Like a lot of web-monkey types who sit in front of their computers all day, I work from home at least several days a week. But I still make a bento lunch in the morning for myself whenever I can. Why bother? you might ask. There are lots of good reasons for it, but here are my top five.

When I got married to a Swiss guy more than a decade or so ago, one of his friends in Germany sent him a letter congratulating him for 'catching a beautiful Asian gazelle'. The Swiss guy told me this while rolling on the floor laughing, where I kicked him hard. Ah, the point is not that I'm a spouse abuser, but that I'm nowhere near being gracefully gazelle-like. Going against the stereotype of the skinny Asian chick, I've always been on the round and cute side rather than sylph like.

This has bothered me of course off and on over the years, but I've never been good at sticking to any kind of diet. I just love to eat tasty food too much, and I also love to cook. This is where bento lunches come in.