How to prepare a bento and how long will it last/safe to eat?

I want to take my lunch to school this year, and I want to take a bento lunch. I was wondering how I may prepare this lunch (any tutorials will help) and how long it will last out of a refrigerator. If I do store it in a refrigerator, how should I heat it up in a microwave.. wouldn't that kill the whole point? Haha Thanks! Just rather not get food poisoning or a bacterial infection, I just got my wisdom teeth out. ;)How to prepare a bento and how long will it last/safe to eat?
"Do you eat the lunches hot, cold, or at room temperature?



There鈥檚 no microwave oven at my son鈥檚 school, so most of the lunches shown here are meant to be eaten cool (packed in insulated lunch bags with ice packs) or at room temperature. The only foods that turn out warm are those packed in thermal lunch jars or thermal food jars. If you have a refrigerator and a microwave oven available where you鈥檒l eat, you may want to pack a cold bento lunch with multiple tiers packed so that you can easily microwave only the container of foods you want to eat warm (i.e. keep the fruit away from the meat). If you鈥檙e going to microwave your lunch, be sure to use a microwave-safe container. Details at the hot vs. cold lunch packing considerations post.



Isn鈥檛 room temperature food dangerous?



Reusable ice blanket for packed lunchesBe mindful of packed lunch food safety: bacteria thrive on moisture and protein at room temperature. Use an ice pack and an insulated lunch bag when packing particularly perishable foods that will be unrefrigerated for more than two hours. Freeze little pudding cups, juice boxes, or containers of canned fruit to use as edible ice packs. Certain foods like oregano and cilantro have antibacterial qualities that help prevent food spoilage; spice food more aggressively than usual if you will be eating lunch at room temperature (details at the food safety post).



I don鈥檛 want to microwave or pack food in plastic containers. What are my options?



Stainless steel food containers - There鈥檚 information on the risks of microwaving in plastic at the post on tempered glass bento boxes, which are microwave-safe but heavy. Stainless steel boxes like these or multi-tiered tiffin tins like ToGo Ware are lighter, and can be warmed in a stovetop steamer. Or line plastic boxes with an edible liner such as lettuce so that the food does not touch the plastic directly. Details are at the hot vs. cold lunch packing considerations post. The Gear section of the Lunch in a Box community forum has the most up-to-date information on the latest bento gear of all kinds."

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