Bentos by kastinkerbell

Harvest bento

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:21:31 GMT

Today was the first day that it really truly felt like fall. It was chilly outside! I had to wear a coat! Root veggies and apples are also taking up more shelf space in the stores. This is exciting to me because fall foods are my favorite. I love everything about fall. The cold air, the smell of burning leaves, the foods, the colors of the trees, my birthday... :)

Today's bento takes advantage of a few fall foods:

Chicken, butternut squash (tonkatsu sauce in the piggy for both chicken and squash), garlic-y snap peas, teeny-tiny apple.

Nutritional Information: 144 calories 2g fat, 17g carbs, 14g protein
Whoa! Ok, firstly, you have to know that I pack lunches first and calculate later. This seemed like a decent-sized meal when I finished (and having just eaten it, I'm sated). In light of this, I grabbed a snack on the way out of the door and might partake in a mini bag of popcorn this afternoon. I will make sure I get enough in me today, I promise. :)

That said, my husband's meal was the same size. He got a generous helping of trail mix as well as another snack. He also has access to a small cafe and vending machines (I do not). He'll be ok, too.

Not a fan of squash, he gets a helping of roasted potatoes instead.

There is a dinner tonight!

Prepared!

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:13:02 GMT

This weekend, I made a whole mess of lunches. It's funny, I frequently used to use leftovers for lunch, but because of my determination to have prepared lunches this week, I made the food for lunch and then will eat the bulk of it for dinners. So dinners are already made, too!

Bottom: concord grapes, fresh figs, cucumber/onion salad (vinegar dressing in fishy)
Top: brown rice, creamy black lentils

Nutritional information: 389 calories 6g fat, 75g carbs, 13g protein

Husband's Lunch

Same for him except that he has only grapes and no figs!

The lentils will also star in dinner tonight. Probably with naan instead of rice...and maybe a samosa or two!

Another green bento

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:39:46 GMT

Another monotone (on purpose) bento! Again, green is my "poison" of choice when it comes to monotone meals.

Top: spinach tortilla with peanut butter and pickles, broccoli
Bottom: kiwi, cucumber, bell pepper

307 calories, 12g fat, 45g carbs, 11g protein

This was actually my dinner for last Thursday. I'm waaaay behind in making and posting bentos. Since it seemed to work well this summer, I think I shall be doing batch bento making on weekends and Wednesdays. I'll give that a shot this weekend. Time and inertia are my only excuses at this point. I have the desire and I have the food.

Chili, but it's not chilly!

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:13:57 GMT

It's mid-September, but where's the brisk air? It's far too warm for this time of year. I made chicken chili on Sunday using up a whole bunch of produce from the CSA share: tomatoes, tomatillos, bell peppers, jalapenos (added some onions, tomato paste, chicken, leftover black beans, and spices). It makes an appearance in today's lunch!

Small container: chicken chili
Large container:broccoli (CSA), carrots (CSA), grapes, light ranch dressing in yellow container.

Nutritional information: 276 calories, 10g fat, 37g carbs, 15g protein

Husband's Lunch

He also has the chili (larger container) and grapes, but he gets a veggie salad with yellow tomato (CSA), bell pepper (CSA), cucumber (CSA), red onion, olives, and caesar dressing. This is a lock 'n' lock "lunch set." The largest container is the exact size of a paper bag and the other two stack nicely on top of it. This is important because he started carrying a slimmer bag to work and it can't accommodate food containers very well.

I was also able to pull together a dinner bento. Don't count the calories (there aren't many) because it's a big celebration week at work and I've been eating too much. I have snacks to keep me up to speed if I feel hungry. :D

Mala Tofu

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:46:32 GMT

This lunch has mapo tofu made without meat (just tofu and sauce). Apparently, this is called "mala tofu"...I'll be verifying that at work tomorrow. In any case, this whole thing (including husband's) came together in 20 minutes.

I've got the mala tofu on some brown rice, broccoli, a veggie egg roll (of the organic, frozen variety), and concord grapes.

Nutritional Information: 330 calories, 8g fat, 54g carbs, 15g protein

Husband's Lunch

He's got some leftover beef dish from a Sichuan restaurant, rice, veggie eggroll, green beans, and concord grapes.

I have to admit finding it really difficult to get back into the swing of things. Last week there were several lunch time distractions. There are a couple this week, too. With any luck, I should be able to navigate those distractions and still make something good to eat.

Deceivingly Healthful Dinner

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:51:43 GMT

This dinner bento was created at the same time that I made my husband's lunch bento for today. I crammed it full of things I like and took the picture and then sat down to crunch the numbers. I had weighed out all of the components (I have a handy digital scale, so this is a light task--just plop it down before it goes in the box), so it was easy for the calculation. It's a very hearty meal clocking in quite low!

Some chicken breast left over from a meal over the weekend, purple new potatoes, carrots (from CSA), broccoli, and champagne grapes. There is also a little container (tucked under the broccoli) that contains some spicy/sweet stir-fry sauce to dip the veggies in.

Nutritional Information: 236 calories, 2g fat, 39g carbs, 19 protein

Unreal, isn't it? Since my lunch was on the high side for fat, the extremely low amount in this meal actually balances everything out. I'm eating this meal as I type and it's really satisfying. I love good veggies. It's also nice to have cooked carrots once in a while. The thick cut is reminding me of carrots in stew, which is awfully nice on a fall day like today.

Life is what happens when...

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:28:20 GMT

...you're busy making other plans.
My last bento was actually eaten on Friday rather than Thursday. I didn't realize that I had an important work lunch to attend. And then the prof didn't give us a break in class (we ended up getting out rather early), so my dinner wasn't eaten, either. It's been stashed in the fridge and held up remarkably well, so it's going to be for lunch now!

Bottom: veggie gyoza on top of ginger carrots, wasabi almonds in the container
Top: 1/4 asian pear, champagne grapes, cucumber (from CSA).
Beverage: unsweetened iced tea

Nutritional Information: 517 calories, 27g fat, 58g carbs, 13g protein

Husband's Bento

He's got chicken, potatoes, green beans, blueberries, and grapes.

Look good? You just might see something similar later on....

I have to say that it's easy to do this when you're in the groove, but once you get out of it, it can be tricky to jump back in. I just keep reminding myself that it's made some incredible changes in my health and I should keep it up.

Back in the saddle again!

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:04:01 GMT

Took a couple days longer than I had hoped, but I'm making my version of a bento lunch again! I had a wonderful trip to Yellowstone National Park. I might sneak in a picture or two of my time there in the next couple of weeks. I hadn't been there in 13 years and it was far too long. It's a beautiful, ever-changing place.

What's strange is that when I got back to my job, there was more work than when I left! Go figure! At least I'm needed, eh? Classes have also started up again, so I'll actually have two meals to present for your viewing pleasure today. So let's get started!

For lunch, I shall thoroughly enjoy rice, sesame tofu, broccoli, most of an asian pear, and two Italian plums.

Nutritional Information: 417 calories, 7g fat, 95g carbs, 27g protein

Husband's Lunch

He's got rice, some leftover fish, a spinach/tomato salad, and blueberries.

Husband is starting a school program this fall. It's unclear as to whether or not he'll need me to pack extra meals for him, so I have to leave it as a cliff-hanger--you *might* see more!!!

Short hiatus

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:07:11 GMT

Hey folks!
Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been preparing for the vacation that starts tomorrow!
I'll be camping, so no bento to share for a couple of weeks. I'll be back in time for the start of school!!

School's out!

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:25:51 GMT

There has been much of taking time off work, up too late working on homework to make lunch, and work-time lunch distractions in the past week. I missed my nice lunches, but I also had to push myself to get one done for tomorrow. Yes, I'm feeling lazy. When it's all said and done, I'm so glad to have made something! I know all bentoers know the feeling of having a nice, nutritious, delicious, and attractive lunch to look forward to!

At the bottom of the big dish, there is a small amount of brown rice (left over from dinner). Topping that is some teriyaki flavored baked tofu and steamed broccoli and carrots (tossed with a little "general tsao" sauce). The small container has fresh currants and gooseberries.

Nutritional information:368 calories, 6g fat, 61g carbs, 24g protein

Husband's Lunch

He's got a build-your-own-burrito thing going on: spinach tortillas, orange peppers, black olives, brown rice, shredded cheese, salsa, and avocado.

Also, if you haven't taken a moment to vote in the bento contest yet, please do visit Bento Pet's blog to cast your vote in decision '08! I'm "K.S. @ Kastinkerbell" and I'm sorely behind in the rankings. No pressure. :)

The kitchen's miracle: Leftovers

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:49:15 GMT

This box was made Monday night, with five bento to make at once, it's nice to have prepared items just ready to plop in. This is my first time using a lock & lock box for myself. I needed to replace the one my husband used because one lunch turned it evil. I figured it had a lot of use over a year and it was time to move on. The only problem was my local source dried up. I bought two online. The only problem was that one was *much* smaller. That's the one I'm using today. It has the same dimensions except for height. It seems that it was designed to hold a regular sandwich--ha!

I put in some rice, edamame, lotus root "salad," and mini peppers.
My sidecar has two lychee, a few blueberries, and two strawberries.

Nutritional information: 276 calories, 6g fat, 44g carbs, 13g protein

Seems small, but there is an office party of sorts this afternoon. It will be chock full of snacks and beverages. After that, I'm going to a baseball game! Small lunch is perfect.

Husband's Lunch

He's not such a huge fan of lotus root or strawberries. He gets sesame green beans and a lot of blueberries instead. He's also got a larger portion of rice and a potsticker (Trader Joe's veggie gyoza). I forgot to sneak in a soy sauce fishy. I hope he can forgive the oversight this time.

In other news: I've made the short list for the contest over in Bento Pet's neck of the woods. Hooray!! Check out all of the top fourteen! The rules did not allow for the overly intricate designs that usually seem to dominate such contests. This was a contest "for us" everyday bentomakers that attempt to make balanced and attractive meals without too much fanfare. Maybe you can draw some inspiration from what you see there!

Last class!

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:29:16 GMT

Ok, not entirely true, but this was the last class period in the classroom. Next week is final presentations, but the instructor will cater that one. :) Ok, so here we go!

In the bottom (bun), I've got a greek salad (cucumber, peppers, onion, olives, feta, dressing), to which I've added some broccoli. The cucumber, green pepper, and broccoli are all from the CSA share.

On the meat patty, I have a few flatbread crackers from Trader Joe's.

On the lettuce layer, I have strawberries and blueberries. Yeah, I got a 6lb container of blueberries at Trader Joe's. They much be used!

Nutritional information: 355 calories, 15g fat, 52g carbs, 10g protein

Class got out a little early and I got home in time to be able to make lunches for tomorrow, but it was really nice to know that they were already done and I could just relax. Particularly nice because it's a really hot/humid day and the kitchen was really warm. I'm glad to be able to spend time in the cooler living room instead. And my cooler, I mean hip. But it is also several degrees lower in temperature. :D

ETA: This is officially the 100th bento made for myself (I don't count my husband's lunches in my running total). No, I didn't go all out and do something fancy. The reason: too much going on. It's more important that I eat a balanced meal than it is to make it cute right now. I still think it's attractive and I looked forward to eating it. I did want to recognize myself for passing that milestone, however.

Tardy!

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:28:21 GMT

Sorry folks, it got late last night after making all the lunches for today and tomorrow...and I still had a paper to write. The last one of the semester. As much as I really feel like a slacker and want to say "I just won't do it," it's still worth 10% of my grade. Can't exactly let the slacker drop me an automatic letter grade, can I?

Anyway, I made this for my lunch today and it was delicious:

Curry baked veggie fritters, sesame green beans in a lettuce cup, blueberries and a babybel light.

315 calories, 8g fat, 47g carbs, 16g protein

Husband's Lunch

He's got pretty much the same thing, except he's got some cashews and no green beans.

I'll be back in a little bit to post my dinner. :)

CSA cooking

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:36:44 GMT

I believe I mentioned before that we have a share in some Community Support Agriculture (CSA). Last week was the first week we got a large amount of veggies in our delivery. This weekend, I went crazy trying to cook them up (as well as some other things that had spent too much time in the fridge).

Chicken wing on rice, sesame green beans, lotus root salad, mini sweet peppers, and lychee.

Nutritional information: 328 calories, 9g fat, 49g carbs, 14g protein

The beans are from the share and the other items didn't take much time since they were leftovers: chicken from my batch cooking last week, rice from another meal over the weekend, lotus root salad made from leftovers over the weekend, and the peppers and lychee were ready to go!

Husband's different lunch

He's got rice topped with baked curry veggie fritters, blueberries, and peppers stuffed with laughing cow cheese. There is a little container filled with curry sauce should he care to dress up the rice.

The veggie fritter use up zucchini, peas, and summer squash from the CSA. There is also onion and sweet potato in the mixture. It's an experiment...so I hope he likes it. He's generally ok with anything "curry" so I'm not extremely worried.

We pick up our next batch of veggies tomorrow!!

Batch cooking

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:56:23 GMT

I found a large quantity of organic, free-range (the real deal) chicken wings at the local coop. I swiftly purchased them and then baked them up last night. Most of them have been tightly wrapped and placed in airtight containers in the freezer. A few are in today's lunch and will probably make an appearance in tomorrow's. Chicken wings are certainly not the friendliest item when it comes to eating sensibly, but they are small, convenient, tasty, and easy to eat.

Green beans in a lettuce cup, orange fruit nuggets, baby red potatoes, chicken wings.

Nutritional information: 366 calories, 15g fat, 33g carbs, 18g protein

Husband's Lunch

He's got red potatoes (with a little oil and seasoning), leftover lamb, snap peas, laughing cow cheese, fruit nuggets, and cucumber.

We have also been making our way through our first very plentiful CSA box. In today's lunch, the potatoes, beans, snap peas, and lettuce are from our local farm delivery. Here's another first: I like beans! It's only been about a year since I started liking green veggies. They always tasted "green" to me. The last hold out (can you believe it was *after* broccoli?) was green beans. I knew that I liked the Chinese long beans, but they seemed much different. These were the regular variety and they were blanched and then very lightly dressed in a spicy pepper sauce. It was nice munching on them.

Breakfast for lunch again

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:29:28 GMT

It's just too easy!
You see, the problem is that we pick up our CSA share on Mondays, so shopping on the weekend is tricky because we're not sure what we'll have waiting in our box until Monday night. So it's just best to pick up a couple of things to complement what is already on hand. Thus is the sad tale of today...but how can you really go wrong with mini waffles? It's honestly not too bad, just a bit short on color. I'm sad to say that I picked this box to try and fool you into thinking that the orange "counted."

Large container (left): eggo mini waffles, chicken and sage sausage, hard boiled egg white.
Small (right): blueberries and kiwi.

Nutritional Information: 402 calories, 11g fat, 58g carbs, 19g protein

Husband's Bento

He has the same thing, except for fruit nuggets replace the kiwi.

It sounds like we'll have quite the haul from our CSA share this week (got the newsletter tonight that indicates what we'll get). With any luck, I'll have a few recipes that will showcase them for lunch!

When the moon hits your eye...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:22:04 GMT

I've got some ravioli tonight. Not exactly a "pizza pie" but it is amore. These are light four cheese ravioli that taste fantastic. After a bunch of impulse food purchases, we're working at eating the items we already have in the cupboards. This would explain why there is pizza sauce on my ravioli instead of marinara. I mean, heck, it's a tomato sauce with all the same stuff in it. Frankly, I'm not sure why it's "pizza" sauce anyway.

Top (left): the big layer has the fruit and veg. There is a teeny orange, cucumber, and peas. The veg is from the CSA share. The little container next to the orange is filled with parmesan for the...
Bottom (right): light four cheese ravioli topped with pizza sauce

Nutritional information: 387 calories, 8g fat, 61g carbs, 19g protein

Husband's Lunch

His orange is peeled and he doesn't have cucumber, but it's essentially the same lunch.

Tomorrow will be a challenge! Haven't put something together since yesterday and haven't been "real" shopping in ages. I'll have to find awesome ways to use the bounty of my stores!

Remember when you passed notes in class?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:27:42 GMT

Yeah...now it's all about being online during class. I look up what the lecturer talks about and I also goof off. Here is the dinner bento I ate during break:

A roll-up (of refried beans, tabasco, light cheese, lettuce), edamame, a teeny orange, yellow baby carrots, blueberry fruit nuggets.

Nutritional information: 441 calories, 11g fat, 65 carbs, 22g protein

Ok, back to learning about print media strategy. I have color flow charts to look at!

A Bento contest for "us"

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:07:32 GMT

Be sure to head over to the contest at On a Bento Frenzy and submit an entry if you're so inclined. :D

Wanna learn how to lose 10 lbs instantly?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:57:45 GMT

...cut off your head! That's exactly what I wanted to do this morning. I had the worst headache I've had in a long, long time. I cried uncle, called in sick, and went back to bed. Since I didn't turn the TV off after turning it on to catch the weather report when I first got up, I realized it was time to face the world when I heard Sami of Days of Our Lives having it out with somebody. Yes, it meant it was after noon. I hadn't had a real lunch prepared for today anyway, so no worries. Tonight I made five bento. With any luck, I'll be able to keep this up until class is done in August.

It's breakfast for lunch! Eggo mini homestyle waffles, laughing cow wedges (light swiss), kiwi and mango, a hard boiled egg white, and some grape jelly for the waffles.

Nutritional information: 390 calories, 10g fat, 62g carbs, 14g protein

Husband's Lunch

Very small variation on the theme. He's got a babybel light instead of one of the wedges, peanut butter instead of jelly (he's got honey at his desk at work, but I put this in just in case), his egg is whole, and he doesn't have the kiwi.

See you later when I present....dinner!!

The ugly green monster!!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:16:44 GMT

I did the monotone thing with yellow/orange, but my color is green. I somehow managed to pull off a fairly well-balanced green bento! Jealous? ;)

Kiwi in a lettuce leaf (separates it from the savory stuff and can be easily removed when I want to heat it the rest up), edamame, garlic scapes sauteed in oil with pepper flakes on top of brown rice.

Nutritional information: 451 calories, 14g fat, 21g protein, 64g carbs

Husband's lunch

He's got the rice and scapes (with some soy sauce). He also gets some edamame. He has a teeny orange and a baby banana instead of kiwi, however.

The new lock&locks arrived today. Frankly, several of them are much smaller than I thought they were. Whoops. One is the "right" size and that's what he has here. The others will be good for other applications.

That's all for this week! See you next!

This time with feeling!

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:29:57 GMT

If this picture looks familiar, then you may wish to check out yesterday's lunch post (there was a slight mix-up with the grabbing the right bento). If this picture looks new, then forget I said anything at all!

Fake buffalo wings, yellow baby carrots, laughing cow garlic herb cheese, teeny orange, cherry, asparagus.

Nutritional Information: 375 calories, 14g fat, 45g carbs, 21g protein

It doesn't look very snug and all filled in, but I didn't have a whole lot to work with (without real grocery shopping and trying to make five bento all at once). Yes, yes, excuses excuses. It sure is tasty eating it right now and it has a lot of color and a good balance of nutrients so I'd consider that successful, anyway.

Husband's Lunch

He's got a baby banana, half an orange, cherries, babybel light, asparagus, cheese pizza rolls.

We'll see what I can pull out of my hat for tomorrow! Kidlet birthday party tonight...

Dinner!!

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:30:17 GMT

With lunch making my tummy happy, I'm taking a moment to post my dinner! I have to admit that after a weekend of camping and no time to go shopping for real, I leaned on pre-made foods. I don't feel guilty about this as I'm still spending a lot less than eating out and I'm still in control of what I eat. That's probably one of the most important things when trying to stick to an eating plan.

Large box: inari (from the store), broccoli, wasabi, pickled ginger, soy sauce fishy.
Small box: baby banana, raspberries, two double cherries, teeny orange.

Nutritional Information: 359 calories, 4g fat, 73g carbs, 11g protein

Again, on class nights, I prefer to have a smaller dinner and have a couple of snacks. It breaks up the long night a bit....kind of like the peanuts and pop you used to get on airplane trips.

How was your weekend?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:05:03 GMT

We went camping! Unfortunately, I'm particularly allergic to mosquito bites. I look and feel like I have chicken pox! I'm also trying a small experiment to see if I can actually make five bento on Monday and make them last through lunch on Wednesday.

Whoops! I posted what I *intended* to bring for lunch, but since there were so many bento in the fridge, I grabbed the wrong one!! If you saw the post before this edit, you'll be disappointed tomorrow because that's what I'll be eating then. Below now reflects what I'm eating today.

Cheese pizza rolls, broccoli, a teeny orange, cherries, baby banana, raspberries, babybel light.

Nutritional Information: 390 calories, 10g fat, 64g carbs, 19g protein

Husband's Lunch

Unfortunately the provencal a while back rendered his box unusable. They appear to no longer be carried at Target, so replacements were ordered online. Until then, regular snapware will be used. Poor guy.

He's got a curry beef bun (purchased at a local Chinese restaurant), asparagus, baby banana, cherries, and half an orange.

If this little experiment works, I hope to keep it up until this class is done. In other news, I've regularly been attending group fitness classes for core workouts during my lunch period twice a week. After the initial shock the first week, it's gotten better. Since my boss goes with me, I have extra motivation to go. I've been splurging a little on workout days so that I can trick my body into thinking exercise equals rewards. I'm starting to not really need the splurging. I think I might stick with the normal meal plan on Friday (the next class) to see how that works out. I might just be on the path to a regular exercise habit!

Second bento of the day: dinner!

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:54:32 GMT

Funny how I had no bento yesterday, but two today!

Top (left): a black velvet apricot, a strawberry from the CSA (I ate one for lunch and it was so juicy and sweet that it was almost like kool-aid!), edamame.
Bottom (right): veggies and pasta--this is a frozen pasta dish from Trader Joe's. We munched on this last night and it was rather tasty. I think it will be just fine cold, but I'm odd like that.

Nutritional Information: 358 calories, 10g fat, 50g carbs, 19g fat

And don't worry about my calorie intake for the day. I've been having snacks to keep me balanced. :) It's a lot nicer than a big meal that makes me sleepy.