Listen to Lena

Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

Lena Loves… Bento Sushi

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Back when we were dating, hubby and I officially declared Friday night as “Sushi Night“. We’d visit our favourite Japanese restaurants, grab a delectable takeout spread and a movie rental, or try our hand at rolling our own (I think we tried this once and failed miserably; although I usually fail to mention this when I say “oh yeah, I can make homemade maki”).

We continued this tradition when we were married, but all too soon I was pregnant with Ryder and had to say bye-bye to my beloved sushi. But as soon as the morning sickness faded, I developed insatiable cravings for the fresh little cubes of seafood goodness. Then one fine day, while grocery shopping at Loblaws, Mike stopped by the Bento counter and said, “Surely you can eat California rolls?” And that, my friends, was a poignant moment in time – for me it signaled the beginning of weekly (or more) Bento fixes, and for Mike – well, let’s just say that someone had to grab the yummy rolls at 10:58pm.

Today, I’m still hooked. Fresh, convenient and always delicious, Bento products are the answer to sushi on demand.

“As the largest sushi company in Canada, Bento serves more than 10 million handmade servings of sushi per year through a network of 22 quick service ‘grab and go’ sushi bars in premier shopping malls and office towers; more than 350 on-site sushi bars in quality supermarkets and more than 2,000 supermarket and institutional food service locations. The brands which the company’s products are known by include: Bento, Bento Express and Bento Sushi.”

Click here to view Bento products.

Recently, Bento celebrated its 15th anniversary and delivered on its promise to become the first sustainable sushi company in the country. Working in partnership with the SeaChoice program, Bento plans to supply only sustainable seafood by 2012.

“We want our customers to have an authentic, nutritious, and safe sushi experience that supports healthy oceans,” says Carl Sparkes, President and CEO of Bento. “Our mission is to deliver great sustainable sushi to Canadians anywhere, anytime.”

What is SeaChoice?

SeaChoice is a joint initiative of the the David Suzuki Foundation, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Ecology Action Centre, Living Oceans Society and Sierra Club British Columbia. Bento has already switched 65 per cent of its product offering to sustainable fish and seafood. It has also replaced its unsustainable red-listed tuna with sustainable troll-caught Albacore tuna from the Pacific Northwest. SeaChoice labels will appear on Bento products that meet sustainability criteria and have been ranked by SeaChoice through science-based assessments.

Love it. A company that produces delicious, high quality food while keeping a conscience. It’s vitally important for us to consider the impact we have on our oceans and the (often yummy) species that live in them – isn’t it wonderful to know that you have a choice? And that Bento makes it easy to make the right one?

To celebrate their partnership and quest for “healthy choices, healthy oceans”, Bento made a most welcome delivery to our home last week – three party boats packed with delectable Salmon Sushi, California Rolls and Assorted Maki! 

We sat down with friends, cracked open the sake and enjoyed fresh, beyond tasty food which Bento is famous for. I am constantly amazed at the quality of both the seafood and trimmings, and as expected, their traditionally generous portions and bright, bold flavours were appreciated by all. Thanks Bento!
BUY IT!
With more than 2,000 locations across Canada, you can enjoy Bento sushi… RIGHT NOW. Seriously, yummy sushi is at your fingertips. And even though my pregnancy cravings are over, Bento’s 2 for $10 California rolls are our snack of choice, and a ” must grab” on every grocery run!

WIN IT!

Now you know I wouldn’t just tease you with all this delicious food, right? Bento has generously offered one Listen to Lena! reader the chance to win a Bento prize pack, including a deluxe sushi platter, cooler and Bento jacket (value $125)!


To enter, simply visit Bento online and pick out three (3) of your favourite products – then leave a comment here, telling us what they are.

You can also qualify for extra entries! Remember, you must leave a separate comment for each. You can:

(1) Follow my blog, Listen to Lena!
(3) Tweet about this giveaway (tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/2cknsg6)
(4) You may Tweet daily.


I’ll be drawing for a winner on Monday, December 13th – lots of time for the winner to wow guests at holiday parties! Good luck everybody!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. silverbullet71

    I am due in 2 weeks with baby #2 and I cannot wait to dig into some serious sushi!! As soon as this baby pops out, I am going to go buck-wild on all the raw goodness! I would hit up Bento's Spicy Salmon, Maki Combo, and if feeling really zealous, the Wrap and Roll Platter…yes, all to myself :)

  3. Josie.K.

    LOVE this giveaway!!!Three products…california rolls!!…with white rice, brown rice and spicy!!!!Does that count!! I wish I were more adventurous with my sushi repertoire, but I'm not quite there yet!!!…I've just recently started using the wasabi and soy sauce that comes with them! LOL!!It's my tradition to stop at the sushi counter at Yorkdale and eat my california rolls as I shop…do it EVERY time..I'm always hungry for them! :-D

  16. Farah

    Yum in Tum!My 3 favs are Spicy California roll,Spicy salmon roll & the Mega Maki Platter!oh man im hungry now…facesbyfarah(at)gmail(dot)com

  19. Anonymous

    OMG now I am seriously hungry!!! And the choices its hard to give just 3. I have so been wanting to go try this place out. I would love the teriyaki chicken rice bowl, spicy california spring ro;; or the wasabi tuna roll.Rainy

  20. Anonymous

    ohhh this is a great giveway!!!Hmm 3 items, well the California rolls are a must, Cucumber Roll, and Vegetarian Spring roll would be my choicekatie

  39. Oody

    Delicious!!! I love Bento Sushi. It is my favourite quick meal to pick up at the grocery store. All the California Rolls are excellent and I often get the Maki Combo. I haven't tried the Salmon Sushi Boat. It looks great.

  49. Maple Leaf Mommy

    I can't believe it's a blog giveaway for SUSHI! How awesome is this?!Three products:Spicy Salmon RollRainbow RollMega maki Nigiri Platter Inari Sushi(Ok, so that's 4, but I had trouble picking just four!)

  54. July

    got a 'blogger error' "We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request." when i tried to submit my last comment, so i'll try this again. sorry if there's a double entry from me.-spicy salmon roll-pork japanese dumplings-shrimp spring rollmorejuly@gmail.comjames

  67. Luisa R

    Just recently introduced my kids to sushi and they love it!. Our faves are vegetarian California roll,orange California roll,and the cucumber roll.

  103. Sally E.

    I love Bento Sushi! Seriously Lena, how do you have such cool giveaways? My top three are: Maki combo, sSlmon Sushi Boat and Mini Maki Nigiri Platter. Yummy!

  111. tracey

    i like the vegetarian japanese dumplings, avocado roll and the brown rice vegetarian california roll…mmmmm….my mouth is watering