Halloween Spidery Rollups Bento

Halloween Spidery Rollups Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Halloween Spider bento number 2: This one is for TinySprite again. I used the divided 4-compartment plastic tupperware-like container. I made tortilla ham spinach cheese rollups and cut them to fit in one section. There are strawberries and grapes next to those, a cup of pickled cucumbers, sliced white peaches, corn-off-the-cob, and a purple sweet potato spider. She loves this kind of lunch! It doesn't involve any cooking at all, so it works for me too. Yay!

Deconstructed Fish Tacos LunchBot Quad Bento

Deconstructed Fish Tacos LunchBot Quad Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

We've done the deconstructed fish taco many times before. This one is pan-fried snapper seasoned with lemon pepper. I packed it with cheesy tortilla strips, homemade tartar sauce (in container; just yogurt with sweet relish), a cabbage tomato onion green onion salad, and a selection of cherries and strawberry. I find that presenting the food like this, in the LunchBot Quad, works better than actual fish tacos because she's still at the stage where everything always falls out of the tortilla, causing quite a bit of frustration. Here she eats everything individually, without incident (or tears). Yay!

Easter Bunny Pals Deconstructed Fish Tacos LunchBot Bento

Easter Bunny Pals Deconstructed Fish Tacos LunchBot Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's bento is deconstructed fish tacos in the LunchBots Trio. I've packed fish tacos like this before (here and here and here and here), because there's no good way to pack fish and salsa inside a tortilla without everything getting soggy and falling apart. In fact, I'd rather just omit the tortilla altogether, but the kids love their bready carbs, so I added two bunny shaped tortilla pieces in this one to appease them (and make it count as an Easter bento as well. Score!). I put the fried snapper on a bed of spinach in one compartment, with the cabbage tomato onion orange pepper slaw next to it. The last section holds strawberries, sliced steamed Okinawan sweet potato, and carrots. In case you didn't notice the Easterness right away, the little chickies should give it away. Happy Easter! ^__^

Chili Pi Day LunchBots Bento

Chili Pi Day Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Happy Pi (π) Day! Tomorrow is 3-14. Pi is the Greek symbol used to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, which is approximately 3.14159. To celebrate, I topped MisterMan's chili LunchBots thermal bowl with a handcut tortilla pi. Too bad it started curling up, but you get the idea. I made this chili with the usual goodies, including ground turkey, black beans, barley, zucchini, carrots, celery and tomatoes. The side box holds the other usuals: grapes, strawberry, mandarin and pickled cukes. I also made a blackberry pie to celebrate; or should I say blackberry pi?

Ham 'n Cheese Rollup Bento

Ham 'n Cheese Rollup Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Thanks for all the bento enthusiasm (benthusiasm)! Let's try to get the bento excitement going now that the new year has started. And with that, let me share with you a bento that requires even less cooking than yesterday's... All right, I'm a little slow in getting up to bento par. But still the kiddies have to eat, so luckily there's always a rollup option! Today's rollups are wrapped in multigrain tortillas smeared with cream cheese and layered with nitrite-free ham and organic baby spinach. Sliced in half to fit into this cute Sistema duo box, and stuck with girlie bow picks, it's a winner for TinySprite. The built-in divider keeps the other stuff separate: carrots, broccoli, tomato, blue- and blackberries, and a satsuma. Do you see the smiley face? I hope it brings a matching smile to my lil girl's face too. ^__^

Hello Kitty Fishcakes Bento

Hello Kitty Fishcakes Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

TinySprite gets two fish and rice cakes (made with brown rice, cod, quinoa, green onion, cilantro, salt and pepper). I might add an egg to bind these better next time. I made balls, then flattened and pan-fried them to a crispy finish. No bread crumbs or wheat of any kind. You might also include tartar sauce, or plain yogurt mixed with sweet pickle relish, which is what we sometimes use. I topped hers with a corn tortilla Hello Kitty with nori and carrot face and a radish bow. To the side she has carrots, strawberries and blackberries.

Wraps Friends Bento and Corndog Minimuffins

Round Wraps Friends Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

A cute little bento for TinySprite in the round enamelware bowl with transparent lid I got from Daiso. It also comes in a square shape, and as nesting sets as well. These are a nice alternative to the stainless steel side boxes I usually use, and I like the clean white effect. Here I used four colorful silicone cups to keep things separate: chicken-lettuce-cheddar wraps in whole wheat tortillas, carrots, strawberries and grapes. I also tossed a couple of corndog minimuffins in her bento bag for snacktime. I made a batch of these cuties for MisterMan to take to school for his Valentine party (I found the recipe here), but of course I had to use chicken-apple sausages instead of hot dogs. They taste pretty good, if not exactly like corndogs. Fun idea though! Hope you all had a fun and enjoyable Valentines' Day with your loved ones. XO to you!

Hummus Rollup Bento

Hummus Rollup Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

What's that? Didn't we just have rollups? Um, yes. I wish I had taken a cross-section photo of this one to show you the goodies inside. I smeared a whole wheat tortilla with homemade hummus (I made mine pretty thick so it would act as a sticky spread rather than a runny dip), added shredded baby spinach, caramelized onions, roasted red pepper strips and rolled the baby up. I stuck a few cute picks to hold it in place, but as it turns out, this sushi box accomodates the rollup perfectly. How's that for multipurposing? I tucked a few steamed peapods on the sides and topped with Okinawan sweet potato heart shapes. There's a strawberry, blackberries, carrots, broccoli, and sliced plum. These plums are nowhere near as sweet as the pluots of last month, but they'll have to do. And if you have been looking at my bentos for the past few years you'll know I never put these in: chocolate covered raisins! I couldn't resist. They fit so perfectly in the chopstick slot. What do you think?

Quesadilla Corn Salsa Bento

Quesadilla and Corn Salsa Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This was MisterMan's bento from last week. I didn't get a chance to post it then, but it turns out to be relevant for today's twittercornparty. How nice! I made some rolled corn tortilla "quesadillas" which I love to use this LunchBot for (since they fit so perfectly), and made some black bean, tomato, corn and cilantro salsa on the side. I tucked a couple of carrots in the lettuce cup as well. The delicious fruit section contains ultra-juicy cantaloupe, super-juicy pluots and fresh local cherries. Okinawan sweet potato "fish" add colorful decor to the bland tortillas. I attached the little fish to the tortilla with rice sticks through their eyes.

For our twittercornparty I made a variation on Fu Fu balls, which are a traditional West African (and Caribbean) staple made usually from steamed plantains or yams. I made mine using Japanese sweet potato (satsumaimo), cornmeal and fresh corn kernels off the cob. After steaming and mashing the imo, I added cornmeal mush until I got the consistency I liked. I stirred in the corn kernels, and added butter, salt, and parmesan to taste. I shaved some parmesan on top too. Voila!

Hey, I just realized this is a Meatless Monday bento. Maybe I'll try to make a habit of it? Happy Monday ^_^

Deconstructed Taco Bento

Deconstructed Taco Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The last bento of the week is a fun one for my second-grader: deconstructed tacos -- which means he can put them together as he chooses at lunchtime. Since he's usually a classic deconstructive eater (pulling toppings off pizza, opening sandwiches to eat layers separately, etc.), I have a gut feeling he'll eat each ingredient individually. Sigh. Whatever! I guess that's his prerogative. Along with wrapped tortillas (with a dinosaur cheese design), he can choose from: turkey taco meat, lettuce, and pico de gallo. There's also a cup of yogurt with wheat germ (this condiment cup comes with a sealing lid), a strawberry, some blackberries, cherries and chopped oranges. This large two-tier stainless steel tiffin-style bento container comes in handy for meals like this one. The layers and lid close tightly with a double latch. It's sturdy and tough. Just like my boy ^_^

Kalua Pork Carnitas Taco Bento

Kalua Pork Carnitas Taco Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

We're on day two of the kalua pork now (here's day one plus the recipe/method for making slow-cooker kalua pork), so I thought I would change it up and make carnitas tacos for the kids. Actually, they're deconstructed, so he'll make them himself (if he so chooses). For carnitas, I just pan-fried the pork so it gets nice and crispy. You could add garlic and lime juice if you like. I tucked some into one of the compartments of the Lunchbot Trio, along with a cup of pico de gallo (just chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, garlic powder and lime). If you like it spicy you can add chili peppers but I omitted them for the kids. There are a few pieces of lettuce he can use in his tortillas, which just happen to fit perfectly in the long section. I was so happy to see that! Finally, he gets the usual strawberry, blackberries and chopped cara cara oranges for a sweet snack afterwards. A few purple carrot flower shapes brighten it all up. No fuss bento idea number two from the same meal. Gotta love that :o)

Breakfast Taco Bento

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Breakfast Taco Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento arose from an idea amongst some twitter pals to have a virtual taco party; a #TwitterTacoParty. The idea was for everyone to come up with a taco meal with their own unique twist, then post and share it. Fun, right? There were lots of interesting and tasty-looking tacos floating around the twitterverse tonight, let me tell ya! I chose to make a breakfast taco, since who doesn't like breakfast for lunch? I used a whole wheat tortilla and stuffed with shredded cabbage, crispy soyrizo, fried egg, grated sharp cheddar, diced onion and tomato, sliced avocado and cilantro. I folded the large size round into a pocket and then folded down the top so that hopefully my boy can hold and eat with minimal spillage. I filled in the rest of the space with a rainbow of late summer tomatoes, and decorated the tortilla with some gingko leaves to add a touch of Fall. He also gets steamed broccoli and purple cauliflower, a star-cut radish, some watermelon wedges, a strawberry and red grapes.

Thanks to my twitter pals for giving me a bento idea along with a fun dinner "party"! If you want to follow along, come and join us. The more the merrier. Party on!

Mouse Wraps Tiffin Bento

Mouse Wraps Tiffin Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

This bento is another example of no-cook bento. I just realized that I have posted several no-cook bento lunches in the past few weeks, possibly due to the hectic nature of back-to-school and the feeling of having no time as we transition back into the school routine. Sound familiar? It's a good idea to have a series of no-cook bento ideas to fall back on in times like this, just in case you find yourself too busy or tired or maybe you just forgot to go grocery shopping in time. Oh, that's just me? Oops. Anyway, we'd just got back from a Labor Day weekend out of town, and I wasn't in the mood to cook anything after unpacking and all in the 80F heat. So my boy got turkey dog rollups with cheddar, spinach, roasted red peppers, and baby dills in a whole wheat tortilla. I cut it into three pieces and held the wraps together with leaf picks. Then, as I was looking at the three cross-sections, I noticed they looked like little faces with pickle ears, so I decided to add some nori faces. I put the fruit assortment into a stainless steel cup (strawberries, grapes, rasp- and blueberries), then filled in the gaps with steamed broccoli and little baby tomatoes. I also stuck in two tri-color (pink, purple and orange) carrot skewers; I think they look so pretty just aligned together like that. No need to even cut shapes with them. I put everything in my round stainless steel tiffin, which always seems so cool during the hot days. This one comes with a top, shallow tier but I left it out and the lid fastens on perfectly well without it. Score! Totally love this box a lot!

Bean & Rice Wrap Bento

Bean & Rice Wrap Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today, since TinySprite has been stuck at home with congestion, I decided to do some cleaning. As a result I came across a bunch of photocopies I made several months ago of a bunch of lunch ideas. Wow, and on a day that I was putting off bento planning -- perfect! First on the list: Things to put in a tortilla wrap. Great!

So here's today's bento: black beans, black rice, soytaco, spinach, cilantro, green onions, and cheddar cheese. All folded into a whole wheat tortilla and cut in half. I didn't make a "roll" because if I leave the ends open, my boy will pick it up and half the fillings will just slide out the other end. But if I fold up the bottom, then fold in the sides, it makes a little pocket that he can eat more easily. To fill in this box I added a piece of steamed broccoli, some carrots, grape tomatoes and peapods. On the fruit side I was able to squeeze in a strawberry, a sliced kiwi and a couple grapes. This box is the Pokemon one, and it's super cute, but sometimes a challenge to fit everything in. After I took the shot, I lay the 2 halves down flat and put the tomatoes over on the fruit side.

I was so happy that the sun decided to make an appearance for my photo! Makes for a much nicer shot than the dreary ones I have been taking lately..