Bento for Beginners is a tutorial and recipe collection by Chika Ravitch. Due out 4th Feb 2020 from Callisto on their Rockridge Press imprint, it's 164 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats (ebook available now). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Bento can be healthy and appealing with eye appeal, organization, variety, and portion control in one package. This collection also shows that it doesn't need to be very time consuming or difficult.

The introduction includes suggestions and tutorials for basic bento followed by chapters with 7 Japanese style bentos, 7 western style meals, and 7 fusion style. These are complete meals with the base recipes and ingredients included.

Each of the recipes includes an introductory description, ingredients listed in a bullet point sidebar (only US measurements given, with a metric conversion chart in the appendix), and step by step instructions. The nutritional info provided includes calories, fat, sodium, cholesterol, carbs, fiber, sugar, and protein . Very few of the recipes are photographed, but the completed boxes are illustrated very well and clearly. Serving suggestions are attractive and appropriate. There are some vegan friendly recipes. Special notes about the recipes (nut free, gluten free, vegan, etc) are listed in the header bars at the beginning of each individual recipe. The book does include a solid cross referenced index which includes ingredients.

The recipe ingredients themselves are easily sourced and will be available at most well stocked grocery stores.

Well written and organized, this could be a fun addition to the lunchbox repertoire. It would also lend itself very well to fans of meal planning or once-a-week-cooking. Most of these recipes make several servings which could easily be used for a week's lunch planning.

Four stars. I received both the electronic and print ARCs of this book and found no errors and generally very high quality with both.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "Bento for Beginners" by Chika Ravitch. I am new to the world of bento boxes but I have been curious about them for some time. This book was an excellent start to learning about bento boxes. The history the author has from her family making these boxes for lunches was interesting. I loved the facts and helpful tips she provided for the recipes. I was surprised with how little seasonings that some recipes needed but I guess it is more about preference. I wish each recipe showed a picture of the food item. I highly recommend this cookbook to other beginners like myself!

Yum! What a great book. I’ve been interested in making bento boxes because they’re healthier and smaller portions but I had a hard time finding recipes for it until now! I personally have plans to try the chicken teriyaki bento. I loved how she used basic ingredients that I can find in my typical grocery store. I also was surprised how many little facts she added above the recipes. I just wish each bento box had a photo for it.