What size bento box?

Herman says "hi everybody!". Actually, that's not true. What he's saying is "get your portion size under control or I will do terrible things to you". Easy to confuse... (See my Bento article if you have no idea who I'm talking about) I'm doing well at the moment, but I'm still feeling way too full way too fast, so the time has come to answer the question: what size bento box do I need?

The answer depends on a few different factors. For example, my caloric need based off my gender, size and activity level and how densely packed my container is. A 500 ml container packed tight with rice, meat and veggies is a totally different animal than a 500 ml box with a left over piece of pizza jammed into it! (psst... fellow Americans... 500 ml is about 17 oz)

So what do I need? According to Biggie's translation of a Japanese bento size chart, I roughly need a 600 ml bento box containing about 685 calories. (note: I'm taller than the average Japanese women listed) I've been using various Tupperware-ish containers, a 500 ml and an 800 ml, while I hunt for a real bento box. Depending on how/what I'm packing, the first tends to leave me slightly hungry while I've eaten off the latter for two days before! For example:

This is an 800 ml box packed with grapes, carrots, sliced cucumber, 1/2 lb of baked salmon cut into cubes and a 1/2 cup of nishiki sushi rice with Mizkan rice vinegar and topped with black sesame seeds. I had a side of Ranch for dipping the veggies too. The partitions are just parchment paper. It's beautiful, it was delicious... it was too much food. Sigh. Curse you, Herman. But on the other hand, it was lunch for the next day as well!

(Note: Apple and HP didn't buy advertising space in that photo, though it may look like it. And I want a real camera!)

Potentially Not Obvious How To Elements:

• Baked Salmon: Nothing could be easier. Some people are intimidated to even cook fresh fish... don't be! I got a single 1/2 lb fillet, lightly coated a baking dish with olive oil, slapped the fillet in there and covered it in salt and pepper. Baked it at 375 F for 20 minutes (ovens will vary). If it's done, it will flake when you stick a fork in it and twist. Simple, yummy, open to a million flavor variations.