Using Bento Boxes for lunches.
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Ok nowhere near as picture or even post worthy on this amazing thread, but you all inspired me to start doing this for my VERY picky preschoolers lunch. Ordered just a few cutters and muffin liners for now. This was my very first attempt at a cute lunch...and guess what? He ate it all! Even cucumber which he won't touch. So now waiting on some bento lunch boxes to arrive in the mail so I can pack everything up nice and tight (and cute) Thank you all so much
Totally postworthy! Anything that gets a preschooler to eat when he's supposed to is a win!
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »Ok nowhere near as picture or even post worthy on this amazing thread, but you all inspired me to start doing this for my VERY picky preschoolers lunch. Ordered just a few cutters and muffin liners for now. This was my very first attempt at a cute lunch...and guess what? He ate it all! Even cucumber which he won't touch. So now waiting on some bento lunch boxes to arrive in the mail so I can pack everything up nice and tight (and cute) Thank you all so much
Totally postworthy! Anything that gets a preschooler to eat when he's supposed to is a win!
Totally. There are so many websites dedicated to children's Bento's as well, so you'll certainly never run out of ideas ^_^0 -
I generally let them cool down before closing everything up.
That's a standard thing you should do for any bento. If you've cooked hot food, you should let it get to room temp before sealing it up to 1) prevent condensation from ruining (visually at least) your food and 2) preventing a higher chance of bacterial contamination.
I didn't get a chance to post my today's bento last night (too much study and work, not enough time!), so I'll post it today! I was so hungry yesterday (totally an empty day), even though I had the same amount of food as I normally do. So I made a mega bento today to prevent me from gnawing my own arm off at 3:30 like I was tempted to do yesterday. I managed to fill up a 1.1L two tier bento with just lunch
My lunch tiers today have a double serving of rice (260grams), 2 cups of blanched vegetables, 6 pork and chive dumplings, pickles and pickled ginger, totalling just over 700cal. I've also packed 2 marinated boiled eggs (125cal), yoghurt with raspberries (160cal). I actually didn't take the cheeses with me today, but I did take an apple & oats chia pod with me for breakfast. It has a slightly odd texture, but tastes ok.
I don't know if I'll eat it all, but I guess I'll find out.0 -
The lunch bento is scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, salsa for the eggs, 1/2c blueberries and some strawberries for color. The other is a grapefruit and an orange. The lunch is 394 calories and the fruit snack is 194.
Not exactly pretty, but def yum!
Mmm those scrambled eggs look delicious!!0 -
I have been 'bento-ing' for years. I have several bento boxes as well as some divided boxes I got from walmart. I usually use leftovers from dinner, which is a huge money saver, as well as keeping some foods on hand just for my bento box.0
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@rentrikin what sort of things do you keep on hand just for bentos?0
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »
If that's the case, my meatballs in sauce, onigiri and veggies didn't happen. Nor did my home-made salsa, laughing cow cheese and salada biscuits. And that makes me sad....
@madiao many of us here have bento-friendly stashes (at least I'm assuming many of us do), of some foods to make bentoing easier. In the freezer I keep rice, couscous, quinoa, protein portions (meatballs, chicken pieces, pork, fish) all pre-weighed and wrapped in clingfilm or in ziplock bags. For the fridgem individual snack items like laughing cow or babybel cheese, cherry tomatoes, work well. Cupboard staples can be rice seasonings, crackers, pretty much any dry goods that can be easily used in smaller portion sizes (and fit in your boxes!).0 -
I love this! I use to bento all the time but have slacked off and actually forgot that I own one! (Don't worry, I'll slap myself for you...) Now that I've been rebitten by the bento bug I shall have to cook tomorrow!0
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@mangrothian I have a small freezer stash too I'm just always curious to see if other people have different ideas in their bentos that I never thought of ^-^ 0
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I have a stash in my freezer of 4 ounce chicken breast portions with all different seasonings (balsamic, Italian, garlic, onion, teriyaki). I also have mini turkey meatloaves (about 4 oz each - mix of lean ground turkey, oats, shredded carrots, and egg whites to bind), black bean burgers (1/2 burger in each baggie), turkey burgers (1/2 burger in each patty). I also have portions of brown rice, brown rice/quinoa mix, and jasmine rice.0
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mangrothian wrote: »SpecialKitty7 wrote: »
If that's the case, my meatballs in sauce, onigiri and veggies didn't happen. Nor did my home-made salsa, laughing cow cheese and salada biscuits. And that makes me sad....
Ha! I wish the calories didn't happen either. But, I'm pretty sure if no one sees you eat it, the calories lose all impact.
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »mangrothian wrote: »SpecialKitty7 wrote: »
If that's the case, my meatballs in sauce, onigiri and veggies didn't happen. Nor did my home-made salsa, laughing cow cheese and salada biscuits. And that makes me sad....
Ha! I wish the calories didn't happen either. But, I'm pretty sure if no one sees you eat it, the calories lose all impact.
Hmm, I better start eating lunch in the conference room, sitting in the corner, with my eyes shut. Then I'll go and have some icecream.
Our fridge and cupboards are looking pretty Mother Hubbard at the moment (too many long work hours to have time to grocery shop the past week or so), so my bento isn't really a bento today. I have a small amount of salad with some chicken in a small box, some fruit and a Vegemite and cheese sarnie (yay vegemite!). It looked so sad I can't even bring myself to take a photo, I really can't
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love this thread :-) I take a bento style lunch regularly to work which also includes my morning and afternoon snacks so thought I'd join in and share
Today: 2 hard boiled eggs sliced, prawns & pimientos rojos with chilli and lime quinoa & basmati rice, carrot & yellow pepper with crunchy peanut butter, cantaloupe melon, red grapes & 2 small passion fruits. (791cals. 59P/85C/22F.)0 -
Ok I finally broke down and got some of these off Amazon. I have no idea how often I will use them but they are just too good looking to pass up. We do religious conferences a few times a year and other all day shopping trips so I am hoping to use them at least once a month or so. Because of food allergies and diet restrictions we take our lunches when we are gone all day.
Even got the egg molds and cute animal cutters even tho we are all adults. Using pinterest to find LCHF bento boxes we can eat. Hope I can post some good looking pics here in the near future.0 -
misschoppo wrote: »
love this thread :-) I take a bento style lunch regularly to work which also includes my morning and afternoon snacks so thought I'd join in and share
Today: 2 hard boiled eggs sliced, prawns & pimientos rojos with chilli and lime quinoa & basmati rice, carrot & yellow pepper with crunchy peanut butter, cantaloupe melon, red grapes & 2 small passion fruits. (791cals. 59P/85C/22F.)
Amazing looking lunch! I apparently have never seen a real live passion fruit before because i was hoping you'd tell us what those things were
Thanks for sharing!
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »misschoppo wrote: »
love this thread :-) I take a bento style lunch regularly to work which also includes my morning and afternoon snacks so thought I'd join in and share
Today: 2 hard boiled eggs sliced, prawns & pimientos rojos with chilli and lime quinoa & basmati rice, carrot & yellow pepper with crunchy peanut butter, cantaloupe melon, red grapes & 2 small passion fruits. (791cals. 59P/85C/22F.)
Amazing looking lunch! I apparently have never seen a real live passion fruit before because i was hoping you'd tell us what those things were Thanks for sharing!
I didn't realise that passionfruit were kinda rare as a fruit still
Always been common for me growing up. And the lunch looks delish - it made me want prawns for my next bento.
Also, it's a bit belated, but happy Pi day! The first one is a chicken and leek shepherds pie (made at the husband's request). The second were my experimental sweet pies; a matcha biscuit pastry case filled with citrus and raspberry curd. They may look messy, but they tasted awesome. I'm a sucker for sour-sweet desserts, so trying not to shove my head face first into a bowl of raspberry curd was hard.
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Also, bento for tomorrow. Some of my veggies were looking too sad to blanch, so I had to change my routine:
Today's lunch is prawns with asparagus, carrot and golden squash stir fried in sesame oil, ginger and coriander with rice and a salmon furikake (~430cal). I've also got some homemade salsa (my husband made it on a whim, and it's awesome. No idea what's in it though ), a laughing cow cheese and a Salada biscuit (~115cal). Of course, my usual yoghurt and fruit is there as well. 0 -
SpecialKitty7 wrote: »Amazing looking lunch! I apparently have never seen a real live passion fruit before because i was hoping you'd tell us what those things were Thanks for sharing!
I can only get them at one particular little stall on my local market & I buy a box every week. They really help with my fibre intake as I'm always low on it & these pack around 2g each for next to no cals and they are delicious I eat around 2-4 a daymangrothian wrote: »Also, bento for tomorrow. Some of my veggies were looking too sad to blanch, so I had to change my routine:
Today's lunch is prawns with asparagus, carrot and golden squash stir fried in sesame oil, ginger and coriander with rice and a salmon furikake (~430cal). I've also got some homemade salsa (my husband made it on a whim, and it's awesome. No idea what's in it though ), a laughing cow cheese and a Salada biscuit (~115cal). Of course, my usual yoghurt and fruit is there as well.
Main lunch box looks so tasty. I love anything with prawns
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Happy Monday people! (I'm trying to say that without sarcasm, but my Monday was long and boring )
My lunches are getting hodge podge (work hours are getting too long to do a decent shop right now). I'm digging through the older pre-packs in my freezer, and pulling stuff out of my cupboard. It's times like these I'm glad I have an essentials stash that I've built up.
- 125g nectarine (70 cal)
- matcha chocolate pocky (70cal)
Pink container (175cal):
- 160g greek yoghurt
- cinnamon
- Raspberry curd (leftover from pi day)
** I've just realised that this container now looks like a mouldy pokeball...
Lunch container (475cal):
- 180g minute steak (marinated in ponzu sauce and sesame oil)
- Blanched veg
- Seasoned rice and pickled plums
Snack boxes (300cal)
- salada biscuits
- 25g peanut butter
- laughing cow cheese0 -
Finally got a bento again!! Leftover steak and quinoa in the small tier; onigiri, shrimp, edamame, and steak sauce in the large tier. And I finally remembered to bring some nori strips to eat with my onigiri
This very protein-heavy bento comes in at 538 calories (counting a strip nori) as opposed to my normal ~300cal bentos.0 -
I have been slacking on my bento soooo bad! But I bought some more rice to make onigiri, kiddo is already addicted to them just that fast LoL!
I was at Bed, Bath & Beyond today though, and out of curiosity I checked out the stove ware, and they have regular and cast iron 5" square pans that would be PERFECT for tamagoyaki! And they were only $10
Just wanted to let you all know about it!!! =D0 -
PixieGoddess wrote: »Finally got a bento again!! Leftover steak and quinoa in the small tier; onigiri, shrimp, edamame, and steak sauce in the large tier. And I finally remembered to bring some nori strips to eat with my onigiri
This very protein-heavy bento comes in at 538 calories (counting a strip nori) as opposed to my normal ~300cal bentos.
nyaw, I want a hello kitty sauce cup! *pouts*0 -
mangrothian wrote: »PixieGoddess wrote: »Finally got a bento again!! Leftover steak and quinoa in the small tier; onigiri, shrimp, edamame, and steak sauce in the large tier. And I finally remembered to bring some nori strips to eat with my onigiri
This very protein-heavy bento comes in at 538 calories (counting a strip nori) as opposed to my normal ~300cal bentos.
nyaw, I want a hello kitty sauce cup! *pouts*
I got a set of them (half blue, half pink) years ago on ebay 0 -
I had time to make a bento. So, although it's not much different than my "usual" I wanted to show off my new Hello Kitty bento I have a new HK bento bag too, but since I'm eating all three meals at my desk until April, I won't be carrying it just yet.
Bottom tier, california mandarin (well most of one anyway) veggie, pork & leek dumplings, top tier, brown rice, edamame & snap peas. Snack box: egg, sesame melba toast, laughing cow cheese, the rest of & 1 more mandarin & strawberries.
Lunch 510 calories, snacks (this is two snacks) 229 calories.
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mangrothian wrote: »SpecialKitty7 wrote: »misschoppo wrote: »
love this thread :-) I take a bento style lunch regularly to work which also includes my morning and afternoon snacks so thought I'd join in and share
Today: 2 hard boiled eggs sliced, prawns & pimientos rojos with chilli and lime quinoa & basmati rice, carrot & yellow pepper with crunchy peanut butter, cantaloupe melon, red grapes & 2 small passion fruits. (791cals. 59P/85C/22F.)
Amazing looking lunch! I apparently have never seen a real live passion fruit before because i was hoping you'd tell us what those things were Thanks for sharing!
I didn't realise that passionfruit were kinda rare as a fruit still Always been common for me growing up. And the lunch looks delish - it made me want prawns for my next bento.
At least around here, passionfruit only comes in juice or puree form. I don't know that I've ever seen a whole one before. I just googled how to eat one, and it seems strange that you eat the snot on the inside, and not the shell. If I ever see one, I'll give it a go.
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SpecialKitty7 wrote: »mangrothian wrote: »SpecialKitty7 wrote: »misschoppo wrote: »
love this thread :-) I take a bento style lunch regularly to work which also includes my morning and afternoon snacks so thought I'd join in and share
Today: 2 hard boiled eggs sliced, prawns & pimientos rojos with chilli and lime quinoa & basmati rice, carrot & yellow pepper with crunchy peanut butter, cantaloupe melon, red grapes & 2 small passion fruits. (791cals. 59P/85C/22F.)
Amazing looking lunch! I apparently have never seen a real live passion fruit before because i was hoping you'd tell us what those things were Thanks for sharing!
I didn't realise that passionfruit were kinda rare as a fruit still Always been common for me growing up. And the lunch looks delish - it made me want prawns for my next bento.
At least around here, passionfruit only comes in juice or puree form. I don't know that I've ever seen a whole one before. I just googled how to eat one, and it seems strange that you eat the snot on the inside, and not the shell. If I ever see one, I'll give it a go.
We get two types here; the smaller ones in @misschoppo 's bento, and another type called 'panamanian passionfruit' which are huge. I think because Australia has the right climate for growing them, nearly everyone knows someone who has a passionfruit vine growing along their fence.
As to not eating the shell - take heed. The shell is equivalent to chowing down on an orange or lime without peeling it 0 -
Just found this thread today! Great ideas! I am trying to do Bento style for my husband to try to get him more into healthy eating!0
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@specialkitty7 Those dumplings look amazing!0
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