Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Piggie Bento


Piggie Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.
Today's bento is the very convenient "More Leftovers" bento; yay! Are you familiar with this type of bento? It happens when you make an extra large batch of kiddos' favorite meals, some to eat over the next day or two and perhaps some to freeze for later as well. Love them. I tucked the balsamic chicken pieces in a lettuce leaf and snuggled some steamed broccoli next to them (sound familiar?). I made a fresh batch of mixed rice: this one consists of Thai red rice, white, brown, bulgur, tricolor quinoa and oats. Adding a mix of various grains to your rice gives an extra nutrional boost. Plus, it adds interesting texture and flavor too. It's a lot more substantial than plain white rice and goes great alongside all kinds of food. Luckily we all love it, but if your family is hesitant, try adding just one or two extras, like quinoa or pearl barley, to start. You might be surprised at how much you grow to like it!


Okay, so back to the bento. I used the mixed red rice to form an onigiri, since yesterday's came back totally eaten (yippee!). Piggie details are made from purple and white potato and purple carrot. The usual sides are here: carrots, strawberries, blackberries, grapes and tangerine half. All packed in my new LunchBots divided stainless steel lunchbox. It's very cool; the divider is permanent and the stainless steel lid "snaps" on without latches. It seems pretty secure but I wouldn't put liquids inside since it's not watertight. We'll see what my boy thinks of it tomorrow. Happy Hump Day, bento friends!
Bento Box on Foodista

21 comments:

  1. Very cute piggy onigiri! :D The rice looks fantastic and I am always amazed at the combinations you come up with! So far I have tried the pearl barley, quinoa, and now millet is cooking up in the rice cooker! Thanks for the inspiration! :D

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  2. I love your piggie bento! My family loves mixed grains and rice. Your blend looks very interesting. I have a question. How do you cut the tiny circles for the center of the eyes?

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  3. Thanks Susan! Glad you are getting into mixed rice too; it's cool, isn't it?

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  4. Thanks Lyndsey!
    I make lots of rice combos; probably different each time. All my circles are usually cut with different size straws.The carrots, of course, already come round, conveniently!

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  5. Very cute piggie! Have been online from mobile phone since yesterday. But your bento is so clear on my small screen. Love the color of your mixed rice, once again :)

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  6. Hi Lia!
    Thanks a lot! Great that you can see it, I think this shot is kind of bright for some reason. Guess it was a really sunny day, hehe :)

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  7. I like the stainless steel bento box, I didn't know bentos came in stainless steel. I am eliminating plastic for food use, but didn't know what to do about my bento boxes. Now I know I can convert to stainless steel! I also love that you use sweet potato for the piggy's ears etc. What did you use for the mouth. I have been trying to find an alternative for kamaboko since my family doesn't like it.

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  8. sorry, I see that you used white potato. Is there such a thing as purple carrot? I have never heard of it? It sounds so interesting! Maybe they sell at Whole Foods. I am going to try it out. Do you eat it raw?

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  9. I love the idea of mixed rice for onigiri. I'm going to try that out soon! On my (growing) list of things to try: apple rabbits and mixed grain onigiri. And I bought some interesting looking furikake that I haven't even opened up yet. Oh no, must make more bento... well, if I MUST. :-)

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  10. Hi Darth Mama, thanks a lot!
    I prefer stainless steel too; it's my favorite material for food storage. If you don't have to microwave, it's ideal. Purple carrots are indeed available at Whole Foods! It's purple outside and orange inside. Very interesting colors. You can either steam it but my kids like it raw and crunchy too.

    Thanks Sonoma Bento! I love mixed rice. I can eat it as is, with nori, and I'm totally happy. Have fun with it! I just bought furikake today too :D

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  11. All in one bento : healthy, nutritIous n cute too! cheers!
    Karen

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  12. You are a wiz with leftovers! Colorful rice is perfect as cute little piggy.

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  13. Beautiful! I wish my daughter was eating rice... she does a little sometimes but unfortunatelly would never eat it at school on her own.

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  14. OMG!It's my first time on your amazing blog!
    You're great and incredible are your creations!
    It's art!
    a kisses from Italy
    Valentina

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  15. Thanks a lot Karen! All in one are the best kind of bento, eh?
    Thanks Debra! Leftovers ftw!
    Thanks Margot! Weird how some kids just don't like rice! Mine are the same. Have much better luck with fried rice.
    Thanks a lot Valentina! You're so sweet to say so; I really appreciate it!

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  16. Thank you to add that there are not watertight! I'm always upset when I get a new bento box which leeks!

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  17. Thanks for your comment vegetarianzoe. It's still a good box for non-leaking items!

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  18. your leftovers make my fresh food look sad, haha! love this purple-details piggie (with his chickie friends), so creative to use this color palette (and the mixed rice) for an animal onigiri. and the box is perfectly filled with an amazingly balanced meal - definitely a happy little bento!

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  19. Hi megan,
    You're funny -- I wish, ha!
    Thanks a lot!

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