Using Bento Boxes for lunches.
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wow I need to do this or portion control!!! It is also so visually pleasing to the eye.
This is why I started doing bentos about four years ago - it was my solution to portion control while losing weight. And you don't need to buy fancy boxes or anything to try it out. Just pull out last night's leftovers, some fruits and veggies, and some Tupperware and have fun!
This is a breakfast, lunch, and snack bento I made before I started posting here. It is all in Tupperware and uses leftovers and whatever else I could find in the fridge.
The small container at the bottom was breakfast: pineapple, vanilla Greek yogurt, raspberries, and cinnamon.
The big container was lunch: leftover brown rice, leftover mushu pork stir fry, blanched broccoli and green beans, and mini red bell pepper rings.
The other small container was a snack box: heirloom tomatoes and mini dill pickles.0 -
I saw them at the health food store and WHY did I put them back?? I should have tried them! I like sour! Next time I go, I will get them! I eat raw lemons and canberries!mangrothian wrote: »Narcissora wrote: »mangrothian wrote: »So you made cannelloni then (the rolled up version of lasagne)?
I think its great idea; were the pieces firm enough to just pick up with a fork by the time you ate it (ie, no knife/spoon required)?
I thought cannelloni used a specific type of pasta? Maybe not. I don't do Italian often, so if it isn't spaghetti, chances are I might not know what it is. But yes, I ate my pasta creation with a fork only
Also, I looked for umeboshi at Wegmans (they have a pretty good Asian food section, considering it is just a regular grocery store), but I couldn't find it. I'm really curious because you use them a lot, and I want to try them out.
Also also, can you please pass an orange starburst over to me?
You can either make cannelloni by rolling up lasagne sheets, or by buying the pre-made tubes. As to the umeboshi, they're something that I only ever seem to find at specialty asian grocers (the English term is pickled plum fyi). I do use them a lot, but I do warn you that they are a very sour, acquired taste. I love them, but they're not for everybody.
My daddy always said I was too sweet, so I guess I need sour stuff to balance me out My husband on the other hand, tells me sour is as sour does 
And I'll only give you the orange starburst if you exchange it for a yellow one...
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I use a bento box for my 7 year old's lunch at school, but typically just bring leftovers from our previous night's dinner for myself, in whatever container I happened to put it in.0
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I was super excited to have a BRUNCH BENTO today!! I ran a 5k yesterday with some friends, and had leftover ham and hasbrowns from our post-run brunch. (Probably b/c we had granola bars, bananas, hot dogs, and beer at the event.) Hashbrowns, ham, and an egg-shaped boiled egg with grapes, banana slices, and kiwi slices. The hashbrowns and ham were a little tossed, but I loved it! I have another prepped in the fridge for later this week!
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Tomorrow's bento made with planned overs: cheese, black beans, lean ground beef w/ taco sauce, yellow bell peppers, carrots, avocado and Italian dressing in the pot. Total = 454 cals.
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I'm super excited for tomorrow's lunch! A while back you guys were talking about gemwraps, and I got really curious and had to try them out. I will let you know how it is tomorrow
Mango chipotle gemwrap filled with spicy chicken salad, lettuce, and tomato; strawberries with goat cheese; gyoza; rice with nori komi furikake; and a little fishy of soy sauce.0 -
Work food for tomorrow. Salad (butter lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, and carrots. Sprinkled with parmesan. Also, grape tomatoes and a few bits of cheddar. The other container is snackie foods. Heart shaped hardboiled eggs, smoked almonds, apple, and cheese.
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I've stopped making a bento box for lunch since doing low carb, does anyone here make low carb bento boxes? I suppose i just need to be a little more creative!0
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Today my bento was green salad with a can of tuna, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. No pics, but it was pretty low carb and sort of filling (I'm afraid I'll always be hungry unless I eat a whole pizza lol)0
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I just made my first bento box today, after getting the idea from mfp a few months ago and hunting around for some accessories and things. Veggie Cutters are from Daiso, and Rice moulds and Fuel bento box from ebay. Cheers for the awesome idea.
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chloeelizabethm wrote: »I've stopped making a bento box for lunch since doing low carb, does anyone here make low carb bento boxes? I suppose i just need to be a little more creative!
Have a look back over the last few pages. There's quite a few low carb boxes there, especially the ones using those vegetable gem wraps.0 -
Here is my box today:
Layer one: Mango, broccoli, goat cheese, almonds, and some happy or defiant strawberries (first time using my picks!)
Layer two: shrimp, corn, half a string cheese and cabbage/kale salad. Served with honey red wine vinaigrette.
Today feels like a defiant, tongue-sticking-out strawberry kind of day!0 -
mangrothian wrote: »chloeelizabethm wrote: »I've stopped making a bento box for lunch since doing low carb, does anyone here make low carb bento boxes? I suppose i just need to be a little more creative!
Have a look back over the last few pages. There's quite a few low carb boxes there, especially the ones using those vegetable gem wraps.
I agree although I suppose it depends on how you define "low carb". My boxes don't tend to have grain in them so most of my carbohydrate is coming from my fruits and veggies. That doesn't necessarily mean they are "low carb" but I'm going for nutrient dense, to tell the truth. Also, fruits and veggies are nom nom nom 0 -
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Bentos are a great idea! They take care of the portion control issue and make your food look more appetizing. Much of our food decision making comes from sight so if it looks nice then we are more likely to be satisfied. Glad you pointed this out!0
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I have a bento I haven't had the chance to use yet, but here's a nice blog post about making bento using typical American foods and without any of the cute cutting tools. Good for beginners.
http://glorysmischief.com/bento-1010 -
I tried the mango chipotle gemwrap just now, and here is a little critique:
It was super tasty - it tasted strongly of mango and had a smokey note to it. It really enhanced my wrap. It was kind of strange eating a sandwich wrapped in a mango fruit roll-up, but I got over that whole notion very fast. It was only 15 calories, which is a huge win in my book.
What I didn't like - it got a little bit soggy. I put it together last night, and sitting in the bento overnight made it a little mushy. I made sure not to use very liquidy ingredients, but the wrap itself still started to disintegrate. If I used a dressing or a tomato wth the pulp, I think it would have completely fallen apart.
I have five more of these things, so you will be seeing more of them from me in the near future.
Does anyone know how long they last after the package is open?0 -
SailorKnightWing wrote: »I have a bento I haven't had the chance to use yet, but here's a nice blog post about making bento using typical American foods and without any of the cute cutting tools. Good for beginners.
http://glorysmischief.com/bento-101
Thanks for sharing! Sometimes I think people get turned off by thinking it needs to be Asian inspired, or fancy and time consuming. This is a good reminder that it does not need to be any of those things.
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Hubby's simple lunch today. Ham and cheese sandwich on wheat bread, smokehouse almonds, carrots, and some cool ranch doritos.
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HanamiDango wrote: »Hubby's simple lunch today. Ham and cheese sandwich on wheat bread, smokehouse almonds, carrots, and some cool ranch doritos.
I'm a sucker for cooler ranch doritos!0 -
HanamiDango wrote: »Hubby's simple lunch today. Ham and cheese sandwich on wheat bread, smokehouse almonds, carrots, and some cool ranch doritos.
I'm a sucker for cooler ranch doritos!
They are yummy. They are the "water chips" to my little ones.
So I put lunch in bento boxes, it counts right? Tuna onigiri for the kiddos, and for me spinach, tomato, carrot salad with Italian dressing in bottom box and top is 1.5 serving of rice with tuna(curry powder, avocado, sriracha, onion, pickle, and mustard.) Messy, not cute but hey yummy. 503 calories for my whole lunch.
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Leftovers in the big tier: chicken (I swear there's a little bit of chicken at the back there!), balsamic veggies, couscous, and mac-n-cheese. Very starch-heavy, but it's what was leftover. EDIT: there's also a bit of skewed perspective here due to camera angle: I actually have the same volume of all 3 sides, even though it looks like theres TONS of the mac-n-cheese and barely any veggies.
Small tier has half a bunny-shaped egg, boiled peanuts (I had to shell them to get the 1/4-cup to fit), grapes, and almonds.
I haven't actually eaten the big tier yet, but I took a picture before I tore into the small tier as a snack. I usually don't do that, but my blood sugar dropped and I needed more than the couple things I had at my desk. Plus, since this bento is so starch-heavy, it's a lot more calories than my normal bentos (540 as opposed to 300-400) so I figured it was a good idea to eat part as a snack anyways. I'mma go eat the rest now! 0 -
SpecialKitty7 wrote: »SailorKnightWing wrote: »I have a bento I haven't had the chance to use yet, but here's a nice blog post about making bento using typical American foods and without any of the cute cutting tools. Good for beginners.
http://glorysmischief.com/bento-101
Thanks for sharing! Sometimes I think people get turned off by thinking it needs to be Asian inspired, or fancy and time consuming. This is a good reminder that it does not need to be any of those things.
Its definitely a good site. I probably should make some non-traditional bentos to post on heres as well. I'm fully aware that a lot of the ingredients i use aren't exactly in most people's pantries ( lol i almost wrote panties there >.< )0 -
mangrothian wrote: »SpecialKitty7 wrote: »SailorKnightWing wrote: »I have a bento I haven't had the chance to use yet, but here's a nice blog post about making bento using typical American foods and without any of the cute cutting tools. Good for beginners.
http://glorysmischief.com/bento-101
Thanks for sharing! Sometimes I think people get turned off by thinking it needs to be Asian inspired, or fancy and time consuming. This is a good reminder that it does not need to be any of those things.
Its definitely a good site. I probably should make some non-traditional bentos to post on heres as well. I'm fully aware that a lot of the ingredients i use aren't exactly in most people's pantries ( lol i almost wrote panties there >.< )
SCANDAL!!
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Agreed! That looks delicious!
Today is left over roast bento: maple and rosemary roast lamb, carrots, asparagus and sweet potato puree. Top tier is just strawberries and banana
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Agreed! That looks delicious!
Today is left over roast bento: maple and rosemary roast lamb, carrots, asparagus and sweet potato puree. Top tier is just strawberries and banana
Mmmmmm, roast lamb. Did you invite Tom Cruise over for dinner? (are you old enough to recognise that reference?)
I had a craving for soup today, which isn't exactly bentoable (it goes against my personal rule of no soupy foods funnily enough!), so no bento for me today.0 -
[quote="mangroth
Mmmmmm, roast lamb. Did you invite Tom Cruise over for dinner? (are you old enough to recognise that reference?)
I had a craving for soup today, which isn't exactly bentoable (it goes against my personal rule of no soupy foods funnily enough!), so no bento for me today.[/quote]
I remember that ad, with Naomi Watts, ironically Nicole Kidman's bestie.mangrothian wrote: »
Agreed! That looks delicious!
Today is left over roast bento: maple and rosemary roast lamb, carrots, asparagus and sweet potato puree. Top tier is just strawberries and banana
Mmmmmm, roast lamb. Did you invite Tom Cruise over for dinner? (are you old enough to recognise that reference?)
I had a craving for soup today, which isn't exactly bentoable (it goes against my personal rule of no soupy foods funnily enough!), so no bento for me today.
Personally, I would take the roast lamb over Tom Cruise and that is saying a lot since I haven't eaten meat in 22 years.
I promise to do a bento one of these days but am not working at the moment. The funny thing is I have a Daiso and a Kawa Mart very close to home, live in Melbourne too.
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@mangrothian that actually made me spit out my drink and laugh
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I remember that ad, with Naomi Watts, ironically Nicole Kidman's bestie.mangrothian wrote: »
Agreed! That looks delicious!
Today is left over roast bento: maple and rosemary roast lamb, carrots, asparagus and sweet potato puree. Top tier is just strawberries and banana
Mmmmmm, roast lamb. Did you invite Tom Cruise over for dinner? (are you old enough to recognise that reference?)
I had a craving for soup today, which isn't exactly bentoable (it goes against my personal rule of no soupy foods funnily enough!), so no bento for me today.
Personally, I would take the roast lamb over Tom Cruise and that is saying a lot since I haven't eaten meat in 22 years.
I promise to do a bento one of these days but am not working at the moment. The funny thing is I have a Daiso and a Kawa Mart very close to home, live in Melbourne too.@mangrothian that actually made me spit out my drink and laugh
Hehe, I think we've just confused every non-Australian in here. ^_^
@irenehb I wouldn't bother with Tom Cruise either; he's too short, and I really don't like the idea of having to crouch down....0 -
mangrothian wrote: »
Hehe, I think we've just confused every non-Australian in here. ^_^
Totally, although I found the commercial on YouTube. I've heard of a lot of things connected with him, but lamb was not one of them
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