First Day of School LunchBots Bento!

First Day of School Bento!, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Hi there everyone!! We're back from summer vacation and all ready to tackle another school year. MisterMan is in 5th grade, and TinySprite is now in 1st grade. Over the summer, MisterMan had been preparing bento for himself and his sister for their summer programs. Today, I put out the empty bento boxes and guess what? TinySprite asked if she could put the food inside. She arranged the fruit and veggie side sections for both of them, and her brother did the rest. With all this teamwork, maybe I can retire as head blogger at Happy Little Bento and turn the reins over to the kiddos! I wonder when he can start cooking dinner for us...? I made a quick and easy dinner for us, consisting of colorful veggie pasta, pan-fried nitrite-free chicken sausage, and steamed corn. They added shredded cheese and spinach toppings. The other side holds two color grapes, cherries, tomatoes, and pickled baby cucumbers. All packed up in the LunchBots Duo. I got so much mileage out of this box over the summer; I think my boy took it every single day. He can fill it easily, there are only two pieces to keep track of, no latches to break, and after school he even washes it for the next day's use. I sure got spoiled this summer. Let's see how this coming school year shapes up!

Tacorice LunchBot Bento

Tacorice LunchBot Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's tacorice isn't packed in a bowl for once; I thought I'd change it up, and the LunchBots Duo fits the bill perfectly. One side holds red and white rice topped with taco meat, chopped tomatoes and lettuce, grated cheese and a steamed Okinawan sweet potato heart shape. Other side is divided by silicone cups for: strawberries, pickled cucumbers, and blueberries. We ate this at dinner with tableside guacamole and tortilla chips. Yum!

Mabo Tofu Balloon Bears LunchBots Bento

Mabo Tofu Bear LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today the kids get ma bo tofu (see the basic recipe and method I use here), but I added in chopped baby bok choy just because I'm green like that. I sometimes add in pickled mustard greens too, just because I like the sour taste! But I omitted that this time. This batch includes scallions but excludes the spicy bean paste (TS won't abide it) and is layered over white/brown rice in my LunchBots Duo. The built-in divider keeps the mabo sauce separate from the rest of the goodies: black- and blueberries, a very-not-sweet plum, some carrots and a little Okinawan sweet potato star. I reserved some tofu to cut out little bear shapes with nori faces, and gave them a grape tomato balloon to play with. Aww so cute!

Twin Bunnies Bean Burger Bento

Twin Bunnies Bean Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's bento is one for my wheat-free daughter. I made black bean burgers using the basic recipe I used here, but substituting garbanzo beans with black beans. I also used black rice to keep the color scheme. She's used to eating burgers "protein-style" (wrapped in lettuce leaves instead of on a bun), so I could've served it that way in her bento with no problem. You could layer a slice of homegrown tomato and grilled onions on top as well, but I chose to pack a double patty in here instead, in lettuce, alongside a silicone cup of homemade peach salsa. Peach salsa: have you had this? I've never tried making a salsa with peach and was dubious, but it is delicious. I diced some ripe peaches, tomatoes, sweet peppers and tossed with sweet corn. Refreshing, and it just screams "Summer!" I topped the burgers with cheese bunnies with nori faces, and the other side of the LunchBot Duo contains grapes, pluots and baby sweet strawberries. ^_^