I love, love, love my new lunchbox. For a while now, I've been looking at the Zojirushi line of thermal lunchboxes even though I've previously purchased a Mr. Bento. While I liked the Mr. Bento for its practically, it was just too big. It came with four lunch containers and was very hard to fill. On top of that, its carrying bag, while attractive, was awkward for me as it was cylindrical, meant to be carried over the shoulder (a spot already taken by my briefcase), and didn't have any room for a beverage or bulky snack. This Ms. Bento of previous incarnations was nice because it had fewer containers and came with a roomy tote but was also missing that essential soupbowl that made carrying liquids a snap. Same for the Mini Bento. Well, I suppose someone must have been whispering in the designer's ear because the new Ms. Bento takes all of these, and more, into consideration. The new design has a cute tote with plenty of room for an apple and a boxed drink or a small thermos. The containers are now a darker color to mask those pesky tomato sauce stains and come with both a soup bowl AND a clever divider cup that makes it so convenient when packing an Asian meal consisting of small amounts of a variety of side dishes. In a word: perfect. The only small, teeny downside is that it comes with a spork instead of the typical chopsticks. And that's not a huge detractor in my mind since I'd previously melted the Mr. Bento chopsticks when I left them sticking in some hot rice a little too long. Now I primarily use my Korean stainless steel chopstick/spoon set. I just jam the little carrying case inside my Ms. Bento tote and off we go.

Here's one of the lunches I prepared with my new Ms. Bento. Clam soup, soy/sugar glazed potatoes, Korean omlette, and organic yogurt with frozen berries to keep it cool...all wrapped up nice and tight with a little piece of Glad Press and Seal.