Breakfast (Buddha) Bowl

I've always wanted to make a Buddha Bowl. You've seen the pictures: beautifully photogenic bowls of exotic ingredients painstakingly prepared with complicated dressings and perfectly scattered nibbles on top. Here's how Wiki defines Buddha Bowl:

A Buddha bowl is a vegetarian meal, served on a single bowl or high-rimmed plate, which consists of small portions of several foods, served cold. These may include whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice, plant proteins such as chickpeas or tofu, and vegetables.

Huh. Turns out I've been making Buddha Bowls for years. In fact, since my kids were little, they've always eaten their meals in bowls. And a good number of those have been vegetarian. Maybe because they watch me? I almost always eat my meals in bowls. Or maybe because it's quicker for them to pile the food in a deep vessel for efficiency.

Anyway, I digress. I'm happy to post my first Buddha Bowl here. It was delish. 😊

In bowl: I mixed beet juice with plain Greek yogurt. It sounds weird but it's tasty! Try it. I also sometimes toss in sunflower seeds, other types of nuts, even nut butters.

Happy Boys' Day Bento

Growing up in Hawaii, we called it Boys' Day - Tango no Sekku - (Girls' Day is in March) but it has evolved to Children's Day - Kodomo no Hi - since then. However, since I made one for TinySprite on Girls' Day, I'm making one for MisterMan now. His features a boy with a koi that symbolizes strength and determination as it swims upstream. 👦🏻🎏

In the bento: meatloaf, mixed grain rice, asparagus, carrots, raspberries, cara cara oranges, apple and cheese. Happy Boys' Day!

Planetbox Sandwich Bento

I don't know why, but Planetbox Rover seems to scream sandwich bento! to me. Today, at least. It has a nice big compartment for it, and even though it's a square, I'm putting a baguette in there, because that's how I do it. It's a sardine sandwich, and before you judge, listen: it's packed in harissa, covered in melted cheese, and laying on a whole wheat sweet French roll. The lettuce underneath he'll pack between the bread right before eating, so it doesn't get all soggy. It's good! Besides that, he gets super ripe strawberries, cara cara orange, homegrown kadota fig, tomatoes, carrots, cinnamon yogurt, and tiny bear cookies (because they fit in that little space perfectly!). Yum!

  

Skewers of Sausage, Mushrooms and Peppers Bento

My first bento of the year, and it's a quick and easy one. I pan-fried an all-natural preservative- and nitrite-free chicken sausage alongside some halved mushrooms and chopped red capsicum. Little skewers make it fun to eat with little fingers. I added greenery with a few green lettuce and pickled cucumbers. Everything fits perfectly in my LunchBots Clicks. This box is stainless steel with a translucent plastic airtight locking lid; I love that it's easy for kids to open and close, and adds security for those lunchbag-swingers. I also put some sliced cara cara oranges in a round EcoDippers side box along with a cup of pepitas and chocolate raisins. This bento will go to school with TinySprite. Let's see if it comes home empty^__^

Children's Day (こどもの日 Kodomo no Hi) Fish Slaw Bento

Children's Day (こどもの日 Kodomo no Hi) Fish Slaw Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Happy Children's Day! Okay, it's not until the 5th of May, but since that falls on a Sunday, we'll be celebrating it today. I made kind of a deconstructed fish taco (but without the tortilla), which kind of falls in with Cinco de Mayo too. Yay! I pan-fried snapper and served it with a fresh cold cabbage slaw which was tossed with shredded carrots, onions, cucumbers, and rice vinegar with a sprinkling of sugar. I also made a tomato cara cara orange salsa. A cup of mango completes the tropical feel. Along the pickled red onion there are some cucumber koi nobori (carp) to go with the cheese nori boy with his Okinawan sweet potato hat. A couple of big strawberries fill out the box. I know it's "Children's Day", but when I was a kid we called it Boy's Day (and there's a Girls' Day to balance in March), and so this one is for my MisterMan. Hope he likes it!