Using Bento Boxes for lunches.
Replies
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mangrothian wrote: »Okay - long time lurker here, and I've been been bento-ing with tupperware. The thread motivated me to get a "real" bento box, and here is my first effort:
On the left, mini turkey pepperoni and string cheese, olives, and carrots with a Laughing Cow cheese wedge. On the right, red pepper strips, mini crabcakes, and blueberries. Yay Bento!!!!
Yum! I wish we could get the different laughing cow flavours here. All I can get is regular and light cheese wedges
Do you have a recipe for the crab cakes?
True Bento confession time - following is my crab cake recipe:
1) Go to grocery store.
2) Buy http://www.phillipsfoods.com/retail-products/ProductsSearchDetails.aspx?productClassificationId=2&itemNumber=35070
when on sale.
I think this is the recipe that they are based on though: http://www.phillipsfoods.com/recipes-cooking-tips/RecipesDetails.aspx?recipeId=39
Traditionally, they are made to be a larger patty, but can be shaped into any size you'd like. I bake them with just a spritz of cooking spray to keep the fat down. The seafood seasoning is a Maryland/Mid-Atlantic thing - other purveyors aside from Phillips are Old Bay, JO, etc., but is usually a blend of (my best guess) red and black pepper, paprika, salt, celery seed, and some other spices. IMHO, crab cakes are one of the best things about living in the Baltimore area.0 -
plumsparkle wrote: »I have been reading thru the thread for hours (sick days do have their advantages) and remember someone wanting owl shaped boxes. I just saw these on ebay (I'm in the uk)
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microwaveable-Plastic-Owl-Lunch-Bento-Box-Food-Snack-Meal-Container-Storage-Case-/311384085182?nav=SEARCH
Those are adorable! I love owls. And whales. Hmm...whale bento? *cue whale sounds*
On an exciting note, my box is COMING TODAY! It's the weekend so I obviously don't have anything to use it for, but I will be cooking up some food to put in it!
PS I almost signed this like I would an email. Work overload.0 -
So jelly of the good ramen. There is a great onigiri cafe over in Boulder [Colorado, yo], suuuuuper cheap, too. I lucked out there!
[off-topic, but manga sites now have Chapter 225 up in English today. Yay!]
There's a ramen place near me in Westminster (Sheridan & 74th-ish?), but I've never tried it b/c my husband is lame. Let me know if you ever want to drive down and try it out with me!! ^_^0 -
I met a friend at Panera yesterday (got just a sandwich, apple, and water - very proud of my self-control) and didn't have time to make a bento for today so I'll be buying lunch again
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I have just been shopping and bought lots of goodies for my lunches next week, so excited to start. And I don't like tomatoes all that much, but I had to buy some tomberries, tiny tomatoes the size of blueberries - they are soooo cute!0
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mangrothian wrote: »Okay - long time lurker here, and I've been been bento-ing with tupperware. The thread motivated me to get a "real" bento box, and here is my first effort:
On the left, mini turkey pepperoni and string cheese, olives, and carrots with a Laughing Cow cheese wedge. On the right, red pepper strips, mini crabcakes, and blueberries. Yay Bento!!!!
Yum! I wish we could get the different laughing cow flavours here. All I can get is regular and light cheese wedges
Do you have a recipe for the crab cakes?
True Bento confession time - following is my crab cake recipe:
1) Go to grocery store.
2) Buy http://www.phillipsfoods.com/retail-products/ProductsSearchDetails.aspx?productClassificationId=2&itemNumber=35070
when on sale.
I think this is the recipe that they are based on though: http://www.phillipsfoods.com/recipes-cooking-tips/RecipesDetails.aspx?recipeId=39
Traditionally, they are made to be a larger patty, but can be shaped into any size you'd like. I bake them with just a spritz of cooking spray to keep the fat down. The seafood seasoning is a Maryland/Mid-Atlantic thing - other purveyors aside from Phillips are Old Bay, JO, etc., but is usually a blend of (my best guess) red and black pepper, paprika, salt, celery seed, and some other spices. IMHO, crab cakes are one of the best things about living in the Baltimore area.
I swear I've seen that brand around here! I agree on the crab cake / Baltimore thing. When we visted there, it was the first thing I wanted
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plumsparkle wrote: »I have just been shopping and bought lots of goodies for my lunches next week, so excited to start. And I don't like tomatoes all that much, but I had to buy some tomberries, tiny tomatoes the size of blueberries - they are soooo cute!
Tomberries! I've never seen those. Must see a picture of that
I ate in the cafeteria the last two days (I eat for free so no biggie, I don't like their food most of the time and much prefer my bentos! ) so no pics from me. I might just have to make a weekend bento to eat at home tomorrow
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I went through this thread last night and was so impressed with you guys! I almost bought the shapers on Amazon. I had no idea bento was such a thing. You all have inspired me to make some fun food for my kiddos.... and myself.0
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mangrothian wrote: »Okay - long time lurker here, and I've been been bento-ing with tupperware. The thread motivated me to get a "real" bento box, and here is my first effort:
On the left, mini turkey pepperoni and string cheese, olives, and carrots with a Laughing Cow cheese wedge. On the right, red pepper strips, mini crabcakes, and blueberries. Yay Bento!!!!
Yum! I wish we could get the different laughing cow flavours here. All I can get is regular and light cheese wedges
Do you have a recipe for the crab cakes?
True Bento confession time - following is my crab cake recipe:
1) Go to grocery store.
2) Buy http://www.phillipsfoods.com/retail-products/ProductsSearchDetails.aspx?productClassificationId=2&itemNumber=35070
when on sale.
I think this is the recipe that they are based on though: http://www.phillipsfoods.com/recipes-cooking-tips/RecipesDetails.aspx?recipeId=39
Traditionally, they are made to be a larger patty, but can be shaped into any size you'd like. I bake them with just a spritz of cooking spray to keep the fat down. The seafood seasoning is a Maryland/Mid-Atlantic thing - other purveyors aside from Phillips are Old Bay, JO, etc., but is usually a blend of (my best guess) red and black pepper, paprika, salt, celery seed, and some other spices. IMHO, crab cakes are one of the best things about living in the Baltimore area.
I'm a sad panda. Another thing I can't find here But we have copious amounts of vegemite, so I can't complain. 0 -
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Still waiting for my lovely new bento boxes and bits and pieces to arrive, but I have a divided lunchbox that I have never really used before, so here is my first attempt at a bento type box. Pic 1 is jasmine rice (with a dried rose bud!), honeyed pork and blanched broccoli, pic 2, a boiled egg, pepper strips and tomberries, with a teenie choc bar for the afternoon, and pic 3 is pomegranate, strawberries, blueberries and clementine, with a small pot of zero calorie caramel sauce (I don't want to know whats in it, since it appears to be calorie, fat, and gluten free! But it is sooooo nice )
Apparently the dried roses are to make tea, so I won't be eating it, but they are so pretty!!
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plumsparkle wrote: »
Still waiting for my lovely new bento boxes and bits and pieces to arrive, but I have a divided lunchbox that I have never really used before, so here is my first attempt at a bento type box. Pic 1 is jasmine rice (with a dried rose bud!), honeyed pork and blanched broccoli, pic 2, a boiled egg, pepper strips and tomberries, with a teenie choc bar for the afternoon, and pic 3 is pomegranate, strawberries, blueberries and clementine, with a small pot of zero calorie caramel sauce (I don't want to know whats in it, since it appears to be calorie, fat, and gluten free! But it is sooooo nice )
Apparently the dried roses are to make tea, so I won't be eating it, but they are so pretty!!
Looks delish. The rosebud for tea isn't that far off really. I make green tea rice pretty often. Dunno about rose tea rice though...PixieGoddess wrote: »Onigiri for days! #_#
Damnit, Now I'm hungry, and brekky isn't for an hour. What type of furikake are you using?0 -
sistrsprkl wrote: »I went through this thread last night and was so impressed with you guys! I almost bought the shapers on Amazon. I had no idea bento was such a thing. You all have inspired me to make some fun food for my kiddos.... and myself.
Join us! And your kids being mini-bento-minions is just fine by me ^_^
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I've seen a couple of references to green tea rice - how do you make it? Do you literally cook the rice in green tea?mangrothian wrote: »
Looks delish. The rosebud for tea isn't that far off really. I make green tea rice pretty often. Dunno about rose tea rice though...
No, I'm not sure about rose tea in general, athough according to the lady in the Chinese supermarket, its 'very good for ladies'!
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PixieGoddess wrote: »Onigiri for days! #_#
These look amazing, and so neat. I will be receiving a mould soon, and then I get to attempt one - but I get the feeling it won't be anywhere near as pretty as these!!0 -
My egg cooker arrived! Now I shall have the perfect soft-boiled eggs, muahahaha. Now if only the molds would arrive.0
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plumsparkle wrote: »
I've seen a couple of references to green tea rice - how do you make it? Do you literally cook the rice in green tea?mangrothian wrote: »Looks delish. The rosebud for tea isn't that far off really. I make green tea rice pretty often. Dunno about rose tea rice though...
No, I'm not sure about rose tea in general, athough according to the lady in the Chinese supermarket, its 'very good for ladies'!
It's easy. You add in your green tea with the cold water when you let your rice soak, and then take out the tea leaves just before cooking
I use a mix of sencha (japanese green tea is less bitter than chinese green tea, even though they're equally tasty) and matcha green tea. You could just use one or the other. If the sencha is in a bag, just one teabag is fine, and 1/2 tsp matcha powder. If the sencha is loose and you're going to put it in a disposable bag or reusable teapod thingy(those metal/mesh balls you use for loose leaf tea. Dunno what they're called), use about 2 tsp. This is what I use when cooking about 620g uncooked rice. Because the teabag goes in cold water, I don't really adjust the amounts when I'm cooking less rice.0 -
I love the boxes and the photo is great! If you are on a budget, you can go to a dollar store and get the smaller containers. I also use the 100 calorie ziplocks and salad plates for my dinner. If you put your salad on the same plate you really do have a hard time getting other things on the plate. Thanks for sharing. Also fresh and fit has small containers as well. Cruise Amazon for "ALIKE" ideas, but you don't just have to shop there. Look around and Google your Coupon Codes before you buy anything online! 24 lbs down with portion control, my fitbit and logging everything into myfitness pal! Good Luck and thanks for the sharing!0
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mangrothian wrote: »plumsparkle wrote: »
Still waiting for my lovely new bento boxes and bits and pieces to arrive, but I have a divided lunchbox that I have never really used before, so here is my first attempt at a bento type box. Pic 1 is jasmine rice (with a dried rose bud!), honeyed pork and blanched broccoli, pic 2, a boiled egg, pepper strips and tomberries, with a teenie choc bar for the afternoon, and pic 3 is pomegranate, strawberries, blueberries and clementine, with a small pot of zero calorie caramel sauce (I don't want to know whats in it, since it appears to be calorie, fat, and gluten free! But it is sooooo nice )
Apparently the dried roses are to make tea, so I won't be eating it, but they are so pretty!!
Looks delish. The rosebud for tea isn't that far off really. I make green tea rice pretty often. Dunno about rose tea rice though...PixieGoddess wrote: »Onigiri for days! #_#
Damnit, Now I'm hungry, and brekky isn't for an hour. What type of furikake are you using?
None, I just roll them in sea salt and sesame seeds after I'm done0 -
plumsparkle wrote: »PixieGoddess wrote: »Onigiri for days! #_#
These look amazing, and so neat. I will be receiving a mould soon, and then I get to attempt one - but I get the feeling it won't be anywhere near as pretty as these!!
I actually use the ziplock baggie trick from the Just Bento site. It helps you mold conical onigiri (the ones on the plate) and then I squish them into a flat triangle (the ones in the bento) if they're going into a bento box.0 -
I have the plain triangle mold from Bento&Co. S'worked really well for me so far, though I wish it was smaller.0
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My lunch for tomorrow:
Carrots and Laughing Cow Cheese; red pepper pieces; spinach, white bean, and garlic dip; and pasta with ricotta, spinach, and tomatoes. Here's how it looks assembled with the ice pack in the middle:
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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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My lunch for tomorrow:
Carrots and Laughing Cow Cheese; red pepper pieces; spinach, white bean, and garlic dip; and pasta with ricotta, spinach, and tomatoes. Here's how it looks assembled with the ice pack in the middle:
Those carrots are so uniformly sized. It's quite unnerving to me, like those square watermelons you can buy in Japan.0 -
PixieGoddess wrote: »
I actually use the ziplock baggie trick from the Just Bento site. It helps you mold conical onigiri (the ones on the plate) and then I squish them into a flat triangle (the ones in the bento) if they're going into a bento box.
i have been looking on there, but haven't seen it all yet, and didn't see that trick0 -
Blooming phone! It doesn't like smileys! Was going to say, my mould thing was only 99p inc postage, so not too bad, but it did look a little fiddly. Will have a look on just bento. 0
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How do you like to prepare your rice beforehand? I'm having issues with my rice being all dry and gross before I get to eat it. If it wasn't as much of am issue for me I would love to make my onigiri rolls a few days in advance or keep them around for simple snacks.0
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PinkDeerBoy wrote: »How do you like to prepare your rice beforehand? I'm having issues with my rice being all dry and gross before I get to eat it. If it wasn't as much of am issue for me I would love to make my onigiri rolls a few days in advance or keep them around for simple snacks.
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.
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