bento #115

Took this one at night, so excuse the color.  Used the night setting on my camera.  Actually, it turned out better (less grainy, anyway!) than the other pictures I've taken lately!  The fact that we haven't seen the sunshine the past eight days doesn't help.. as I take my pictures next to the window with lots of natural light.  I don't remember Indiana winters being this grey before... although it hasn't been much of a winter since it's rained the past three days as well.

I needed a snack bento for all the grading I'll be doing these next two weeks... 7 classes' worth of essays, then final exams (also essays).
- triscuit crackers
- cheese and pepperoni
- blackberries, two olives
- a dark chocolate Hershey's kiss

bento #114

A bit of a look-alike from yesterday's bento-- made double onigiri, tamgoyaki, and miso chicken to make a second bento much easier.

I'll just copy and paste the list from yesterday.  :D
- spinach tamagoyaki
- flower-shaped onigiri with cheddar cheese hearts in the center
- half a clementine
- miso chicken (half a thigh)
- lightly steamed broccoli
- blackberries and a red pepper slice for color


I love this one, with all the colors!  Plus, I just love this box.

bento #113

I think this one looks cute and pretty.  I also like the way the background is reflected on the box.

- bear and flower-shaped onigiri-- with faces!  The flower looks like she's singing  :P
- spinach tamagoyaki
- blackberries
- miso chicken (half a thigh)
- lightly steamed broccoli
- half a clementine

Several halves here... I made two smaller bentos, 300ish calories each, for today and tomorrow.  It's easier to make double of everything (tamagoyaki, miso chicken... the onigiri were in the freezer) and set some aside for later than cook twice.

And, look at all those colors!  White, black, yellow, green, orange, brown... and red for the box.  :D

bento #112

Travel bento!  When I'm heading out, I like to take a bento to eat in the car... instead of stopping for fast food.  I'd also planned to take an apple along but forgot that.  This was when I was heading to MI for Thanksgiving with my family.

- two onigiri (I'd forgotten how much I liked short-grain white rice!)
- a clementine
- teriyaki chicken (once again, looking a tad dark)  ;)
- tamagoyaki (getting better at making these!)
- sauteed zucchini
- oh, and the last four grapes in my refrigerator

Looks a bit pale... I didn't have much choice as far as the lighting was concerned.  I've been having a hard time taking good (clear!) pictures lately even though I'm using the same set-up as I did before.

I'm back... with a new direction?

Hi!  Is anyone out there in blog land?  I've come back recently from an absence... just got hungry for some cute healthy lunches-- and was craving rice!

While I don't want to change the direction of my blog completely-- I still want to post bentos-- I have been thinking if there's anything else I can add here. 

So, is there anything else you'd like to see?  Any topics, ideas you'd like to hear about?  Highlight recipes that could be used in a bento?

After looking at more bento blogs over the weekend, I've found that more than half don't fit the expression I'm going for.  While I have nothing against sandwiches, most are geared toward children and thus don't contain some of the most important aspects of bento (to me): visually pleasing and healthy.  While shaped sandwiches can be visually different-- and pleasing-- they don't fit into that Japanese aesthetic in the same way.  They also tend to be heavier on fruits vs. vegetables (sometimes those are missing), and can also contain pre-packaged foods that I try to avoid; that's why I'm packing bento in the first place.

I'm not criticizing those who do make bento in the above fashion-- there are legitimate reasons for these differences-- that's just not my bent.

So, is there anyone else out there who creates bentos like mine? 

bento #111

Here we go again... buffalo chicken wings.  When I don't feel like cooking, apparently I only like to eat pizza and chicken wings.

- chicken wings
- toasted garlic bread
- clementine
- celery sticks with ranch dressing in the bear cup

Not at all traditional (or colorful or balanced), but tasty!  It was perfect for the Sunday afternoon when I ate it.