Salmon and Veggie Yumbox Bento

This bento might not look that pretty, but it's full of good stuff. The compartmentalized box is practical for those times when you happen to have a bunch of this and that to pack for lunch. You ever have days like those?

Furikake salmon pasta, veggie hash with celery, bell pepper, and butternut squash, cucumber tomato salad with pickled red onions, strawberries and cottage cheese with granola. A few chocolate raisins finish out this Yumbox. Have a yummy day!

Chicken and Broccoli Lunchbots Bento

The comfort food of my childhood shows up often in my bentomaking as an adult. How coincidental that chicken and rice is a prime combo for bento. It's delicious hot, cold, or room temp😊❣

Today's Lunchbots Clicks contain: shoyu chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, furikake rice, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, tomatoes.

Ghost Buddies Egg Bento

Happy Halloween!

Two halves of a single hard-boiled egg become a pair of ghost buddies in TinySprite's Halloween bento today. She also gets furikake shoyu chicken (surprise!) and furikake rice. Broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, steamed Okinawan sweet potatoes, and a miniature mandarin round out the rest of the square Ecolunchbox Solo Cube.

Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki Bento

I used a different recipe for teriyaki chicken - this one uses crushed pineapple, honey, shoyu, garlic, and ginger, and involved marinating the chicken pieces before oven baking. I'm not a fan of cooked pineapple in sauces but the kids liked it a lot. I guess because of the added sweetness in the flavor. Also packed in our LunchBots Quad: sweet cantaloupe, steamed Okinawan Sweet Potato, fresh corn, grape tomatoes, rice with furikake.

Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki Recipe 

(from Weelicious Cookbook adapted by Steamy Kitchen)

Ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)

Directions:

1. To make the teriyaki sauce, place the crushed pineapple, soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic a bowl, whisk to combine. Pour half of the teriyaki sauce in a resealable plastic bag and reserve the other half. Place the chicken breasts in the resealable bag, close and give it a good massage to coat with the marinade. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to overnight.

2. When ready to cook, turn on the broiler and place the rack in the middle position. Place the marinated chicken breasts on a foil-lined baking sheet and spoon some of the chunky pineapple/ginger from the marinade on top of the breast. It will help keep the chicken moist. Broil for 8 to 10 minutes on each side, for a total of 16-20 minutes. Discard any remaining marinade in the bag.

3. While the chicken is broiling, heat the reserved teriyaki sauce (that you had previously set aside in step 1) in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes or until thickened slightly.

4. When chicken is done, Slice the chicken, pour the teriyaki sauce over top and serve immediately.

Salmon Salad LunchBots Bento

I made salted salmon (shiozake) to serve over baby lettuce greens in a simple salad for my kids' bento today. Since we still have fresh corn, I added fresh cooked corn off the cob as well. The salmon has flavor enough to make this small portion quite tasty. And since she loves them, I also pan fried some potato wedges and sprinkled with furikake in the next section. In the last section of our well-used LunchBots Trio I placed sliced elephant heart pluots (I think this may be our last batch of the season. So sad! I love these sweet dark red fruit very much) and carrots to round out the bento. The lid stays on well enough to keep everything separate for them come lunchtime. Perfect!

Furikake Salmon and Potatoes LunchBots Bento

It's one of my go-to, super simple salmon preparations; today featuring kewpie and furikake. I also tossed some baby potato wedges into the pan since it was already hot, and sprinkled furikake on those too. You can't see it too well, but I packed the salmon over quinoa inside the lettuce cup for added protein. She also gets a tiny satsuma mandarin, carrots, and strawberries inside the LunchBots Quad. Happy Wednesday!

Salmon, Potatoes and Asparagus LunchBots Bento

Salmon, Potatoes and Asparagus LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I haven't used the LunchBots Clicks in awhile, and I really should because I love them. Not only are they stainless steel, but they come with leak-proof translucent lids. You can see what's inside and there's no chance of anything dripping out. How awsome is that? And they are the perfect size for the kids' lunch bento. Here I've packed TinySprite's omega-3-rich salmon furikake in one box, alongside some roasted baby potatoes sprinkled with garlic powder and pencil asparagus. The other (slightly shallower) box contains sliced peaches, pickled cucumbers and pickled red onions. I think this bento is just about the right amount for my chatty girl. She can manage to get everything eaten and still have time to run around outside with her little pals before settling down for the afternoon session of 1st grade. Did your kids settle back into the routine without problems? I think my girl is having a bit of trouble remembering what it means to sit still and be *quiet* during class time >.<

Herby Chicken Lunchbots Bento

Herby Chicken Lunchbots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Here's the last bento for the week: and it's good old chicken and rice. I loved this combo when I was a kid, and my kids kind of do too, minus the rice. Sigh. But I find that they will grudgingly eat rice with furikake (and also in hot dog maki, fried rice, sticky rice, or jook), so I put a cup of it in here. This rice is black rice and pearl barley. I disguised it as a cupcake with a tomato "cherry". The chicken is just garlicky herbes de provence olive oil chicken, oven baked. I made more kale chips tonight, which didn't survive for bento extras. The rest of the LunchBot Trio holds a variety of pickled stuff, carrots, cherries, strawberry and baby peach. Oh, and a broccoli tree. Have a great day!

Shoyu Chicken Furikake Rice Sistema Bento

Shoyu Chicken Furikake Rice Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The dual compartment leakproof Sistema click box makes this ordinary bento stand out: with TinySprite's favorite shoyu chicken and furikake rice (with broccoli and tomatoes) on one side, and pickled cukes + red onions, strawberry and grapes on the other. Don't let the compact nature of this box fool you; it actually holds 630ml. If I were in the habit of taking bento with me, I think I would love to tote this one around. In addition to providing a bit of separation, it also allows visual appreciation through the translucent top and sides. Cute, right? If they ever come out with a 3- or 4-compartment box, you know I'll be all over it too. ^__^

Hinamatsuri Girls Day Bento

Hinamatsuri Girls Day Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

March 3rd is Girls' Day, which falls on Sunday this year, so I made this bento for my TinySprite to enjoy tomorrow. See some of my other Girls' Day bento here and here and here). Along with her favorite shoyu chicken and furikake rice, there's a broccoli tree, the current double obsessions of pickled cucumbers and red onions, and some carrot sticks in the big stainless steel-lined cutie pie box. The smaller, divided box holds her hard boiled egg Hello Kitty girl (decorated with radish ears, nori eyes, carrot nose and soba whiskers), strawberry kimono, radish "fan", tomatoes and carrots. Next to her are a pile of blackberries and blueberries. It's a celebration of cute girlishness and I think she'll love it. Happy Girls' Day to all the girls out there! ^__^

Shoyu Vinegar Chicken LunchBot Trio Bento

Shoyu Vinegar Chicken LunchBot Trio Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The shoyu chicken I grew up with includes just shoyu, sugar, ginger, and garlic. I recently added a new twist to the sauce when I found a recipe that used honey instead of sugar. That turned out to be a big hit. This time I decided to try the version I saw on David Lebovitz' site, which uses vinegar and shoyu together. Hmm. The caramelized shallots are supposed to add some sweetness to the mix. I thought it was nice, but I think the flavor is probably not as appealing to kids. Mine seemed to like it enough, but I think they prefer the other versions. Along with some chicken pieces in this LunchBot Trio: steamed Okinawan sweet potato flower shapes, red rice with furikake, carrots and pickles, melons and cara cara orange chunks.
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Roast Chicken with Caramelized Shallots (from David Lebovitz)

Adapted from French Farmhouse Cookbook (Workman) by Susan Herrmann Loomis

I use a whole chicken cut into eight pieces; two legs, two thighs, and I cut each breast piece in half, crosswise, keeping the wings attached. You could also just use eight of your favorite chicken pieces.

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 large shallots, peeled and minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
One whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
one generous handful of coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC).

2. In a large baking dish, one which will hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer, mix the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, shallots, and some salt and pepper.

3. Toss the chicken in the mixture, so they’re completely coated with the shallots. Turn the chicken pieces so they are all skin side up.

4. Roast the chicken for about twenty minutes, until it starts to brown on top. Turn the pieces of chicken over. Scrape any juices and shallots over the chicken that may be clinging to the pan, and bake for another twenty minutes, or until the pieces of chicken are cooked through and the shallots are well-caramelized.

5. Remove from oven and toss in the chopped parsley, then serve.

Added to What's For Lunch.

Rudolph the Quail Egg Christmas Chicken and Rice Bento

Rudolph the Quail Egg Christmas Chicken and Rice Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The nights around here are getting pretty chilly -- down in the 30s -- calling for some comfort food to warm up the bones during the day. I made a big pot of Vietnamese soy chicken drumsticks (method and recipe here). Even though I grew up with shoyu chicken, and the Hawaiian version was a childhood favorite of mine, I really love the distinct taste of this version. I think it might be the fish sauce that gives it that extra flavor punch. Or maybe it's the black pepper. In any case, I'm hooked. I made this batch on the stovetop, and it doesn't take more than an hour to get nice and fall-off-the-bone tender. I packed some in the apple box atop some furikake rice and some broccoli steamed in the same pot. Chicken and rice. It's delicious hot, cold, room temperature, whatever. You know what I mean? The top layer holds a satsuma mandarin, the ever-present sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers, a smattering of blackberries, and a shoyu-dyed quail egg Rudolph. It's Christmas, after all!

Grilled Furikake Chicken LunchBots Quad Bento

Grilled Furikake Chicken LunchBots Quad Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I felt like using the cute LunchBot Quad today because the divided sections are so handy it almost fills itself. I simply grilled some chicken, sliced into bite-size pieces, lay them in one section side by side, and sprinkled with sodium-free, MSG-free furikake. Next, I cut some garlic-roasted baby asparagus for the next section, and added a couple of grape tomatoes and a flower-shaped steamed Okinawan sweet potato. A third section got tiny silicone cups of homemade sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers (and a carrot), and in the last section I squeezed some watermelon cubes and a peeled satsuma mandarin. See what I mean? You've seen all these components in my bento before; some of them happen to be stocked regularly in my fridge for an easy go-to. TinySprite's kindergarten appetite is fairly small, so a few items of each food group will just about fill her up. The Quad is ideal for this purpose; love it!

Balsamic Vinegar Sesame Chicken Lunchbots Bento

Balsamic Vinegar Sesame Chicken Lunchbots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Chicken and rice, chicken and rice... la la la la laaaa... Is there any more that needs to be said? Well, all right; I'll say a little more. This is the balsamic vinegar sesame recipe I got from Maki at Just Bento, except I used a shoyu substitute and kept it sweeter and less vinegary. I made it before here. It gets divided treatment in this Lunchbots Trio, in a bed of lettuce by itself, next to a cup of furikake rice, homegrown cherry sunsugar tomatoes, and steamed Okinawan sweet potatoes. Peaches and berries round out this plain jane basic lunch bento. I've resolved to start with the Halloween bento next week. For sure I'll be able to get in at least a week of spooky scary creepy bento! Or at least a few cute jack-o-lantern ones. Those are my favorite!

Furikake Mahimahi in Panda Bento

Furikake Mahimahi Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

We try to eat fish at least once a week, but it seems I've been slacking off here, since (scrolling down) I don't see any fish in my photostream lately. When I saw this nice mahimahi at the market I thought it would be a nice change from the usual salmon (although I love salmon). I cut the fillet into smallish pieces, then pan-fried in butter (olive oil is good too). At the end, I sprinkled some furikake on all sides. I've also made this using kewpie mayo, smearing the fish with it and then sprinkling the furikake and frying. This works, but the furikake might burn if you fry too long. For TinySprite's bento, I tossed a few pieces atop hapa rice, stuck a few carrots on the sides and topped with fish-shaped Okinawan sweet potato. A couple of fish skewers completes the theme. The top tier holds berries, radish and cucumber. Just sprite-sized. ^_^

Little Tebasaki Drummettes Bento

Little Tebasaki Drummettes Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I haven't made tebasaki (salt grilled chicken wings) in a long time, and the kids love it (see the method and recipe here). Usually I use a mix of drums and wings, or the entire wing, but I could only find the drummettes this time. They're kid- and bento-sized, and I was happy to see them fit in this box so perfectly. I made TinySprite a little rice "cupcake" with furikake and a baby radish "cherry", plus some lightly steamed broccoli and purple carrots on a skewer. The removable container holds more carrots, a few homegrown tomatoes, pluots, and a little Okinawan sweet potato bear shape. Just right!

Salmon and Chick Bento

Salmon and Chick Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

You've seen this one before, like my kids too. So now when I make a salmon bento I feel like I have to put something extra special in here so it's not quite so ordinary. I try to feed my family salmon (or other fish) at least once a week. Luckily everyone loves fish so it's not a problem. There are lots of sauces you can make to prepare salmon, but I like the simple preparation best. I used to like misoyaki, but we're cutting out soy. Butteryaki, lemon dill and pesto are other good choices, and you can also slather the fish with kewpie mayo, sprinkle some furikake and pan-fry. I've been trying to add rice to TinySprite's bento since she's wheat-free these days, and she's not a big fan, but the furikake helps. I use an MSG-free variety. I added corn off the cob, and made her a hard-boiled beet-dyed egg decorated as a chick with nori and cute picks. She's a HUGE egg fan, by the way. The other side of this Daytrippers box contains pluots, strawberry, raspberries and blackberries. I hope she finds it delightful!

Salmon and Lil' Mouse Bento

Salmon and Mouse Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This week's salmon and rice format is packed in a newish two-tier strawberry shapes bento set from Daiso; so cute right? And only $1.50; you can't beat that. The only problem is that it's just a tad bit big, so I think the salmon layer probably moved around a bit by lunchtime. TinySprite gets red rice and salmon with furikake kabocha, a little cup of steamed corn off the cob, and a cute radish mouse. The lower tier contains white peach slices, cherries, blueberries and homegrown sunsugar and yellow pear tomatoes. Simple but satisfying.

Salmon in a Forest Bento

Salmon Forest Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Another TinySprite bento: this one comprised of our weekly standard salmon and rice. I used cajun spices which I mostly rubbed off of TS's portion. It fit nicely into the curve of this box, which is why I chose it. I packed furikake rice on the side, and topped with a broccoli tree, sweet potato flower shapes, and a mushroom-shaped radish. Fruit sides include: homegrown sunsugar cherry tomato, peach pie donut peach, blueberries, baby white homegrown peach, and dark red cherries. One of my favorite go-to, easy-make bento for a carefree summer day. Don't you just love those? ^_^

Chicken and Rice Lunchbots Trio Bento

Chicken and Rice Lunchbots Trio Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This is the first time I packed TinySprite's bento in the Lunchbot Trio, I think. It doesn't look too big because the separate sections keep things compact. There's furikake rice and shoyu chicken in one section, carrots, broccoli, corn and strawberries in another, and some cherries, blueberries and a soft ripe apricot in the last part. A few cute picks make it nice and girlish, in case she tried insisting it's a boy's box. Looks like bunnies galore in this photo, doesn't it? ^_^