Toast Of The Day: Avocado Egg Salad Edamame

Super sunny day here in self quarantine, so a made a sunny toast to reflect my mood: avocado, egg salad, edamame, radish sprouts, cracked black pepper on whole wheat bread. It was good but I will need to make more pickled slaw for next time. 

😊❤🍞🥑🍳🌱

Toast Of The Day: Omega-3 Sardines!

I gotta say this is my favorite toast thus far. But then I'm a fan of sardines! Are you? And because I piled so many other ingredients on my english muffin, it's not overwhelmingly sardiney, either.

I especially love that I was able to use so many healthy add-ons. I made them all; nothing is pre-processed. The tangy flavors come from the pickles, sprouts, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. 

I can't wait to make (a variation on) this one again!

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Corned Beef Reuben Bento

Sure we're hunkering down but that doesn't mean we can't still enjoy our Lunchbots Duo bento. And when there are leftovers in the fridge that just call out for a sandwich, how can we say no? So happy I was able to stock up on one last bag of blood oranges too. These are so pretty in bento!

Hope you are all weathering the isolation as best you can. If you're like me you get some happiness surfing the beautiful images on the web. Have a great Thursday friends!

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Polenta Bento

This one is a mishmash of stuff we had at dinner, including the polenta that made an appearance on my toast in the previous post. I think TinySprite would prefer a box filled completely with sausage; she's a definite meat lover🐖🐮

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Toast Of The Day: Another Breakfast One!

By now I've settled on a kind of formula for an ideal toast. It starts (usually but not imperatively) with a spread, in this case creamy polenta. I thought about firming it up and pan frying it, but decided to use it in its softer form for contrast here. I also like to have some greens and a protein, then some textural contrast like something crunchy, and finally some interesting tangy or spicy top note.

This one was overwhelmed by the sausage flavor, which was tasty enough, but not as exciting or original as it could have been. I'd mix it up a bit next time.
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Mini Sandwich Bento

The schools in our area have all closed for the next 2 weeks at least, so we will be at home isolating and socially distancing ourselves. I might therefore be experimenting with snacks and lunches; brace yourselves.

I always wanted to try making mini sandwiches. It would take a ton of these to satisfy my kids though😆

On the upside, look at these super kawaii sushi and green tea picks from Modes4u.com! I love these!

They are exquisitely detailed with cheerful cute faces, and sized perfectly for bento or tiny sandwiches. Can't wait to try it with sushi!

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Domo Meatloaf Bento

I forgot where I found this meatloaf recipe but it calls for a whole container of silken tofu to be mixed with 1 pound of ground turkey and 1 pound of ground beef (or pork). You wouldn't notice the tofu except that this meatloaf comes out very moist and with a lighter texture; not as dense as a regular meatloaf. It's pretty good, and I'm thinking healthier too! 

And of course, rectangular brown food must be transformed into Domokun. I think it's a bento rule.

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Toast Of The Day: Tofu and Broccoli!

I've never pan fried a slab of tofu before but I figured I'd try since I've seen this broccoli-tofu combo before.

And then I figured, might as well put an egg in it too, right?

I fried the broccoli bits til they got nice and crispy, and with chili oil drizzled over the whole deal, it was really good!

I'd definitely make this again.
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Toast Of The Day: Avocado, Cheesy Eggs, Hummus & Tomato!

Why did it take me so long to discover cheesy eggs? My feelings toward scrambled eggs have changed forever. 

You guys might already know this, but the key to fluffy eggs is to cook low and slow. That is, low heat with constant stirring until you feel the liquidy cheesy egg start to develop form. I mixed my egg with a big spoonful of cottage cheese; you could use ricotta or whatever cheese your little heart so chooses. At that point, turn off the heat and let finish to your desired fluffiness. If you want to pile sky high on avocado toast, who's stopping you? 

And then just because I happened to have a pretty gradient of grape tomatoes, I made another toast on hummus. Come to think of it, I could have combined everything into one deliciously massive towering architectural wonder.
Architoastual wonder.
Next time!
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Mac and Cheese Bento

I put roasted grape tomatoes on top of today's (whole wheat) mac and cheese to add a little color and also to check out these super cute new leaf picks from Modes4u. I think they are meant to be radish, tomato, and some kind of sprout leaf tops. So creative and fun!

Also in our Lunchbots Trio: little pita triangles topped with protein-rich nutrition, kiwi and the ever-present (as long as they're in season which I hope is at least another month) blood oranges.

Happy Bento-ing! 😊❤🍱

Toast Of The Day: Mushroom Swiss!

Okay, okay, it's not really toast. But it's an open faced bagelwich so that's what counts here. 

I absolutely loved the confluence of flavors here.

First I melted the swiss onto the bagel half, then lay some dandelion greens atop. After frying the mushrooms on the stovetop until crispy-ish, I piled them on, followed by pickled cabbage and radish sprouts, two ingredients which added tang.

The only issue I had was the toppings falling off such that maybe next time I might consider putting the swiss on top to act as a glue of sorts. But if I did that I would sacrifice the pleasing aesthetics of the overall structure, which really comprises a large part of the appeal of this toast series for me. Also, it might have benefited from something lightly sweet. Maybe.

Besides that, this was a definite winner of a "toast."

😊❤🍱

Baked Spaghetti Bento

Quick and simple one using leftovers from last night's dinner of baked spaghetti and steamed broccoli, including cheese blossoms, strawberries, cottage cheese topped with sunflower seeds and more blossoms cut from Okinawan sweet potato. Have a great Thursday friends!

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Toast Of The Day: Artichoke Hearts!

Today's Artichoke Heart, Arugula & Purple Cream Cheese Toast idea came about after I read a recipe for marinating plain quartered artichoke hearts instead of buying the kind in those tiny jars. I used white wine vinegar and olive oil, as well as shallots, lemon slices and oregano. It came out tasting nothing like the jarred stuff, but still delicious!

Sure, you could eat it just as is, but why not make a fun toast with it? I used whole wheat pita again, schmeared cream cheese (into which I mashed a piece of steamed Okinawan purple sweet potato because, look how pretty!), scattered some arugula and piled on the home-marinated artichoke hearts.

Um, SO good!

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Happy Girls' Day Bento!

Happy Girls' Day and wishing all our little girls the happiness, strength, and good health to achieve their goals and make all their dreams come true!

We love you! 🥰

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Toast Of The Day: Beets!

I know it's not a bento but my toast was just so good today I had to share it. I got the idea for this one from the cookbook Umami Bomb by Raquel Pelzel. The bomb is provided by the caramelized onions. I think I'll be adding it to all my meals from now on.

On this whole wheat pita: no salt cottage cheese, caramelized onions with thyme, pea sprouts, chopped beets, cracked black pepper.

Perfect. You should try this combo! 😊❤🍱