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Using Bento Boxes for lunches.

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  • Posts: 64 Member
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    First bento today!! Boiled egg, almonds, blueberries w cinnamon in the top container (no way to separate my egg from my almonds..not a big deal though). And tuna salad and carrot sticks in the lower container!
  • Posts: 89 Member
    I don't have a rice cooker, so I just make mine on the stovetop. The key is the type of rice you're using. Your standard long grain rice is supposed to make dry separate kernels. Short and medium grain rices tend to get a bit more sticky and are better for our purposes here. I do a modified version of the Just Bento method for pre-making rice in that I put my rice in little gladware containers instead of plastic wrap. Then I just toss it in the microwave for 2 minutes (totally frozen) and stuff it in my bento. I don't know what you can get around you, but I mainly use Mahatma Jasmine rice & Nishiki Sushi rice.
    I have been using shorter grain rice and freezing it like I saw on Just Bento. I am starting to think I am just being picky. :p
  • Posts: 256 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Today's bento:

    Layer one: BBQ Salmon and asparagus with some tartar sauce

    Layer two: Kale salad with ham, basil goat cheese, and carrot flowers with grapefruit and cherries
  • Posts: 1,833 Member
    sagj wrote: »
    Today's bento:

    Layer one: BBQ Salmon and asparagus with some tartar sauce

    Layer two: Kale salad with ham, basil goat cheese, and carrot flowers with grapefruit and cherries

    Oooooooh, now I want ham! @_@
  • Posts: 678 Member
    I have been using shorter grain rice and freezing it like I saw on Just Bento. I am starting to think I am just being picky. :p

    Maybe :wink: but it did take several of us quite a few tries to not have crunchy-cement like rice. Maybe you'll find what works best for you?

  • Posts: 106 Member
    Another smoked salmon flower bento. I think I'm getting lazy. Although I did make two of them; it seems my mother-in-law stays the extra night when we come visit so I'll make her a bento to take into work with her on Monday.

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    Lovely looking box - do you happen to know by weight how much salmon you use?

    Those carrots are so uniformly sized. It's quite unnerving to me, like those square watermelons you can buy in Japan.


    The carrots in my box are the "baby" carrots that are pretty ubiquitous in the States - I think they're actually cut down to the shape out of bigger carrots. I just go with it because it saves me the time and trouble of peeling and cutting for myself.

  • Posts: 345 Member
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    Shirataki noodles w/ shrimp and mushrooms in a jerk sauce, a turkey rolls with blue cheese crumbles and grapes, strawberries & cantalope! :)
  • Posts: 678 Member
    scante60 wrote: »

    Lovely looking box - do you happen to know by weight how much salmon you use?


    The carrots in my box are the "baby" carrots that are pretty ubiquitous in the States - I think they're actually cut down to the shape out of bigger carrots. I just go with it because it saves me the time and trouble of peeling and cutting for myself.

    I live for baby carrots. Buzzfeed did an awesome thing on baby carrots, but just a pre-warning, it's Buzzfeed, so there's lot's of colorful language.

  • Posts: 729 Member
    Mini bento! ^_^

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  • Posts: 1,351 Member
    I have been using shorter grain rice and freezing it like I saw on Just Bento. I am starting to think I am just being picky. :p

    I find i need to add a little more water than what Maki suggests on justbento (if yiu dont know how old your rice is, you may need to as well). The other tip i have is to separate and freeze your servings as soon as the rice is cooked to keep in all the moisture. I also still get the crunchy rice issue if my soak time is less than two hours.
    scante60 wrote: »

    Lovely looking box - do you happen to know by weight how much salmon you use?

    The carrots in my box are the "baby" carrots that are pretty ubiquitous in the States - I think they're actually cut down to the shape out of bigger carrots. I just go with it because it saves me the time and trouble of peeling and cutting for myself.

    That one is 125g. It's a lot more than a recommended serving, but i needed the protein. My MIL had 75g in hers and it still turned out pretty.

    And i was wondering about the carrots, because here they look nothing like that. Ours look literally like skinny minisized carrots.

    And for anyone who wants to know exactly what is in my bentos, my diary is completely open :)
  • Posts: 1,833 Member
    Onigiri bento! ^_^ Oh, there's also edamame, a fish-shaped egg, and salad - which I FORGOT dressing for, so I had to choke it down dry! Blech! D:
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  • Posts: 256 Member
    Onigiri bento! ^_^ Oh, there's also edamame, a fish-shaped egg, and salad - which I FORGOT dressing for, so I had to choke it down dry! Blech! D:

    Check out my avatar to see how I feel about that! ;)
  • Posts: 678 Member
    Swiftlet66 wrote: »
    Mini bento! ^_^

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    It's cute! What's the green thing on the rice? On a side note, I have bento for tomorrow, I will get a pic before I snarf it down.
  • Posts: 1,351 Member

    It's cute! What's the green thing on the rice? On a side note, I have bento for tomorrow, I will get a pic before I snarf it down.

    Thai eggplant? If so, delish ^_^
  • Posts: 119 Member
    @sagj your salmon flower looks delish! And super pretty :)

    @Swiftlet66 what's in your mini bento?

    Today's lunch was dumplings, sfir fried veggies and rice

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  • Posts: 119 Member
    Tomorrow's lunch: rice, hamburg, carrors, broc and a bear shaped egg :)

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  • Posts: 106 Member
    I live for baby carrots. Buzzfeed did an awesome thing on baby carrots, but just a pre-warning, it's Buzzfeed, so there's lot's of colorful language.

    Love this (colorful language and all)!!!!
  • Posts: 89 Member
    Lunch today! Chicken with General Tao sauce, an onigiri, grapes, blueberries, wax beans, and plain yogurt with cinnamon to dip my fruit in. Plain yogurt is a bit ... odd. I am so used to preflavored flavored kinds that I was not aware that's what yogurt by itself really tastes like.
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  • Posts: 678 Member
    Here's today's lunch. Jasmine/Forbidden rice mix (I have a bunch of this still in my freezer, you'll be seeing it for a while) sugar snap peas, mini peppers, italian dressing in the pot for dipping. Bottom tier is pork dumplings & some really wrinkled edamame.jz6qinyiwgj1.jpg
  • Posts: 1,833 Member
    Another onigiri bento! #_# Today with edamame, shrimp, pear slices, and kiwi stars/pieces
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  • Posts: 197 Member
    Lunch today! Chicken with General Tao sauce, an onigiri, grapes, blueberries, wax beans, and plain yogurt with cinnamon to dip my fruit in. Plain yogurt is a bit ... odd. I am so used to preflavored flavored kinds that I was not aware that's what yogurt by itself really tastes like.
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    Plain yogurt is mega yuck. I only use it if a recipe calls for it. Vanilla is so much better. If you aren't liking it, maybe add a drop of vanilla extract to it for flavor? I'm not sure if that would work, but it could make the yogurt more pallettable.
  • Posts: 417 Member
    Your dumplings look so yum!
  • Posts: 1,351 Member
    Narcissora wrote: »

    Plain yogurt is mega yuck. I only use it if a recipe calls for it. Vanilla is so much better. If you aren't liking it, maybe add a drop of vanilla extract to it for flavor? I'm not sure if that would work, but it could make the yogurt more pallettable.

    I love plain Greek yoghurt, but im very picky about the brands I buy. Took me a while to find a non-tart creamy one that I liked. Try adding fresh berries to it and mooshing them about a bit in the yoghurt. It will change the flavour enough for it to be paletable enough if youre not a fan.

    No bento for me today. The weather is nasty enough to call for soup, and besides, I didnt want to get out from under my heated blankie to go into the kitchen last night. Since ive lost weight I'm not cold all the time like some girls complain about, but when I do it's definitely harder to warm back up.
  • Posts: 8 Member
    I love your idea. Thank you for sharing.
  • Posts: 678 Member
    bunnyxhime wrote: »
    Your dumplings look so yum!

    I can't take total claim for them. They are made and frozen, I just cook them!

  • Posts: 417 Member

    I can't take total claim for them. They are made and frozen, I just cook them!
    There's still skill to cooking them up! I love crisp dumplings of all kinds. [Now I want dumplings >__<;]
  • Posts: 1,351 Member

    I can't take total claim for them. They are made and frozen, I just cook them!

    I think I need to take a picture next time I make a batch of pot-stickers by hand.
  • Posts: 64 Member
    Lunch for tomorrow!
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    Leftovers of ground turkey and vegetables with some guacamole on top of some spinach, with a poorly boiled egg, cheese stick, and snap pea crisps for snacks!
  • Posts: 1,351 Member
    edited July 2015
    Lunch for tomorrow!
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    Leftovers of ground turkey and vegetables with some guacamole on top of some spinach, with a poorly boiled egg, cheese stick, and snap pea crisps for snacks!

    Snap pea crisps? Now that's new to me. And don't worry about the egg; most of mine are horribly peeled, but I put the nicest looking side to the surface for the picture ;)
  • Posts: 678 Member

    I think I need to take a picture next time I make a batch of pot-stickers by hand.

    I'll make them again. These are just so tasty and so cheap. A bag of around 25-30 is only $3.50. And no messy kitchen! :tongue:

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