Using Bento Boxes for lunches.
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What do you all do with the scraps from cutting the veggies and cheese (and cured meats) into cute shapes? I stuffed the excess under the apple slices (since it was already weighed out and added to my daily log) but... do you just toss the excess? Hide it somewhere in the bento?
I vote hide it somewhere (whether in the bento or in my mouth as I'm making it
) For instance, above I cut out egg white flowers and the rest of the yolk and scraps got mixed into my salad. Once I can really cook again I'm toying with the idea of saving the bits in a bag in the freezer and throwing them into meatballs and such. But mostly I think I'd still just hide them in my meal somewhere (or in my belly, but I think I already said that 
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DOH! Another question. I'm sorry I keep bugging you.
What web resources do you have for reasonable but safe (BPA free, dishwasher, etc) bentos and accessories?
Munching the scraps WAS a problem last night. I found myself stuffing more than a few extra bits of cheese into my trap. I'll just hide them under the prettier stuff. That worked well last night.
I did a fair amount of googling and spent some time on Pinterest today getting ideas. I can see a substantial amount of my upcoming paychecks going towards making my food adorable.....0 -
SpecialKitty7 wrote: »Narcissora wrote: »
Hangover bento: kale and spinach balls; mukimame; peas; almonds; babybel light; bananas with Greek yogurt and cinnamon; pineapple; unsweetened applesauce; ibuprofen
Giggles at Hangover bento. No bento for me today, long unexpected night last night.
@srschaffer1 I got nearly all of my stuff on Amazon (the rest from Aliexpress and Jlist). The only thing that's tough is a lot of times they don't list the size of the box so I've gotten surprised a few times. Just go to Amazon and search Bento, you'll find tons of stuff.
@MyM0wM0w Here's one I answered for another MFPeep. There should be something you like at one of these places. A lot of these are not dishwasher safe, but I don't know about their BPA status (something about clear plastic?) There's another place that's pricey, but I think they are dishwasher safe, and that's Monbento. @mangrothian knows all the cool brick and mortar places that we sadly don't have around here.
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I've heard that BPA is mainly in clear/translucent plastic too. Without microwaving/heating it isn't as big of a concern either. There are also stainless steel bentos out there and glass containers if you prefer. You can look under "bento box" on Amazon to track down more options. I think Lunchbots makes a steel one but I could be wrong.0
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Just chiming in: I also hide my scraps under the pretty stuff and/or in mah belleh, and most of my containers come from Amazon or ebay. My very first one (that has almost bitten the dust now
) came from Jlist but theirs are definitely pricier. I'm about to unsubscribe from Amazon Prime, and I'm considering buying a couple more bentos before I do 
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Yay! I remembered seeing some bento(ish) containers I liked @ Grocery Outlet so I went there after work. They are called Eco One I love that the silicone bottoms fold in on themselves. I was able to use the flattest ...setting... for my snacks.
Soup Bowl (which will be an oatmeal container. It came with an insert with a divider, in retrospect the berries would have been better off if I had divided them. Whatever though, it'll be YUM!
My same lunch as today's. Chili lime chicken legs, cilantro rice, and peas. Garnished with carrot and radishes and a side of cucumber and grape tomatoes.
My snacks for the day. A hardboiled egg for 10AM snack and apples/cheese for 3PM snack. I hid the ugly bits of cheese under the spinach.
It's not the same brand, but next to these containers were lunch bags for only 5.00 and when I tested to see if everything fit it was perfect! So I got a new bag too.
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DOH! Another question. I'm sorry I keep bugging you.
What web resources do you have for reasonable but safe (BPA free, dishwasher, etc) bentos and accessories?
@sagj is right - BPA is only found in clear plastics, and some of the initial studies that made the BPA-free plastics craze begin are being debunked by some reputable independent research groups anyway. If you want one that is microwave safe, I would suggest a Bentgo or monbento box. Those ones are generally microwave safe for reheating purposes without their lids on.What do you all do with the scraps from cutting the veggies and cheese (and cured meats) into cute shapes? I stuffed the excess under the apple slices (since it was already weighed out and added to my daily log) but... do you just toss the excess? Hide it somewhere in the bento?
Mine go to my doggies because we give them fresh veg with their food every day anyway, and for me it just kills two birds with one stone.I learned an important Bento lessons last night.
If you make your meals ahead of time and just have to 'build' the Bento it makes you less stressed... and homicidal.
Last night I made chicken legs for the week and rice for 3 days. I anticipate this making tonight's work MUCH easier.
I also learned that just packing the containers full of food took me about 500 calories over my macros. It also packed WAY more food than I can eat in a single day. Have to pay more attention to that when I'm building.
I'm really glad I found this thread. I love the idea and I LOVE when my food looks nice. IT makes my meals so much more pleasant!
I have a whole shelf in my freezer devoted to rice frozen into bento sized servings, and the same with all sorts of cooked meats and dumplings. Definitely makes my life easier.
You may also find that you just need to use a smaller box (or just use one, but put the snacks into a silicone container in the larger box to take up that excess space instead of their own boxes).0 -
I forgot to mention another thing about scraps...
especially with cheese and carrots, if youre slicing a square/rectangular block of cheese for shapes, cut your thick slice into squares bigger than your cutter, then cut your cheese shape out of the centre (keep both sections!). Do the same with your carrot slices, trying to keep them the same thickness as the cheese. Use the same shaped cutter on your carrots.
Insert the cut cheese shapes in the hole made in the carrot slices, and the carrot shapes into the leftovers from the cheese. Oui la, no scraps!0 -
I had family in town last week, and I had a few pizzas in the freezer in case people just wanted an evening in with pizza and wine and games. Well, we never ate the pizza (but the wine is gone), so I popped a frozen pizza in the oven for my husband and I last night. This pizza happened to be gluten-free and dairy-free because one of my relatives can't have either.
I have to say, GF/DF pizza is disgusting. My husband wouldn't touch it, and I just don't want to eat any more of it... But I hate wasting food, so I can't just toss it... But maybe a pizza bento will make it seem more appealing?
So here it is: disgusting pizza bento. Pizza; roast beef; bananas with yogurt and pecans; carrots; babybel light.
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Disgusting pizza box looks good, at least I hope it tastes better bento-ized. 0
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Yes the pizza bento looks good, sorry the pizza is gross. I have to be dairy free (however testing the limits this week with cheese. I miss butter, cheese, ice cream, and normal milk
) and dairy free cheese is sooooo not worth it.
Scrapes, so far I put mine in a baggie to use later or use it with the meal I am making, like the cheese for hubby's quesadilla, I put the cheese scrapes in the tortillas.
Hubby's bento, a bit more than normal as he has a longer day today. Bean and cheese quesadilla with salsa, a cupcake brownie, pepperoni and cheese, apples cubes, and carrots. Around 900 calories total. He probably will only eat part of it though.
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Cheese is one of the hardest milk products to give up, for sure!
My box today:
Layer 1: Cooked chicken thighs, Greek olives, goat cheese, carrot flowers and black plum
Layer 2: Blueberries and kale salad with carrot bits (leftover from flowers) and tomatoes. I'm either going to use the juice from the marinated olives over it (tasty stuff but I don't have much) or more of my tomato basil dressing. We shall see!
PS The left over part of my plum went in ma belly this morning We don't need to be either/or about these things 0 -
PS The left over part of my plum went in ma belly this morning We don't need to be either/or about these things
As I was reading the first part of your post I was wondering, "boy, what did she do with the other half of that plum?", well, you answered that for me! Mystery solved
It's like all those recipes that call for half of something (like half a banana). What am I supposed to do with the other half?
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I started a veggie scrap container in the freezer. I'm thinking it's perfect for when the tomatoes start getting soft before I can eat them.... the scraps from making pretty shapes.... the spinach I'm using for garnish (I detest spinach, but it looks so pretty and is so cheap at the farmer's market) and any other veg I need to toss. I should have done it years ago. I can add all that to soup since I'm a major soup freak.
I will also start a container in the fridge for cheese, I love the idea of using the leftover cheese in the quesadillas (which I eat at least once a week when I don't feel like cooking). Thank you for that idea!0 -
SpecialKitty7 wrote: »
PS The left over part of my plum went in ma belly this morning We don't need to be either/or about these things
As I was reading the first part of your post I was wondering, "boy, what did she do with the other half of that plum?", well, you answered that for me! Mystery solved
It's like all those recipes that call for half of something (like half a banana). What am I supposed to do with the other half?
Nom nom nom 0 -
SpecialKitty7 wrote: »It's like all those recipes that call for half of something (like half a banana). What am I supposed to do with the other half?
We cut bananas into two-inch chunks and freeze them in a zip-loc bag. (If we bought more bananas than we can eat before they go bad, or we only want half, or whatever). We use frozen bananas to make smoothies... Frozen bananas make the smoothie icy and cold without having to add any ice.0 -
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That chirashi pic made me so hungry!0
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BENTO!! The top tier is all leftovers: rice, chicken, and our very own balsamic veggies: squash, zucchini, and mushrooms tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then baked. Fresh veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes) in the small tier.
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Narcissora wrote: »SpecialKitty7 wrote: »It's like all those recipes that call for half of something (like half a banana). What am I supposed to do with the other half?
We cut bananas into two-inch chunks and freeze them in a zip-loc bag. (If we bought more bananas than we can eat before they go bad, or we only want half, or whatever). We use frozen bananas to make smoothies... Frozen bananas make the smoothie icy and cold without having to add any ice.
As many smoothies as I have eaten, I've never truly considered tossing a banana chunk in there. Might have to give that a go next time something calls for a half a banana. Getting all the bananas eaten before they go bad has not really been a problem for us
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