Five 5-Minute Bento Box Ideas

Thank you to GoodCook for sponsoring this Five 5-Minute Bento Box Ideas post, and thank YOU for supporting the brands that help make Meal Prep On Fleek possible. All opinions are our own. 

Have you been in a rut with your meal prep lately? Or just lacking the time? No problem! We have you covered with five 5-minute bento box ideas that are easy, affordable, and healthy! They are also a fun lunch idea for the kids. 

Before we dive into the recipes, let's discuss what a Bento Box is. A bento box is defined as, "single-portion takeout or home-packed meal that is traditional in Japanese cuisine." However, they are more easily known as "convenient lunch box" here in America. They are convenient because they are easy to put together, cheap, and allow for so many combinations. You could literally use what you have in your house to put one together. 

You can make them larger so they are more like a full meal (or a mini-meal), or you could make them lighter and more like a snack. Do what works best for you and your goals. 

How to build a bento box

The combinations are totally up to you. However, we recommend a few things when thinking about creating a balanced bento box. 

1. Protein: You want to include some kind of protein to make sure that you stay satiated until your next meal.
2. Healthy Fats: A healthy fat will help with satiation, as well. Think of things like nuts, seeds, cheese, etc.
3. Veggies/Fruit: We can't leave out the micronutrients. Add fruit if you are creating a sweet bento box or veggies if you're doing a savory combination.
4. Fiber: Fiber is very important for both digestion and satiation. Great sources of fiber include fruit, veggies, whole grain crackers, nuts, seeds, etc.
5. Fun: Don't forget to include some fun foods now and again. Things like chocolate pieces, dark chocolate covered almonds, etc are always a nice treat now and again.

At the end of the day, there is no wrong way to create a bento box! Toss in your favorites and enjoy for breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner and of course, always on-the-go! 

So, are you ready to head to Target to grab your Good Cook meal prep containers and ingredients and start prepping? Let's go! 

Combo #1

To make this you will need:

• Slices turkey breast
• Rice Cakes (or pretzels work nicely)
• Cheddar Cheese
• Grapes
• Carrots

Directions:

1. Rinse your gapes.
2. Roll your turkey, if desired.
3. Pace ½ cup grapes, ½ cup baby carrots, 3 ounces turkey rolls, 1 serving rice cakes, and ¼ cup cheese cubes into each container.

 

 

Combo #2

To make this you will need:

• Ranch dressing
• Crackers
• Carrots (or any veggies)
• Trail Mix
• Grapes or Apples (or any fruit)

Directions:

1. Slice your apples (or rinse grapes).
2. Add 1 ranch packet, ⅓ cup baby grapes, ½ an apple, 1 serving crackers, and 1 serving trail mix to your container.

 

 

Combo #3

To make this you will need:

• Pita bread (or bread of choice)
• Hard boiled eggs
• Baby Carrots
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Baby Peppers
• Hummus

Directions:

1. Slice your pita into quarters.
2. Place 2 tbsp. hummus in a small plastic container.
3. Slice hard boiled eggs in half and season, if desired.
4. Place pita, ½ cup baby carrots, 3-4 baby peppers, 3 egg halves, ½ cup cherry tomatoes, and hummus into your container as shown.

 

 

Combo #4

To make this you will need:

• Crackers (or pretzels)
• Cubed cheese
• Grapes
• Turkey slices
• Trailmix

 

Directions:

1. Rinse grapes.
2. Roll turkey, if desired.
3. Half cup grapes, 1 serving trail mix, 3 ounces turkey, 1 serving crackers, and ¼ cup cubed cheese into your meal prep container as shown.

 

 

Combo #5

To make this you will need:

• Hard boiled eggs
• Ranch dip
• Mini peppers
• Baby carrots
• Cherry tomatoes

Directions:

1. Slice your eggs in half and season, if desired.
2. Add 1 rach packet, 4 baby peppers, 3 egg slices, ½ cup carrots, and ½ cup cherry tomatoes to your container as shown.

The end result! One easy bento box style lunch for each day of the week! 

These are just a few of the endless combinations that you can create from the affordable and healthy ingredients available at Target! We showed you had to mix and match ingredients to save you time and money. But, don't let these ideas stop you from going crazy! Heck, we have even done a "what's let in the fridge" style bento box plan for the week and just grabbed a couple of extra things when at Target. 

You also don't have to stop with just the 2-compartment teal containers, either! You could turn the white or red ones into larger, more meal-like, bento boxes or create smaller ones with the snack containers. So, if you haven’t grab your containers yet, they are now available at Target stores nationwide. Or, if you want to do what we like to often do and shop online, you can grab them at Target.com! 

Looking for more bento and snack box style meal prep ideas? Try this sweet peanut butter cookie and apple combination or these Turkey Bacon Ranch Pinwheel boxes.