Food & Cooking

Simple Bento

When we lived in Japan, I used to make our lunches for the following day every night after dinner. I haven’t done that as much since we’ve been home-must have just been one of those things that got lost without a regular routine for a while there. Despite my lack of keeping up on lunches as of late, I’ve started to get back into meal planning, and I’ve decided the lunch-making habit would be a good one to start up again, too.

20140130-203628.jpg

Tonight I just threw together a very simple bento with some random things I had in the house: peanut butter on celery sticks, cheese cubes & a couple of cherry tomatoes, baby carrot sticks, leftover pork chops that my mother-in-law made (amazing, by the way!), saltine crackers, and a boiled egg. Lots of color–which is always important!–, lots of variety, nutrients, and protein. (I was very excited to use some of the things I stocked up on before leaving Japan!) Should keep me nice and full!

What are some of your easy lunch ideas?

 

Uncategorized

What’s in that bag?

20130416-175437.jpg

My very fashionable 100 yen store bag

Since we’re leaving Japan very, very soon (about a month to go!), I decided to pick up a few things we never got around to buying: a gyoza (pot sticker) mold, nice bento boxes, bento reusable goodies… The day I bought them was the same day I met my coworker for lunch, and so you can see some souvenirs she gave me as well: a Rilakkuma duster, some pastry snacks, yuzu jelly, and lemon drink mix.

20130416-175455.jpg

20130416-175517.jpg

My bento is the top one with flowers, and Chad’s is the checkered one on the bottom

I made bentos for lunch on Monday in our new boxes using some nifty side-dish packs, veggie furikake, or seasoning, and a few other things. Turned out great! Yum, yum!

20130416-175533.jpg

Nifty Side-Dish Packs (Top: Spinach mix, Lotus mix, and Edamame Seaweed mix; Bottom: Crab Cream Croquettes)

20130416-175542.jpg

Veggie Furikake

20130416-175550.jpg

Our beautiful bentos!

I once read that Japanese people believe a dish is healthiest if there are at least 5 different colors of food. I don’t always make bentos, but no matter what I make I always try to include a variety of color. What do you like to pack in your lunches?