Using Bento Boxes for lunches.
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Chicken dumplings, mixed veg, strawberries, rice, and boiled eggs. 660 calories, 500 for lunch and 160 for snacks.
I've got tuna om reserve in case the dumplings are...weird in the morning.0 -
On Asahi shinbun today
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201502200065
The bentos are cute but I felt a bit sorry for the mother...0 -
Cheerios0392 wrote: »I haven't tried this, but I love this idea!!! The layout reminds me sooo much of plane food though lol.
Trust me, they taste much better than plane food. Unless you make it from all prepackaged food, and then, well, it wouldn't be surprising.
No Saturday Bento's for me (maybe, I have a road trip tomorrow so I might make some onigiri). Because of my run and all the extra steps today (yay 16k steps!), I've treated myself to a spicy kitsune udon bowl. Yes it has my daily sodium count in it, but I just think of it as replacing the sweat from my running in 33C weather today.0 -
ElliInJapan wrote: »On Asahi shinbun today
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201502200065
The bentos are cute but I felt a bit sorry for the mother...
Now that is an interesting way of communicating with a child. When I first saw the title, I thought it was about the pressure some parents feel with making a cute bento for their child's lunch in case they're picked on, which I've read about before.0 -
This thread is catching some steam... congratulation @mangrothian your world domination is near it's end goal
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@sarieth05 that's awesome on the cereal. I always buy things thinking I'm going to do that, but by the time I've put most of the groceries away and chase the dogs around to get the rest of the groceries, and pulled the cat out of the fridge twice, I forget, or get lazy, one of the two
no bento today and yesterday's was the same as earlier so no pic. I think i'm going to take the time to put an effort in this Sunday, so I should have something to post soon.0 -
I took a picture of today's bento as soon as I'd packed it b/c I'm not sure how well the PB is gonna hold up! I'll let you guys know when I find out at lunch! Today I have leftover fajitas from eating out last night with some rice, half an apple, and some peanut butter (crunchy!)
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I am drooling over your peanut butter. I hope it works out well in a bento!PixieGoddess wrote: »I took a picture of today's bento as soon as I'd packed it b/c I'm not sure how well the PB is gonna hold up! I'll let you guys know when I find out at lunch! Today I have leftover fajitas from eating out last night with some rice, half an apple, and some peanut butter (crunchy!)
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PixieGoddess wrote: »I took a picture of today's bento as soon as I'd packed it b/c I'm not sure how well the PB is gonna hold up! I'll let you guys know when I find out at lunch! Today I have leftover fajitas from eating out last night with some rice, half an apple, and some peanut butter (crunchy!)
Hope the PB holds up! And, crunchy is the only way to go IMHO.
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It took a little extra effort to literally peel the top off the peanut butter, but it didn't make a huge mess, just got on the top and a little bit on the sides. I may or may not have licked the lid clean... O.O
...and the sides...
...and the baking cup...
...and my fingers...0 -
Edit because I wanted to mention I just preportion my cereal into serving sizes right away when I buy it so that's why it's in the ziplock and not dumped into the box.
That is such a good idea!!! Right now I just use a measuring cup to measure out cereal when I have it, but I know..I know..thats not accurate... its on my to-do list to get a scale, but for now its better than eye-balling what a serving is though lol But I really like the idea of pre-portioning into ziplocks!
I do this with nuts. I have a Chinese soup spoon which is the perfect size to measure out exactly 100 calories worth of almonds, per the scale. Having it pre-packed makes it much easier to stick to a serving size.0 -
PixieGoddess wrote: »It took a little extra effort to literally peel the top off the peanut butter, but it didn't make a huge mess, just got on the top and a little bit on the sides. I may or may not have licked the lid clean... O.O
...and the sides...
...and the baking cup...
...and my fingers...
If you're gonna weigh out some peanut butter and log it, when you eat it, you have the right to lick everything it touches to get every last gram.0 -
mangrothian wrote: »PixieGoddess wrote: »It took a little extra effort to literally peel the top off the peanut butter, but it didn't make a huge mess, just got on the top and a little bit on the sides. I may or may not have licked the lid clean... O.O
...and the sides...
...and the baking cup...
...and my fingers...
If you're gonna weigh out some peanut butter and log it, when you eat it, you have the right to lick everything it touches to get every last gram.
No shame in that at all! I actually weigh the peanut butter jar so I can lick the knife with abandon
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Okay, tomorrow's bento. The guy bringing in lunch for tomorrow is a bit of a Martha Stewart / Paula Deen kind of cook, so whatever we have is going to be massively tasty and wholly unhealthy. Bringing lunch & snack, and I probably only have one of his cookies.
Regular old lunch one, sugar snap peas, edamame, rice, pork & veggie dumplings. Snack bento: bagel chips, laughing cow wedges, egg and an apple that i really had to cram in there.
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@SpecialKitty7 out of interest, how do you cook your dumplings? Because I've been trying a few different ways lately, and I'm not sure0
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Cheerios0392 wrote: »mangrothian wrote: »Cheerios0392 wrote: »I haven't tried this, but I love this idea!!! The layout reminds me sooo much of plane food though lol.
Trust me, they taste much better than plane food. Unless you make it from all prepackaged food, and then, well, it wouldn't be surprising.
For sure. I kind of enjoy getting my plane food because there always seems like there's so much in front of me! I know most people hate plane food though
So after a day out in Sydney today, with good intentions, I caved and got Nandos which was my entire daily intake eaten in one sitting. This kind of thing has been happening a lot lately, and I was reminded of this discussion. I think preparing my food this way would help me a LOT to stay on track, so I decided to give it a go. Even though tomorrow's a Sunday and I have no where to go.
Voilà! My first ever Bento.. I'm kinda excited about it. I used the tutorial on the first couple of pages in this discussion to make the egg roll "tamagoyaki" and it was super helpful and relatively easy.. happy with how mine turned out. I put capsicum and onion in mine and used 3 eggs. Then I've got a salad (ice berg lettuce and tomato) which I plan to dress with balsamic vinegar.. then some banana that I cut up into shapes just for the hell of it. Total cals (incl. the balsamic) is going to be 423 for the whole box. Sweet!
I've been struggling a lot with my weight loss lately.. at the last 5 kilos and I'm so glad I came across this. I think this could help me get excited about healthy food again and be that motivation I need to get through the last few kilos!
Mmmmmmm, Nandos *drool* I always go for the extra-hot peri peri paella. I'm lucky that where I work in South Melbourne it's at least a 15 minute walk for takeout. I've also now gotten to the point when I pre-prepare for road trips with bento's, so I won't cave and get Macca's when my husband decides he wants a big mac (I just stuck to coffee when that happened last night).
Your tamagoyaki looks good. I remember the first one (2....3...) I made was a right ol' mess.
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@SpecialKitty7 out of interest, how do you cook your dumplings? Because I've been trying a few different ways lately, and I'm not sure
I prefer to sear the bottoms in some sesame oil until good and crunchy and then put some water in to cover about a quarter of the way up the dumplings and simmer until the dumpling is cooked, but lately, I've been steaming them for 15 minutes on top of a paper towel (keeps them from sticking to my steamer).
I should add these are frozen to begin with. I have made dumplings myself, but while tasty, these are just as good and are around 3.50 a bag.
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »@SpecialKitty7 out of interest, how do you cook your dumplings? Because I've been trying a few different ways lately, and I'm not sure
I prefer to sear the bottoms in some sesame oil until good and crunchy and then put some water in to cover about a quarter of the way up the dumplings and simmer until the dumpling is cooked, but lately, I've been steaming them for 15 minutes on top of a paper towel (keeps them from sticking to my steamer).
I should add these are frozen to begin with. I have made dumplings myself, but while tasty, these are just as good and are around 3.50 a bag.
I was doing the water after frying thing too for ages. And then I watched this tv programme where he boiled the dumplings and then fried them (don't do that). Then I tried the steamer and then frying, which I think I prefer? So many ways
The only frozen ones I can get are quite a trek, and there's not that many in the box
when I make them myself it's just leftovers and costs pennies (mashed chicken goes a really really long way) I did just buy some frozen pastry circles though, which I am excited to try and should make it an hour faster.
Those egg rolls look yummy!
Why is there always such a huge queue for nandos? In a otherwise empty food court even.
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@mangrothian -- If this is truly your first post, then I am impressed... I think my first post was something about trying to figure out how to change my profile picture, or something... xD
Seriously though, this is absolutely amazing, and while I sadly don't have anything of helpfulness to contribute other than kind words and fan girling (I've never actually done a bento lunch, but I'm currently scouring JustBento now, thanks to a previous suggestion early on in the thread) I can absolutely appreciate this, and will be sure to keep my eyes open for any recipes/ideas I find that I could share. I would love to add you to steal from your bento ideas (If that's okay! :3P) and share anything of helpfulness I may find...
And I know we said no sammiches, but OMGOSH, would you look at this? [I had to scour my news feed to find this again. I think I have to buy it... :P
https://otakumode.com/shop/52b27f17a19505bc5600010f?utm_source=tom&utm_medium=facebook&utm_term=EC&utm_campaign=pre_reg2015022003&utm_content=album&tom_cohort=pre_reg20150220030 -
NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »
And I know we said no sammiches, but OMGOSH, would you look at this? [I had to scour my news feed to find this again. I think I have to buy it... :P
Those are no sammiches! How fun would those be?SpecialKitty7 wrote: »@SpecialKitty7 out of interest, how do you cook your dumplings? Because I've been trying a few different ways lately, and I'm not sure
I prefer to sear the bottoms in some sesame oil until good and crunchy and then put some water in to cover about a quarter of the way up the dumplings and simmer until the dumpling is cooked, but lately, I've been steaming them for 15 minutes on top of a paper towel (keeps them from sticking to my steamer).
I should add these are frozen to begin with. I have made dumplings myself, but while tasty, these are just as good and are around 3.50 a bag.
The only frozen ones I can get are quite a trek, and there's not that many in the box when I make them myself it's just leftovers and costs pennies (mashed chicken goes a really really long way) I did just buy some frozen pastry circles though, which I am excited to try and should make it an hour faster.
That's where I get kind of lucky. The bags I buy have at least 6-7 servings of 5 dumplings for the 3.50. I think this brand is what they sell to restaurants. They are easy to make and tasty, I'm just lazy. If I'm eating them immediately, I do the fry and water, but for the bentos steaming worked best.
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NekoneMeowMixx wrote: »@mangrothian -- If this is truly your first post, then I am impressed... I think my first post was something about trying to figure out how to change my profile picture, or something... xD
Seriously though, this is absolutely amazing, and while I sadly don't have anything of helpfulness to contribute other than kind words and fan girling (I've never actually done a bento lunch, but I'm currently scouring JustBento now, thanks to a previous suggestion early on in the thread) I can absolutely appreciate this, and will be sure to keep my eyes open for any recipes/ideas I find that I could share. I would love to add you to steal from your bento ideas (If that's okay! :3P) and share anything of helpfulness I may find...
And I know we said no sammiches, but OMGOSH, would you look at this? [I had to scour my news feed to find this again. I think I have to buy it... :P
https://otakumode.com/shop/52b27f17a19505bc5600010f?utm_source=tom&utm_medium=facebook&utm_term=EC&utm_campaign=pre_reg2015022003&utm_content=album&tom_cohort=pre_reg2015022003
Heh I remember the reason I mentioned that in the OP was because of been lurking the forums for so long and had seen really basic question threads turn into slamfests and it kinda worried me a bit.
heh, it was never a strictly a no sandwiches thread, but in terms of being able to tightly pack and nutritionally balance, a sandwich is usually frowned upon. Not to mention the sodium content of most generic sandwich fillers. The sandwiches in the link are cute, and I might keep that link as an idea for whenever I next pack a picnic bento, but for my normal lunch, that's way too much fussing.
This has also reminded me that I didn't take a picture of today's bento. Maybe I'll remember to take one before I scoff it down after gym today. They pretty much loom the same before and after they've been sealed, just the top veggies always look a little squished.
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It's an adorable rice wrapping though! (Darn my hatred of ham) Is it secured with cocktail sticks? That's the part that seems like a faff. That site has some completely adorable thing though - Like the quail egg animals! (Now that's a fuss)
Today I made tiny fajitas. I finally bought an egg slicer AND some mini babybel. Looks pretty similar to my last boxes though, so no photo.0 -
Okay, here's mondays bento, both mine and the husband's first one. Put a little more effort into making them cute, so husband will want to keep eating them (instead of fast food every day). I had to take a picture of the bottom layer first so the veggies and cheese didn't dry out while the top layer cooled. Husband's layer has ranch dressing in the pot, mine has sunflower seeds. Top layer is yellow saffron rice, black beans, cheese, and ground chicken breast with sazon seasoning. I haven't logged it yet, so no idea on calories, but if you want to see, check my diary for the 23rd.
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Doesn't it take a lot of time to make these ?
I've never done any Bentos, only "salad in a jar"...I need to go read this entire thread !!0 -
@SpecialKitty7 are the bunnies quail eggs? Show us how! (Not that I can find quail eggs)0
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Doesn't it take a lot of time to make these ?
I've never done any Bentos, only "salad in a jar"...I need to go read this entire thread !!
My ones today? Yes, but I made everything from scratch. My normal ones? No longer than making any other lunch. About 15 mins to 25 mins. @mangrothian has it down to an artform, she can put them together in less time than that.
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »Doesn't it take a lot of time to make these ?
I've never done any Bentos, only "salad in a jar"...I need to go read this entire thread !!
My ones today? Yes, but I made everything from scratch. My normal ones? No longer than making any other lunch. About 15 mins to 25 mins. @mangrothian has it down to an artform, she can put them together in less time than that.
Except for yesterday, when it took me about an hour to make a batch of red wine vinegar chicken and a small batch of rice. My fitbit step count for the day was looking dismal (long day of driving on Saturday and getting home late wrecked me for Sunday), so I spent more time dancing to youtube videos and chasing one of my dogs around the kitchen than cooking.0 -
@SpecialKitty7 Those lunches are sooo cute! I maybe stealing this idea one day! The bunnies are so cute!!
ETA: I lied, I will be making something like this with Tuesday's lunch box. Your idea is just to cute and wonderful.
I am so glad mangrothian started this!0 -
Can you please come make my meals look like that?? They are so cute!! ^-^0
here's todays bento, although I suspect the onigiri is absolutely too massive and I will only eat half of it. It has salmon in it.
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