks as appetising as the ones in the book's pictures. The pictures make you want to try this.

Simply Bento by Yuko and Noriko, creators of Japanese Cooking 101, is an absolutely lovely book. Between the delicious recipes and gorgeous photographs reading this book will truly delight your senses. I also loved the variety of recipes that lend a creative touch to lunch. I also loved how the authors explained what Bento was, how to make Bento, and Bento essentials. I really appreciated the book's emphasis on food safety. I have read some Bento books that skimmed over the need for keeping food safe when packing a Bento box. I loved this book so much I am thinking about gifting it to my children as they love Japanese culture.

Some of the recipes you'll find include:

Tamagoyaki
Pork Shogayaki Bento
Hamburger Bento
Ramen Bento
Yakisoba Bento
Breakfast Muffin Bento

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley

I'm a huge fan of Bento recipes and this new release does not disappoint! The recipes were simple but light and refreshing. I especially enjoyed the plan ahead tips.

All kinds of lunches, dinners and holiday meals are included in Simply Bento.

This cookbook includes Japanese, sandwich, noodle, rice and sushi bento recipes. It has a full chapter featuring vegan bento recipes and another for low carb bento. Each entree’s recipe comes with suggestions for side dishes and a make-ahead plan. Most recipes include a beautiful full color picture.

As a lover of Japanese culture through manga and anime, I want to create a real bento box for myself. Only three things stand in my way: being gluten free; not having any time to cook anything, even breakfast, in the morning; and not being a great chef. While this cookbook doesn’t provide allergen information, the recipe ingredients can be easily reviewed and substituted if necessary. The second issue means that almost all of these recipes have to wait for the weekend for me (and I assume many others) to have the time to cook them. Many of the cooking techniques require at least a medium skill set. If you are a beginning chef, it’s probably better to start with an easier book.

I loved the instructions for loading up your pantry with Japanese staples. Simply Bento includes instructions to make most of the Japanese sauces, like teriyaki and sweet and sour, from scratch. I also loved the cute side dishes like cherry tomatoes stuffed with cottage cheese and Tako (octopus) Sausage made with cocktail franks. Some of the recipes are traditional Japanese and some are Americanized like Taco Rice, Hamburger and Hot Dog Bento.

Love Japanese culture? want to try something different for lunch? Have an extra 30 minutes in the morning and some good knife skills? Simply Bento is highly recommended for you. Unfortunately, due to the lack of nutritional information, I have to take off 1 star leaving Simply Bento with 4 stars.

Thanks to Quarto, Race Point Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I was interested in trying out bento and understand it as a cultural element. This book is a good introduction but as for a cookbook it was not my favorite. There were not enough photos especially when I am trying to work with things that are new to me. Many of the photos were reused and not every box had one that I could find. That's sad because these boxes are so pretty and I want to be able to appreciate and emulate them. The special event bentos all had pictures and that I appreciated.
I didn't come away with an understanding of the food itself. So much of it was foreign to me with an introduction to these items. All in all, I think I could make one or two of them.
I really appreciated the cultural aspects of bento presented but I don't feel like I can make them myself on a regular basis.

New interesting ideas to make your own special bento, as a take away or to eat at home. Some recipes were "really japanese", but some other were not and maybe easier to European/U.S. people, like me. Anway it was easy written, well explained and the pics were the better part....

Nuove ed interessanti idee per "costruirti" il tuo bento, sia da trasporto che da mangiare a casa. Alcune ricette erano tipicamente giapponesi, ma altre erano piú internazionali diciamo, e quindi piú facili per persone come me. Comunque il libro é ben scritto, ben spiegato e soprattutto la parte migliore sono le foto.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW"

This is a lovely comprehensive bento cookbook. It covers many of the bases and then some. I love the addition of low carb recipes. I do think the first couple of chapters are a bit repetitive (the same ingredients/sauces over and over and just a swap of the protein). I would have loved to see a little more variety there. If someone doesn't like the taste of mirin, sake, or soy sauce (or they're trying to avoid sugar) they'll have to avoid too large a portion of the book. Overall, though, anyone looking to start making bento boxes would find this book very helpful. The sides are varied and delicious. I'd definitely recommend this book to a friend.

This is a very interesting book that helped me to understand what is and how to prpare a bento. It’s full of interesting picures and yummy recipes that I will surely try.
Highly recommended!Many thanks to Quarto Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC