Bento Lunches

bento#32 plus new boxes!!

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:06:33 GMT

Sorry for the horrid picture! My cell is usually better than this.

On the left (bottom tier): brown rice; lemon pepper chicken; baked zucchini fries; ranch
On the right (top tier): my best ever attempt at apple bunnies; ham, provolone, and spinach pinwheels; Babybel; a few candies; some cashews and almonds because I couldn't justify filling that whole space with candy xD

This, to me, screamed for some baby carrots where the candy and nuts are. Too bad we were out. :/

You wouldn't know it, but the box is actually a deep purple. It also came with another white piece that latches onto the other, so you could cover the larger part (where my rice is) and/or add something thin to your lunch while keeping it separate.The lid has latches on either side that clip onto the bottom tier to hold everything together. My other new box is the same style, but it's only one tier.

Both boxes came from My Bento Meal. They had a Groupon a short while ago where you could get two boxes for $18! Not an amazing deal, but still pretty good. They are larger than the children's ones I already had and seem to be durable and good quality so far, so I will consider it a good purchase.

Chicken&Tortellini Bento

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 06:31:32 GMT

Bento: Pear, chicken with cheese&carrot, green peas, tortellini with ricotta&spinach and carrots

Catching up on recent Bentos

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 14:54:12 GMT

This is the one that went to school with my daughter today. I looked at lots of pictures of Bento before going grocery shopping last night!

My parents went to Japan and brought this new box for my daughter and some accessories back for me as Christmas gifts. The box is actually large enough for me but my daughter seems to have a large appetite so I think it'll be okay. I was disappointed recently when I stopped into the store I'd found the box my daughter has been using that they only seem to have picnic sized ones now.

Kinda pink that day, huh?

Meatloaf leftovers

Panda Onigiri Bento

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:15:13 GMT

Panda Onigiri

Very simple to make even without the kit :)

New Year's Bento

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:55:50 GMT

New Year's Bento:

In Japan, soba (buckwheat noodles) symbolize longevity and are traditionally eaten on New Year‘s eve. I’m nine days too late but I thought it was time again so I combined the soba with stir-fried gobō (burdock root.. I LOVE this vegetable!) and carrots in mirin and soy sauce and it turned out delicious.
Website: nekoblog.ch

My second bento ever:)

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:13:03 GMT

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

Bentos for Kindergartener and Third-grader

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:56:41 GMT

Monday: Rice ball with nori decoration. Tamagoyaki. Broccoli. Cucumber. Mandarin. Blackberry. Third-grader has a tomato.

Tuesday: Salmon. Mini penne with parmesan. Cucumber. Mandarin. Blackberries. And tomato for the third-grader.

Wednesday: Quick cheesey drop biscuits. Tamagoyaki. Cucumber. Mandarin. Blackberries. Carrot and tomato for the third-grader.

Wednesday night the Kindergartener told me that she can't open the boxes with tabs by herself (her little friend C has been doing it for her this whole time), so from here on out she's pretty much going to only get the tiered box that closes with an elastic band. Kind of a pain because it's an awkward shape to pack. Oh well.

Thursday: Spaghetti with parmesan. Tamagoyaki. Cucumber. Mandarin. Blackberries.

Friday: Mandarin. Tamagoyaki. Blackberries. Cucumber. Homemade bread: with blackberry jam and shaped like leaves for the Kinder, and with cream cheese and shaped like a little girl with cheese clothes for the 3rd grader. And a tomato for the third grader.

Finally a Bento!! And a new mini bento box!

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 09:09:36 GMT

Finally a bento again!!

This is custom made mini bento box :D Love it!
In the little container with the orange lid is Italiano dressing and the container next to it has some mixed salad and a orange bellpeper filled with herb cream cheese ( thanks bodacioussylph for the idea!)
Bottom box: Cucumber, tomato, hardboiled egg, Pasta farfalle, fried chickbreast.

???

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:33:45 GMT

Can someone explain why my post of my bento was under moderation? and I see someone else already posted her bento :( It's just bento nothing more!

Hello Kitty Christmas Bento Plate

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:39:28 GMT

These could be fit into a bento box but unfortunately we did not have any at the moment so we have to display this on two plates! Hope you guys still enjoy! :)

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_9XdmWtp8g

Bentos for Kindergartener and Third-grader

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:48:31 GMT

This week they had a truncated schedule because of parent/teacher conferences. The Kindergartener's "lunch" period was at 10:30; the third-graders, at 10:50. Dismissal was 11:45. Therefore, this week's bentos are all teensy, and I didn't bother too much about making them super balanced, since they had allllll afternoon to fill in any nutritional gaps.

Monday: Mini penne with marinara. Meatball. Broccoli. Mini bell pepper.

Tuesday: Focaccia with parmesan, dill, and sea salt. Tamagoyaki. Broccoli. Mini bell pepper.

Wednesday: Mini bagel with cream cheese for 3rd grader and butter for Kinder. Cucumber. Mini bell pepper. Blackberries.

Thursday: Quick cheesey drop biscuits. Cucumber. Mini bell pepper. Blackberries.

Friday: Mini bagels with cream cheese for third-grader and blackberry jam for Kinder. Cucumber. Mini bell pepper. Blackberries.

Bentos for Kindergartener and Third-grader

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:37:44 GMT

Tuesday: 3rd grader has rice ball with nori decoration, carrots, tomato, grapes, mini bell pepper, cucumber. Kinder has baguette with cheese, grapes, cucumber, mini bell pepper.

Wednesday: baguette. chicken marinated in soy sauce and sauteed. carrots. cucumber. grapes. mini bell pepper. 3rd grader has added tomato.

Thursday: Mini penne with marinara and parmesan. cubes of cheddar. cucumber. grapes. mini bell pepper. dried apricot. 3rd grader has added carrot.

Friday: pita chips. hummus in mini bell pepper, plus more mini bell pepper to dip in it. cucumber. 3rd grader has added carrots.

#31

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 07:35:08 GMT

Sorry for cell pic. I have no good excuse other than laziness and lack of time.

Bottom tier: brown rice; lemon pepper chicken sauteed in EVOO; sauteed yellow squash, zucchini, and white onion.
Top tier: a Babybel cheese; some blackberries; a Cutie orange; pomegranate arils.

This lunch was delicious, but I was shocked to discover that I was ravenous by the time I got home that evening! I should have taken a yogurt cup or something to have on one of my breaks.

Bento for 2 year old child

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 23:30:21 GMT

My 2 year old son goes to preschool in Japan, so every workday I cook bento for him . Here is one of them.

Meatballs, mashed potatoes with cheese, pea pods, crab meat sticks with cheese, yellow mango, carrots.

To cook it I've used:

Another Lunch!

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 04:57:23 GMT

So I made another lunch for work. Also, another cell phone pic (that's off center yay!) because I cannot find my camera for the life of me.

Rice ball (brown and white rice mixed) with veggie "shrimp" (yes that exists) in the middle, broccoli, tomato, veggie "chicken" tenders, Walnuts, pomegranate arils, more broccoli, and some steamed veggies with a little cheese.

Preschool bento

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 03:48:46 GMT

I usually hang out in this comm for the inspiration, but here's a pic of what went to preschool with my DD this morning. :) She usually has school lunch, but we do get a couple bento days a month. I doubled the usual amount since she always comes home ravenous- I don't expect her to eat it all. LOL

Two school lunches, one picnic bento

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:53:42 GMT

My daughter didn't want any cheese that day so I quickly cooked up the hot dog fish.

Today's Bento was unintentionally Christmas colored. After I made it she insisted that it needed hearts so I sliced some cheddar for her to cut with a tiny heart cookie cutter to add to the cuke and tomato salad.

I made this bento for my daughter and I to share when we met friends at the park. After we'd eaten it was pretty funny to see a seagull trying to get at the food through the clear plastic top! It's a Chinese takeout container I've reused.

Contents are Korean Chicken Patties, Chicken/Avocado salad stuffed tomatoes, apple bunnies, ninja egg, rice, and a variety of steamed veggies.

Bentos for Kindergartener and third-grader

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:02:00 GMT

Monday: Pita chips. Hummus in a mini-bell pepper cup. Cucumber. Carrots. Grapes.

Tuesday: I cut the mini bell pepper and went SPACE INVADERS! But it was too late to play it up, more's the pity. Imagine...black rice, bell pepper alien ships, carrot slices pew pew pewing at them...a missed opportunity. :(

Mini penne with marinara and parmesan. Cucumber. Grapes. Mini bell pepper. Carrots for the third-grader.

Wednesday: Rice ball with nori decoration. Mini bell pepper. Grapes. Cucumber. Tamagoyaki. Grape tomato for the 3rd grader.

Thursday: Mini penne with parmesan and marinara. Shaped hard-boiled egg. Cucumber. Grapes. Mini bell pepper. Carrot for the 3rd grader.

Friday: Transportation pasta with parmesan and marinara. Tamagoyaki. Mini bell pepper. Grapes. Emergency chocolate cake. Special pick for the 3rd grader.

Quick bento for Hubby~

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:34:53 GMT

Just a quick lunch for hubby. Broccoli (with green beans and sugar peas underneath), cherry tomatoes, chicken nuggets and noodles seasoned with 'peperoncino' spice. And a goofy nori face, because I felt like it. Ahahaha.

First Bento in a while.

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 04:55:34 GMT

So haven't had much time/reason to make a bento, but I needed a lunch for work so finally had an excuse to pack one (plus, new box added to my eternally expanding collection. In case anyone in the US cares, they have been selling bento boxes at TJ Maxx, near the check lanes).

Sorry for the cell phone pic, I have misplaced my camera.

Contains Beef-less tips with a little mustard, broccoli, cube of cheese, blackberries, yellow pepper, brown rice, walnuts, and another cube of cheese.

My daughter's preschool bentos

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 12:08:43 GMT

I've been making her bentos all year but only have pictures of three of them so far.

The school provides morning and afternoon snacks which tend to be fruit and baked goods so I try to balance that with a less carby lunch.

The stick of butter didn't go to school with her. It's there for size comparisons. Friends and family seemed to be stunned at how much food I was sending when I'd posted the first one.

Bentos for Kindergartener and third-grader

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 03:09:59 GMT

Monday: quick cheesey drop biscuit dough shaped into "fingers," with sliced almonds for "fingernails." I used Monterey Jack cheese so some of the fingers had "warts" if the cheese melted just right! Mini bell pepper slices. Spinach leaves. Grapes. Cucumber. Carrots for the third-grader.

Tuesday: Mini wholegrain bagels with sun butter. Grapes. Cucumber. Mini quiche with sausage and cheese. Cherry tomato for the third-grader.

Wednesday, Halloween: Havarti cut into a ghost shape. Sandwiches: ham, turkey, cheese. Grapes. Cucumber. Mini bell peppers trimmed to look like pumpkins. Cherry tomato for the third-grader.

Thursday: Ham, turkey, cheese sandwiches again. Mini bell pepper. Cucumber. Grapes. Cherry tomato for the third-grader.

Friday: Ham, turkey, cheese sandwiches AGAIN. (What can I say, when I do buy lunch meat I like to actually finish it before it goes bad.) Mini bell pepper. Broccoli. Grapes. Cherry tomato.

Bento #30

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 02:08:05 GMT

Roast beef and yellow american cheese in a whole wheat pita pocket; pomegranate arils!!; baby carrots; grapes; strawberries; broccoli (my favorite space-filler); a half-bloomed ham flower (my second favorite space-filler).

Been a long time! My hours at work have been crazy, so I have procrastinated making lunches work often. On a bright note, I bought some LunchSkins reusable bags for my lazy throw-it-in-a-lunchbox days. Love them.

I made two others similar to this the same week, but I forgot that I was supposed to photograph them. I remembered that fact when I was about 3/4 through eating both of them. Whoops!

Bentos for Kindergartener and third-grader

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 04:02:57 GMT

Back after our two-week fall break! I was planning to do Halloween themed bentos all this week and then I kinda lost steam mid-week. Friday's was the best of the bunch so it can be the representative one outside the cut.

Monday: Mini bell peppers stuffed with chevre, with nori decoration. Focaccia with parmesan, dill, salt. Spinach. Tamagoyaki. Apple. Grape tomato for the third-grader.

Tuesday: Quick cheesy drop biscuit "monster faces" with bell pepper and nori features. Peach. Broccoli.

Wednesday: Bat-shaped sandwiches on homemade bread with sun butter. Bell pepper autumn leaf cut-outs. Tamagoyaki. Grapes. Broccoli. Cucumber. Carrots for the third-grader.

Thursday: Bread-and-butter fingers. Mini farfalle with marinara and parmesan. Mini bell pepper. Tamagoyaki. Grapes. Cucumber. Mini emergency chocolate cake. Cherry tomato for the third-grader.

Friday: Rice ball ghost with nori decoration. Hard-boiled egg ghost. Bell pepper. Cucumber. Grapes. Tomatoes and carrots for third-grader.

Rilakkuma Omurice Bento

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:26:03 GMT