Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2011

Courtesy of Lawson, Inc

The words “corporate cafeteria” conjure up images of dirt-cheap grub that’s been over-warmed on a steam tray. Unless, that is, you’re talking about scale-maker Tanita, who in keeping with a company that manufactures machines to tell you how much flab you’ve got to lose, replaced their cafeteria’s entire menu with an array of five-dish 500-calorie teishoku meals. As employees’ pounds dropped off, management hit on the idea of publishing a title of the recipes—and it went on to become the fifth-bestselling title of 2010. For those too lazy to attempt their own cooking, Lawson convenience stores have unveiled a lineup of five filling-yet-healthy bento based on the Tanita recipes. Offerings include pork with miso sauce (¥500, 404kcal), dry tomato curry (above; ¥420, 369kcal) and “taco rice” (¥498, 361kcal). The bento are available at Natural Lawson convenience stores nationwide.

http://meturl.com/tanitabento (Japanese)