Real Food Bento Box: Hummus & Dippers

Per Serving: $1.60

It's a week of Real Food Lunches! Lunch boxes! Bento boxes! Tomayto, tomahto, right? What sets a bento box apart is the multitude of components, so with 4 or more ingredients, these are BENTOS. Next up: Hummus & Dippers.

SIMPLICITY! That's what this box is all about. You can make hummus the star of your lunch box, especially if you've got the right dippers to go along with it. I make a batch of hummus (of various flavors - sun-dried tomato, plain, pesto, etc.) and divide it into individual silicon baking cups, and then place them in a big container or ziplock and freeze them. Whenever I need something to add to a bento box, or if I have a lot of dippable veggies on hand, I just pull 'em out.

Hummus & Dippers Bento Box

Hummus: You can use any basic hummus recipe (about 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas; 3 Tablespoons each: tahini, lemon juice; ¼ cup olive oil; 2 cloves garlic) and serve it as is, or add ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes! We like the sun-dried tomato version the most.

Veggie Dippers: Raw carrots, snow peas, and red bell peppers (or yellow). Just cut them into rounds or long slices and arrange them in the box. (About $0.40-$1, depending on your veggies.)

Chicken Nuggets: Here you see my super favorite almond-crusted chicken nuggets, but you can use any kind of chicken strip or nugget that you like! ($0.50)

Pizza Dough "Dippers": We don't have pita bread or pita chips or any of that easy Western stuff here in Japan, so I usually make pizza dough, roll it out, bake it for only about 8 minutes, then cut it into triangles or rectangles and store it in the freezer. It's perfect! Sometimes I also add a little garlic, butter, and parmesan cheese. ($0.10 - so cheap!)

That's it - the easiest lunch on the block. If you're really into hummus, like we are, you can also add hummus to any of your lunch boxes. Carrots are my favorite dipper, and below the hummus & carrots are served with a mini pizza and peanuts, and in the bottom picture we've got Paleo egg muffins, and sharp cheddar cheese.

This Series: Real Food Bento Boxes

• Monday: Sesame Soba & Green Beans

• Tuesday: Hummus & Dippers

• Wednesday: Stuffed Tomatoes

• Thursday: Chicken Avocado Lettuce Wraps

• Friday: Salmon Sushi Rolls with Fruit Kebabs