Weekly Bento

Husband and I both had potlucks last Thursday, so I only had 3 little lunches to make. Since I was in a hurry, and the fridge was running bare, this is probably the fastest lunch I have made so far!



I whipped up a can of tuna with mayo and a little relish, threw in some snowflake shaped ritz crackers, added some already sliced cheese, diced an apple and soaked in lemon juice and water for a minute or so, while I assembled everything. They had apple-cranberry juice to drink and the last of the remaining granola bars for snack.



As far as I know, the girls really liked this easy-peasy lunch, no complaints. They'd been waiting a week to be able to have the special ritz crackers, so I am sure that made their day :) They are pretty easy to please! And my potluck was delicious, tons of yummy soups and breads! I made a delicious apple cider with a sliced orange, brown sugar, apple juice, and mulling spices from Whole Foods in the crock pot. Yum. In fact, I think I am going to make it again (for the third time!!) tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Now if only I could figure out how to make it a cup at a time, hmm . . .

I am a week behind, but I have photos ready for my next post too, just have to find a moment to sit down and actually type it out. Its been one of those weeks!

This week's bento consisted of leftovers from the freezer. Each one was a little bit different to accommodate everyone's personal likes and dislikes.



In the Mr. Bento knockoff, Husband had leftover grilled teriyaki chicken, leftover fried rice, chopped tomatoes, carrots, and cheese, and ranch dressing in the top portion.



I used my little H.O.T. bento because it makes me giggle. It had the rest of the grilled teriyaki, fried rice, pineapple chunks and cottage cheese in the top. It was just enough food with the little side container of rice cakes. Yum.



Youngest had fried rice and turkey meatballs with a little container of ketchup for dipping. Top tier is grated mozarella, chopped carrots and tomatoes, and peach yogurt with a few diced pineapple on top.



Middle one had the same on the bottom, the meatballs are still frozen and the rice is cold. They like it cold at school usually. Her top tier is more shredded mozarella, a carrot, a rice ball, and cottage cheese.



My oldest had more of the same on the bottom, yogurt, carrots, cheese and a rice ball on top. My girls all LOVE riceballs, but the like it better when I remember to pack a little teriyaki sauce bottle to pour over the rice ball. I make them when I only have a small amount of leftover rice. My friend from Korea showed me how to make them when the girls were little. I drop a scoop of rice into a square of plastic wrap covering my hand, gather up the ends of the wrap and squish the rice into a firm ball. We usually dip them into whatever sauce is handy. Next time I am going to try to make some filled rice balls with chicken inside. I take all the rice balls and pop them into a container in the fridge and the girls will grab a couple for snack or as a side for lunch. Easy, healthy, and more fun than just plain rice, I guess :)



Overall, it was a well received lunch, and pretty quick to throw together. The girls had cranberry juice to drink in their little spill proof bottles, and caramel mini rice cakes for snack. I feel like I get into a bit of a rut when packing their lunches, and I am trying to be creative. I only do this once or twice a week, I can't imagine how hard it is to be creative when packing lunches every single day! I really admire those of you who do!

My girls are big-time breakfast lovers. So I thought I would give them a special treat this week and pack up a complete breakfast for lunch! A few days ago we'd had pancakes, and I always make up extra batter so I can throw pancakes into the freezer and then pop them in the toaster oven to reheat when we feel like a hot breakfast with less mess. This time, I made several silver dollar-sized pancakes specifically to pack in their bentos. I wanted them to be easy to eat with their fingers and dip in the little syrup containers.



These pancakes went straight into the fridge because I knew we'd be eating them quickly. I grabbed 3 for each girl, hard-boiled then molded eggs the night before, and had candied some bacon the same day I made the pancakes. Candied bacon seems to keep better, especially when it isn't going to be reheated, and tastes better too. We eat a lot of turkey bacon in this family, and I have found it doesn't reheat too well, but when its candied in maple syrup, its yummy right out of the fridge. Each girl got one piece of bacon split in half. They have lite syrup in their little round containers. A small slice of sharp cheddar cheese, cubed, and diced apples soaked in a little lemon juice round out the meal. They also had mini rice cakes in a separate little container for snack. I forgot to pack them juice the night before, but they lived without and just drank lots of water.



Each girl completely devoured her meal. This was probably their favorite bento so far. They were dipping everything in the syrup, even the eggs and cheese, but they are weird like that :) Ainsley didn't finish all her apples at lunch because she was too busy talking and telling me about chemistry solutions. Liberty ate all of it, even the cheese which she normally doesn't like very much. And Melody ate everything and shared her food with all her friends.

This week we were not the only family with our bentos! I have had several moms ask about our bentos since the beginning of school. This week at least 2 other families started packing lunch in their bentos from Ichiban Kan. It was fun to see all the kids talking about their fun lunches, eating their molded eggs, and creating less waste!



My husband and I had matching bentos, sort of, this week. I preheated the oven, popped some potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes, and then tossed them into the oven to bake while I assembled the girls lunches. I used some baking cups to contain butter and sour cream. Husband had the rest of the diced apples, rice cakes on the side, two slices of cheese to top the potato, and a hard-boiled egg.



I had cottage cheese (which got frozen in the fridge, think I need to turn it down a bit!) and diced pineapple, and everything else he had besides the apples. He said it was a little light for him. I had plenty to eat. Lately he'd said I was packing too much, but I guess I scaled back more than I needed to! My guess is that he could have used a bit more protein, and I should have packed a bit of ham or something to add to his potato, or possibly a side of chili if I were to make this lunch again.



I do feel like making bentos is coming more naturally, and that I am thinking throughout the week of how I can bento-ize our leftovers. The girls really enjoy it, and I think my husband and I are eating healthier as well. I also wanted to say thanks for the comments I have been getting both here and on my flickr pictures! It is a great encouragement to me that I can inspire others, as so many others have encouraged me!