Rilakkuma Bear Burger Bento

Bear Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I should have shown you the turkey burgers I made! They're in there, I promise. I mixed in shredded zucchini and carrot along with ground turkey, onion, garlic, pepper, and... Worcestershire sauce! And ketchup. It came out pretty good, I think. I melted cheddar on them and then laid them on whole wheat sandwich thins with garden lettuce. Of course I had to make Rilakkuma's face on there. His ears are roasted sweet potato (I also made sweet potato fries along with dinner), and his face is made of white cheddar and nori. On the side, MisterMan has sliced pluots, garden orange sunsugar tomatoes, and grapes. And a little Rilakkuma fork. Awwws!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Lil' Sandwich Rollups EcoLunchBox Bento

Sandwich Rollups EcoLunchBox Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Even though my kids usually eat the "dinner leftovers" type of bento quite often, they are just like all other kids and love the bitesize sandwich rollups too (maybe even more). My kindergartner always prefers to eat with her fingers so a bento like this is a hit with her. Since there isn't anything saucy to drip out, a bento like this is ideal for the EcoLunchBox Solo Cube. I secure it with an elastic band and it's good to go. Besides the whole wheat spinach brie and turkey rollups (I flattened the bread with a rolling pin first), I packed a cabbage onion tomato slaw, a cup of juicy cantaloupe, a strawberry, and some blueberries. This will just about satisfy her appetite, I think!

Rilakkuma Bear Burger Bento

Rilakkuma Bear Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Bear burger! This one has turkey and bison (combined because I wasn't sure how well the bison taste would go over), decorated with cheese and nori to make his face upon a spinach bed. There's homemade barbeque sauce in the little container, alongside carrots, strawberry and cinnamon sprinkled apple chunks. Easy peasy, and a hit with my meat-loving girl ^_^

Harry Potter Field Trip Bento

Harry Potter Field Trip Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It's another field trip bento, which means I hadn't posted a bento since a week ago. Since my 8 year old is currently obsessed with Harry Potter, I figured I should try to attempt a bento he'd really like. Unfortunately, I haven't read any of the books, so I guess I don't really "know" the character. I let him try to guess who this sandwich is supposed to be, and he gamely tried to humor me ("give me a few minutes, I can figure it out!"). He didn't, of course, and when I told him, the first thing he blurted out was "where's his scar?" Okay, I didn't know about the scar, so I ad-libbed quickly. "His hair is covering it up?" "Oh, okay. That's right, sometimes it's covered." Whereupon he lifted up the hair to look for it. Not finding it, he then made his own lightning bolt with carrot slivers to put under there. There's a couple of turkey cheese spinach sandwich thins, a red and yellow capsicum scarf, broccoli, plum (underneath), baby homegrown peaches, cherry, strawberry, and carrot. I used red cabbage, Okinawan sweet potato, carrot and turkey for his face. And why didn't I finish the glasses? I think I have to do a better one. And maybe I should read the book too. Have fun at your pool party field trip MisterMan!

4th of July Field Trip Bento

4th of July Field Trip Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I couldn't let this holiday go by without a theme bento, and it's even a field trip bento at that -- so I couldn't use my star or flag picks (or anything nondisposable). So I settled for as many stars as I could fit in this recycled plastic strawberry package. I hope he gets the theme I was going for! There's a turkey spinach cheese rollup in a whole wheat tortilla, a quail egg with a star cutout that cracked (darn!), some Okinawan sweet potato stars, carrots, broccoli, steamed corn on the cob, red pepper stars, radish, cherries, strawberries and blueberries. I wrapped it all up in wax paper, snapped the box closed, and packed it with a rubber band around it to prevent accidental opening due to excessive swingage. He's going to the Tech Museum for a day of science fun. Then, we've got the 4th off -- yippee! How are you celebrating? Hope you enjoy a wonderful 4th of July/Independence Day!

Chili Cornbread Bento

Chili Cornbread Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Continuing on with the gluten-free meals for TinySprite, she gets turkey bean chili with cornbread topping in her thermal bento. There's also a side box of grapes, carrots and a happy broccoli tree to go along. So far so good!

Mozza-Stuffed Turkeyballs Bento

Mozza-Stuffed Turkeyballs Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's bento contains mozzarella stuffed turkey meatballs (which also include grated zucchini, onion, oats and flax), over pasta and broccolini. To stuff, simply place a cube of mozzarella onto a flattened patty, then add a dab of meat on top and mold it around the cheese until it's completely enclosed. If it's not completely surrounded, you may get some oozing out during cooking. I served it with marinara sauce, but omitted the sauce for TinySprite's bento, as she's not a huge fan of tomato sauce. I decorated with mozzarella sakura flowers, and the rest of the bento contains strawberries, carrots and blackberries. This one was a big hit!

The Nutcracker Suite Bento

TinySprite as Little Fairy in The Nutcracker Suite a video by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

We're all done with the school bento for the year, but there is one more Christmas snack bento that I made for TinySprite to celebrate her ballet performance in her company's Nutcracker Suite ballet production. Here's a minute or so of their performance, if you're curious to take a look. For her bento, I made a little sandwich decorated with a Nutcracker and a Little Fairy (or Sugar Plum Fairy), with a few carrots, tomatoes and broccoli snuggled in there as well.

She's still in pre-ballet (as she is only 4 years old still), but she really, really enjoyed dancing the Little Fairy role again this year. And she has matured and become more graceful this year. (Okay, okay... but you should have seen her last year to appreciate that statement :) I don't dance ballet, so I'm not sure where she gets her passion for the art, but she loves this show a lot. She can watch it endlessly, and she knows all the dances, which she will perform whenever she hears the music. And I've had to watch and listen to it so many times that I think I can dance them all myself too! (Just kidding) ^_^

Added to What's For Lunch.

Thank you to Maki of Just Bento, for adding my quail egg snowman bento to her yearly Christmas bento roundup. If you're in the mood to see some creative and festive bento ideas, do take a look!

Chili Rice Panda Bowl Bento

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Chili Rice Bowl Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This was the result of my last crockpot meal: turkey chili with beans and vegetables. And this bento is MINE! I packed the two kids' lunches in their thermal jars in the morning, and didn't feel like taking the time to snap a picture. I don't know when the last time was that I made a bento for me, but I am going to start doing it more often. I used the cute panda bowl bento set, which is perfect for rice bowls. When I was a kid growing up, my favorite thing to get at Zippy's was chili rice. That's how you order it: chili rice. I loved it for a long time until someone told me you get a lot more chili if you order chili cracker instead. I can see the logic there. After all, there's only so much chili you can pour over a giant scoop of rice. So I switched to chili cracker, but I always loved chili over rice. So I made it for myself. This chili is so jam-packed with healthy stuff you practically get younger after you eat it. There's tomato, carrots, zucchini, kidney and black beans, ground turkey, onions, sweet peppers, and kale. I topped mine with grated cheddar and a sprinkling of cilantro. Really hits the spot on a brisk fall day, don't you think? And I prepared a fruit tier for myself too: fall pluots, cantaloupe balls and three raspberries. And I cleaned it all up!

Slow-Cooked Turkey Chili

1lb. ground turkey (or whatever meat you like, or you can omit this entirely)
2 cans kidney beans, black beans, white beans, or other beans of your choice
1 32-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 bunch kale, chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder (or 2 tsp, if you like)
salt, pepper

Brown the meat in a skillet and drain. Add to slow cooker along with all the other ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Garnish with cheese if desired.

Added to Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love.

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 ^_^

Panda Blueberry Egg Bento and Thai Chicken Bento

Panda Blueberry Egg Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

TinySprite has a finger foods bento again today. She still has that long-lingering cough, which I am hoping will clear up in a few days. Her appetite has been unpredictable lately. Some days she'll eat everything and ask for seconds, and other days it'll take her forever to finish. This afternoon she had eaten her entire lunch and even came home and scarfed up the leftover veggies from my lunch. Today I gave her a bento she can eat with her fingers (her preferred method): hard-boiled egg decorated as a panda with blueberries and nori, sauteed asparagus and kabocha, turkey skewer, steamed romanesco and yellow cauliflower, carrot sticks and blood oranges.

MisterMan has a more standard bento, including many of the same items, along with Thai chicken (not homemade), cherry tomatoes and a cup of yogurt with fresh blueberries and chopped blood oranges, dusted with toasted wheat germ. The cup (included with the EcoLunchBox) comes with a leakproof lid, making it perfect for sauces, gravies and.. yogurt.

Turkey Bento

Turkey Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Well, Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and I just realized I never made a single Thanksgiving bento. Hmm. I'll bet there'll be lots of turkey bentos AFTER Thanksgiving, though! So here's a "turkey" bento to celebrate the upcoming holiday and get us in the mood. Spinach ricotta ravioli decorated as turkeys with purple, yellow, pink and orange carrots. There are grapes, mandarins and watermelon radish shapes as well. The tiny yellow pear tomatoes are stragglers from my home garden. Can't believe they're still producing fruit, but I actually even have flowers still blooming on my slowly withering bush. Gobble gobble, and Happy Thanksgiving bento friends!

Tiger Asparagus Bento

Tiger Asparagus Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

This bento isn't made from leftovers, for once. I found baby asparagus in the grocery so I decided to make turkey asparagus rolls for my boy. He really loves to eat these, and my girl is the same. If you want to see your kids gobble down asparagus, you might think of offering it this way. I blanched the asparagus first, then wrapped and pan-fried. That's it. The salty flavoring from the bacon or other cured meat is enough to make the veggies nice and tasty. I've also wrapped spinach logs this way, and you'd be surprised how many vegetables kids can eat like this. Hapa Bento made a similar bento filler recently too, here, using ham. The next section has steamed broccoli and yellow corn, along with a few cute grape and pear tomatoes. For fruit he has mango plum and red grapes. I added a sweet potato tiger face, since it's such an easy way to add a cute detail (see previous bento, heh). Voila! A healthy, yummy bento in mere minutes. Just the way I like it :)

Mini Super Burgers Bento

Mini Burgers Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Around here the summerlike weather doesn't kick in until around lunchtime, so by the time dinner comes around we're feeling in the outdoor mode. We made sliders, or rather super turkey mini-burgers that I "improved" with all kinds of secret stuff! You can do the same. Use your favorite burger recipe -- mine uses turkey (or chicken), an egg, a splash of Worchestershire, crushed garlic, minced onion, a half cup of rolled oats -- and I mixed in finely grated carrot and not-so-finely chopped broccoli. Yes, broccoli! You can see the bits in the patties here if you look closely. I like chunky burgers, and the tiny broccoli pieces cook up nicely while the patties are frying or grilling. You can add any kind of veggies you like; whatever you have available in your fridge. If you serve with homemade barbeque sauce (ketchup, maple syrup, mustard powder, celery seeds, lemon juice to taste) your kids won't even notice. So good.

I put the patties on a lettuce leaf so he can tear and eat them in lettuce wraps (Protein Style), and I added a cherry tomato and yellow bell pepper butterfly along with carrot flowers. Fruit side has black grapes, a half plum, a half peach and a couple of lychee. Oh, and a bunch of forest friends, since otherwise it's a pretty dull-looking bento. Yay!

Turkey Bento

Turkey Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

This was the requisite leftover turkey bento! Did your leftovers make it to a lunch or two? Along with a few slices, I packed gravy in a yellow container, a little square of cornbread, potato croquette (not homemade), purple and yellow carrot skewer, pear tomatoes, satsuma mandarin, grapes (underneath), blackberries, raspberry and chocolate persimmon.

Have you ever seen this kind of persimmon? I've only seen it recently for the first time. It looks the same as a regular persimmon on the outside, but the flesh looks darker. Seems to taste quite similar to me. You might like to try it if you happen to see it at your local farmers market.

I find most of the unusual produce I use in my bento at the handful of farmers markets I try to explore each week. The food there is fresher, more recently harvested, and more genuinely delicious. Also, if you're not sure how to prepare something, the vendors are happy to share their suggestions with you -- an added bonus :)