Herby Chicken Lunchbot Cinco Bento

This is my first time using the large Cinco box from Lunchbots, and I was very excited to see what my middle-schooler thought of it! We are heavy users of the company's other boxes (Duo, Trio and Quad, as well as the Clicks series) and I heartily endorse the quality of those containers. I've been packing home lunch in these boxes their whole school lives, and they are all still in use after 6-7 years, none the worse for wear. I thought this larger size would be just right for my boy, who has a pretty big appetite. I took the opportunity to pack a whole chicken thigh and a serving of spinach pasta with potatoes and asparagus in the two biggest sections. That left me still with three more, smaller, sections which I filled with pickled carrots and daikon, sliced kiwi, and grapes, strawberry and tomato. He loved  it; had no problem finishing all the food. While the box is a bit larger in size than our other Lunchbots, it still fit nicely inside his insulated tote bag. I have a feeling this new box will be getting a lot of use in the coming years. Thumbs up!

Bunny Riceball and Salted Salmon Bento

Salted salmon and rice for TinySprite today. Have you made shiozake before? The method I use is one from LovelyLanvin's recipe: I salt the fish overnight, then slice into small strips before broiling. It packs very well for bento and tastes delicious cold or room temperature. It's nice to serve with plain rice because the salmon itself has lots of flavor. I decorated the rice with nori into a bunny face, and using lettuce as a liner means she can either wrap the whole thing up or eat it with a fork. This cute divided box lets me add blood oranges and grapes in a separate section, alongside steamed Okinawan sweet purple potatoes, carrots, and cucumbers. Simple, but so delicious! This is one of my own favorite meals as well. ^__^

Puppy Pals Mini-Sandwiches Ecolunchboxes Bento

These are the same Kings Hawaiian bread dinner rolls I used for the Hinamatsuri bento. Turns out they fit perfectly inside the Ecolunchboxes Solo Cube container too! Ham and cheese with lettuce sandwiches again for the little girl. This time I decorated the tops with cheese and nori for puppy faces. They are holding hands. Awww! The rest of the box contains: grapes, heart-shaped radishes, Okinawan sweet potato, blueberries, satsuma mandarin, and broccoli. I can get used to making these cute little mini buns bento. So easy and fun!

Pork Chop and Shredded Veggies Bento

Today I made pan-fried Vietnamese style thin pork chops, which I choose because I can slice them into strips for the kiddos' bento. I lay them on a bed of shredded lettuce - I think it looks nice that way. If you like, you can drizzle some of the reduced sauce on top, but I omitted that. I also quick pickled some shredded carrots and daikon and added a couple sweet purple potato hearts. This fit nicely in the Zen box I got from Bento & Co.

In the side box: blood orange chunks, grape tomatoes, and a tiny cup of chocolate covered raisins. 

Happy Wednesday! This week is flying by!

Hinamatsuri Girls' Day Bento!

For TinySprite this Girls' Day, I made her two mini ham sandwiches with lettuce and cheese. These rolls (King's Hawaiian sweet bread - so good) fit perfectly inside this two tier box that I think I got from Daiso many years ago. It even matches this fork with the same bunny design on the lid. Alongside the ham and cheese dolls with nori and pepper details, I have a purple sakura (Okinawan sweet potato), carrot flowers, blood oranges, kiwi, and a fan-cut radish. Happy Girls' Day to all the little (and big) girls out there!

Mini Pita Bread Pocket Sandwich Bento

These little mini pita breads are just so cute; have you seen them? But they are pretty tough to fill with stuff. I had to make 6 of them for TinySprite here. These are sardine-yogurt-pickle relish-filled (hey! Don't knock it till you've tried it; it's pretty good with hot sauce too). I put tiny lettuces in there for color, and topped off with grape tomatoes and a couple turns of fresh cracked pepper. The other side of this cute orange polka-dot bento box contains blood orange sections and steamed Okinawan sweet potato. I think I got this box at Daiso a long time ago - they came in different shapes, sizes, and colors.

Shoyu Chicken Bento

If it seems like deja vu, it probably is because I've made this bento many, many times. It's a kid favorite and a guaranteed hit in our house so that's why it's on constant rotation. It was my favorite as a kid, so I can understand it! I made shoyu chicken and crispy potatoes for TinySprite, in a lettuce cup. I didn't cut the chicken this time; let's see what she says. There's also a broccoli tree, blood orange wheels, a couple of grape tomatoes, and some fresh cut pineapple. All packed up in our Sistema Bakery container. So perfect for this girl of mine. Happy Wednesday!

Salmon Salad EcoLunchBox Bento

A non-cutesy bento, after the deluge of cute ones from last week. This is the kind that I normally make: with a focus mainly on the nutritiousness and deliciousness of the food iteself. If I have extra time, I'll add a cute detail. But sometimes, I just don't. Like today. This one is just a basic salmon salad with halved tomatoes and a few red onions. MisterMan doesn't like added dressing, but you could easily send some along with your kid if you so desired. The lower tier of the EcoLunchbox Three-In-One serves well for this type of bento. The top tier is shallower and will hold a selection of grapes, blood orange segments, and carrots. The third box has a lid and I packed some yogurt (you could also use cottage cheese), sunflower seeds, and fresh pineapple chunks. This one will keep my middle-schooler satisfied, even without the food faces! ^__^

Lunar New Year Dragon Bento

I know it's not the Year of the Dragon, but I'm making a dragon bento because 1) it represents the dragon dance that is typically performed in the Lunar New Year parade, and 2) I wanted an excuse to use my very cool dragon cutter. I've shown it to you before (see it here) -- it is very intricately designed and of very good quality. I've used it on tofu (see that here) and even dragonfruit (look here!). It's a little tricky to get the cheese out of the small crevices, but it can be done using a toothpick or small tweezers.

I used cheese for the dragon in this bento, and I dyed it red with beet juice. He is chasing a baby orange tomato "ball." This tomato is from my garden -- my plant from last summer is still producing fruit. I know, I know... weird. But we've had a very mild winter here in California and everything is out of whack. Underneath is lucky sticky rice, made in my rice cooker (see my method here). Those baby yellow chard are also homegrown from my garden; I have several chard plants and they are all producing leaves, but they don't get much bigger than this. Just right size for bento, I guess! There's also a lucky mandarin, some blueberries, and a grape tomato. I hope you enjoyed the first day of the Year of the Sheep, and that it portends a grand year ahead. ^__^

Year Of The Sheep Bento!

Gung Hee Fat Choy! The Lunar New Year begins tomorrow, and it will be the Year of the Sheep. To celebrate, I made a sheep riceball with rolled ham horns to accompany the gyoza (see my gyoza method here) for TinySprite. She also gets Okinawan sweet potato, grape tomatoes, edamame skewers, and a carrot. She'll also take an orange, which signifies good luck. The firecracker craft is one she made in school. Happy Chinese (Lunar) New Year!

Added to What's For Lunch.

Puppy Pancakes Bento!

In celebration of Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, and National Pancake Day, we're having pancakes for lunch today! We've had breakfast for lunch recently in the past, and it was a big hit then, so I suppose it can't hurt to repeat with pancakes instead of waffles this time. I tried to make puppies, and I'd say the results improved with each successive pancake, so I put the early ones in the back. I decorated the face with cheese and nori, and even gave the lil' guy a mozzarella bone. TinySprite also gets some all-natural chicken sausages along with some ombre blood orange segments, blueberries, and a grape tomato. Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone!

Bunny Eats a Rainbow Bento!

This one is just a fun snack I threw together for the kiddos to take advantage of all the colorful fruit and veggies slowly starting to appear in the markets these days. I can't wait until we are in full spring fruit season! This one, packed in the "Zen" box from Bento & Co, contains a rainbow of goodies: strawberry, satsuma mandarins, tamagoyaki (okay, not a fruit or veggie, but the egg contributed such a bright sunny effect here), kiwi, blueberries, and Okinawan sweet potato. I added a cheese bunny holding a mini fresh garden carrot too. Don't fear, spring will be here before you know it!