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. ^__^

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..

Omelet Wrap Bento

Omelet Wrap Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Mushroom onion spinach omelet in whole wheat tortilla wrap with spring greens and avocado. Other veggies include: cucumber, sweet potato, purple and gold cauliflower, tomatoes, peapods, romanesco and satsumaimo. Fruits include tiny strawberries, blackberry, satsuma mandarin, and black grapes.
I was so happy the wrap fit so perfectly in this box, yay! Too bad the skewers had to come out, but the lid pressed down on the wraps very securely so they wouldn't unwrap before lunchtime :)

I always forget how useful and versatile eggs are. Besides hard-boiling and shaping into cute molds, or spreading as egg salad, they can be cooked into a healthy and filling omelet by adding your choice of veggies and / or meat. Here, I should have added tomatoes or red peppers for a nice color. Adding a tortilla and turning it into a wrap makes the omelet neat and easy to eat for little ones. I personally really like the wrap idea, as it can be used with lots of different fillings; cream cheese, smoked salmon, leftover chicken or other meats, cold cuts, even PB&J or other traditional sandwich spreads. The only limit is your imagination!