Out and About Monday

It has been cold and snowy/icy here in the deep south. After staying home for 3 days, I am ready to get out, even if it means going back to work. The girls were not thrilled to be leaving the cocoon of home to go out at 18 degrees, but we had little choice.

As an "oh by the way", for you who are new to bento - and not new really, here is a really good overview of food safety in your bento; it is on the lovely blog called Just Bento.

Now on to this morning's bentos. Miranda gets pizza on Monday and Wednesday so it was just Veronica and I today.

Veronica was excited to have (in the bottom tier) some leftover salmon on a bed of mashed potatoes, Teddy Grahams, salad dressing . In the top tier was her ever present salad with sunflower seeds in the green and mandarin oranges in the Hello Kitty containers. Kroger had Organic Chocolate Milk on sale, so I swallowed my dislike of over-packaged beverages and got some as a treat.

I also took leftovers: baked chicken and rice, carrot sticks, Rondele cheese with whole wheat flatbread, and grapes.

In the Groove

This morning is what I consider my first "real" morning of 2010. Got up on time, got everything done, and still had time to photograph the bentos. I stayed up a bit late last night to make the shepherds pie that Veronica took today - also popped 4 more in the freezer for later lunches.

So today for Veronica: Shepherds Pie, Teddy Grahams, mandarin oranges (in the Hello Kitty), strawberries with kitty pic, salad and Baby Goldfish crackers. I also tucked a nice piece of chocolate in the lid just because sometimes being 14 sucks.

For me today: In the top tier - (leftovers from Mexican dinner Monday) rice, carne asada, refried beans and carrot sticks in the interstitial spaces; in the bottom tier - grapes, strawberries, and a smidge of potato salad.

Heard that Sydney had fun with her bento and Mary B. has promised pictures at some point.

"There is cheese in the elephant."

Didn't take any pictures this morning:  too early, too many (2) children back in school. I did however, hear myself saying to Miranda, "There is cheese in the elephant." If you don't pack bento lunches, this might sound weird, but at my house it is par for the course.

The cheese in the elephant was a lovely Rondele and it accompanied some nice wholewheat crackers. I am still working very hard to accommodate her vegetarian lifestyle. It requires a lot more thought than the omnivorous lifestyle the rest of us embrace.

Took a little Christmas money and made a smallish order for bento accessories from ebay - will post when they come in.

The New Year Welcomes Mary to Bento

Surprisingly, I gave out a bento box here and there as Christmas gifts. My sister was one recipient. Sadly, her vacation ends tomorrow (happily, at least she had a vacation.) She packed her first bento lunch tonight to bring in tomorrow. So, here is Mary's bento debut:

Inside, she has packed: salad with balsamic vinaigrette (in the little fish) and cranberries/sunflower seeds (in the little container); ham and cheese in spinach wrap with some pics holding the wraps together, miniature Bonbel cheese and baby goldfish; and saltines and a roll of Smarties in the lid.

Now, I am waiting for Tuesday to see if I get a picture of Sydney's bento. She is starting back to school and planning her first bento. She has done a lot of research and is perfecting her technique for making rice balls (onigiri.)

Monday Already?

Well, I was sick on Friday and didn't feel well through much of the weekend. Rallied enough to actually cook dinner on Sunday - after procuring and putting up a Christmas tree! Anyway, I made a skillet lasagna with an eye towards leftovers. Veronica really liked it, so (predictably) it has made an appearance this morning in the bento.She also has a salad, two mini chocolate chip muffins, and some apple slices. She should be pretty happy with this I hope. The skillet lasagna was easy and healthy - Miranda told me it should become a regular in our dinner rotation so I was happy.

A Garden of . . . Ham?

Today Veronica has a ham sandwich. Thanks to my friend PJ, I cut them into little ham sandwich flowers on a bed of salad. In the other tier, she has a pickle, pineapple, two itsy bitty candy bars, and the ubiquitous Hot and Spicy Cheese Its. The rectangular container has her bacon bits and sunflower seeds for the salad; the salad dressing is in the little green bird container. And so it is, lunch.

Bento Moments of Zen

Have been having a craptacular few weeks personally; but, I have noticed that bento preparation is remarkably therapeutic when I actually make the time to do it. Today Veronica took some left-over steak on a bed of fresh rice (love, love, love my rice maker with a timer.) She also took a salad - because she loves her salads), some Hot and Spicy Cheese Its, and a Hello Kitty sidecar with some fresh pineapple.
I think just the fiddling with small things - choosing which box fits a particular meal, which containers, picks, etc complement everything, what balance out the meal with . . . ) all serve as a lovely distraction from other crap in life. That is all I have to say about that. Bento = cheaper than therapy.