44 - 45 - 46

Mine!

Lid: Chocolate Pocky
Top: Carrots, green beans, orange
Bottom: Potstickers
Tight seal: Sweet and sour pork, sticky rice

Sort of a version of the one I made for dad last night. And especially since I haven't had any second helpings of the sweet and sour pork until now. Meaning, I only had it when it was originally served for dinner.

mine.

Left to Right: 2 Steak and cheese taquitos, 2 beef and cheese mini tacos, green bean divider, orange segments
Bowl: Refried beans with cheese and sour cream for the taquitos and tacos.

Just a quick dinner bento I threw together while I was making my dad's dinner tonight. I had subway at like 4, and I wasn't hungry until not too long ago. And my god, that subway was AMAZING. One of the best i've had. But also, most of these were leftovers or stuff from the freezer.

daddy's!

Top: Mini cherry pie, Chicken noodle soup with rotini noodles and carrots
Main box: Mayonnaise, orange segments, salt, corn, roast beef, green beans
Outside bottom: Shepherder bread

I felt like doing a soup and sandwich bento for my dad. Yes, I know this is a lot of food, but my dad doesn't eat dinner with us most nights, unless we have dinner early for him [around 3pm or so]. My mom found that little cherry pie at Wal-Mart and thought it would be perfect for his lunch. And I thought so too. (:

42 + 43.

for me.

Top tier: Fruit and nut trail mix, fruit by the foot, mini tacos.
Bottom tier: Roast beef sandwich, quartered.

So after a weekend [thursday - monday afternoon] of being at my friends house, I came home, shucked my clothes, since my friend has cats and my mom is allergic to them, into a laundry hamper, showered and got into pajamas, I felt like making a bento. Partially because I was hungry, and partially because I wanted to. So this was the remains of what sounded interesting to me in my house. I made this while my mom was out shopping, so I didn't have any of the stuff she bought to use. Still yummy though.

for papa.

Round ziploc container: Cinnamon sugar cooked apples
Lock&Lock: Sweet and sour pork, sticky rice
Large ziploc container [top to bottom]: pan fried potstickers, soy sauce, orange segments, asparagus spears

I was going to make some teriyaki chicken for my dad for lunch tonight, but I realized that I didn't have the chicken marinated, so I threw some rice vinegar, brown sugar and some soy sauce into a bag with the chicken and threw it into the fridge to mingle for a few days while it gets nice and oh so tasty.

So I just threw together some leftovers, pretty much. Put the rice in the lock and lock and put the sweet and sour pork on top. Chopped up the apples and threw them in a bowl with cinnamon sugar and a bit more sugar with a little water, threw it in the microwave for 4 minutes, and then stirred them when they were done and then put a bit more sugar on it after tasting it and then put the apples, juice and all into the ziploc.

While that was going on I heated up a pan and cooked the potstickers, throwing them in the pan, frozen with some oil, letting them warm up a minute or three and then put 2/3 cup warm water in the pan and covered them for 8 mins to cook. Easier than microwaving them, I think. And they taste so much better. I also put some soy sauce into a little dixie cup and when the potstickers were done I put them on a plate to cool a little bit, and then tucked the soy sauce next to the potstickers.

I then peeled an orange, and peeled the orange segments apart to fan them out and look pretty, after putting a piece of foil down, so the orange didn't taste like asparagus in the morning. And then I decided I needed something green, and I found some leftover steamed asparagus in the fridge.

Now, I have no idea why, but my mother steams veggies past their peak. Like, normally broccoli is kind of a brownish nasty green. But I've been educating her recently that the longer you cook veggies like that, the nutrients get sucked right out of the veggies. But she does. And it kinda irritates me. Oh well.

Then put that all together and got some of our laquered wood [I think?] chopsticks so mom could put it with his lunch in the morning so he could eat it with that.

I hope he likes it! He generally does like the things I make for his lunches. I try to make them more like dinners, because due to his acid reflux, he can't eat past 4pm or so without feeling yucky. ):

39 - 40 - 41 [3 BENTOS TODAY!]

mine!

Top tier: Smashed hard boiled egg w/ butter + salt + pepper [microwaved], mini brown sugar cinnamon bagel w/ cream cheese
Bottom tier: Impromptu rice pudding!

So I woke up around 11am this morning [i'm a college student, can't you tell? going to bed at almost 3am and waking up around 11am] and I came downstairs and opened the covered pot on the stove and discovered rice. I ask my mom, "Is this sticky rice?" and she just smiles. And so I decided to make a breakfast bento, since I'm not in school for the week, and I just felt like it!

mine, again!

Left tier [sidecar]: cheesy bacon egg scramble
right tier [sealable box]: chocolate chip banana pancakes, chunky peanut butter in the silicon cup.

So I wanted to make breakfast for dinner. And I did, because i'm allowed to, and I was really craving eggs and pancakes. So I got a bit creative. I threw some chocolate chips in the batter, and then sliced some banana and placed that on top as soon as I got the batter down on the griddle. Then I flipped them and let them cook until done on the other side. I made 6 total and ate the other two with just straight butter. I honestly think that was better than the peanut butter.

Then after I got the pancakes made, I threw a couple eggs in a bowl with some cream and salt, mixed those until scrambled with a fork, sprinkled a bit of bacon bits and shredded cheese into the raw egg mixture. I then threw that into the pan for it to get nice and scramble-y [is that even a word?] and then let some sliced cheddar melt on top of it after I thought that it was done enough [I absolutely HATE runny eggs, which is why I will not eat sunny-side up eggs, over easy only or scrambled please]. I then just decided to throw them into my box instead of putting them on a plate. And I put some peanut butter into the divider cup there (:

for my papa.

Top box [left to right]:taco meat, refried beans, spanish rice, shredded iceberg lettuce, diced grape tomatoes, chocolate chips, banana walnut muffin
Outside box+Lock&lock: flour tortillas, orange segments, shredded cheese, medium salsa, sour cream

I was going to make some enchiladas for my dad, but since we didn't have any leftover shredded pork [country style ribs] or beef [pot roast], I just decided to do a make your own taco box. I think he'll quite enjoy it.

Man, I can't believe I made 3 bentos today. Just, wow. I mean, the second one wasn't THAT hard, but still...

38 - Salad + Sandwich bento

for dad.

Left to Right: Cinnamon sugared apple pieces, oreo cupcake w/ coarse sugar sprinkles. bleu cheese, tomato and bacon bit salad, salt and pepper in their respective labeled containers, mayo in the third unmarked dixie cup
Outside the box: Shepherder bread [went in a ziploc bag], and bleu cheese dressing in the lock&lock

I like making the salad/sandwich bento for my dad. He absolutely LOVES it! Hopefully it goes over well tomorrow, and I hope he likes the cinnamon sugared apples, since I got one of the ideas from the ladies at the lj community, bentolunch.

37

for daddy.

Main [ large ] dish: fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy
Side: Corn with butter and salt, grape tomatoes, banana muffin

This was dinner on Friday, and mom plans ahead for lunches, so she made some extra fried chicken. There were thighs and drumsticks, so I took those off the bones for him, put those in there, made some instant mashed potatoes, put some gravy over top that. Then I took a small lock&lock container and a bit of a can of corn and put it in there, put a pat or so of butter and some salt on that, threw in the banana muffin and then used the grape tomatoes as a filler.

36.

mine.

Top: Cheese, Orange
Bottom: Egg salad, grape tomatoes and rice crackers.

I was hungry, so instead I ended up getting subway, eating this during my second class, and then had subway AGAIN for dinner, lol. Yeah, but it was good anyway.

thirty five.

lunch for papa.

Left to Right: Salami, cheddar cheese, orange slices, grape tomatoes, green grapes, black grapes, triscuits in the ziploc.
Not pictured: Chocolate chip cookie

33 + 34

for momma.

Top: Broccoli, ranch dip in the orange sauce cup, black grapes
Bottom: Egg salad sandwiches in hearts and stars, tangerine for filler

So my mother was going to a church thing today, and I decided to let her use my box. She was originally going to make some egg salad and take some rice crackers to eat them with, but then I volunteered to make her lunch for her, and she happily agreed.

for me for lunch today.

Left: Pan fried potstickers
Top Right: Tangerine
Top Bottom: Hot dog chunks, ketchup in the kiwi container

I just felt like making a bento for me today, and all we had was the lock&lock containers, since Mom has my box for her thing, I decided to just throw some things from the freezer and fridge together.

32.

for daddy.

Main dish: Potstickers [pan fried], teriyaki broccoli over rice.
Side: Grapes, apple, chocolate chip cookie, and teriyaki sauce for the potstickers in the dixie cup.

Just a quick and easy bento tonight for my dad in the morning. I have to make his lunches at night since he gets up at 4am for work, and leaves by 5:30. And I love my sleep, so there's no way I am getting up that ridiculously early just to make his lunch.

St. Patrick's Day! [ 30 + 31 ]

for erika.

Clockwise: Bunny and star eggs, star peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, kiwi slices, tangerine

Yup, that's right. My best friend Erika went to school with me today. It was pretty rockin'. Although she just ended up eating the yolks of the eggs and I ate the whites. Since she didn't really want eggs. I did get some red white and orange in for St. Patrick's Day though, which I am quite proud of!

my bento today!

Main tier [ right ]: Hot dog chunks, ketchup in the kiwi sauce cup, salt in the apple for the eggs and avocados, craisins, fruit by the foot
Side car [ left ]: Avocado chunks, bear and heart shaped eggs, tangerine, grape tomatoes for fillers

Unfortunately after class, I was still hungry, so Erika and I ended up going to the Subway on campus and getting lunch and I got coffee [ I was falling asleep in Psychology AND World Religions ]. I wish I could get my bentos to be more filling. Any ideas would greatly be appreciated.

twenty nine.

my dinner (:

Top tier: Tangerine, apples, tuna salad
Bottom tier: Romaine leaves, heart egg, bear egg, grape tomatoes and salt in the apple.
Bottom left corner: Chunky peanut butter for apples

Well, my mom had hard boiled some eggs and I finally got the chance to use my egg molds today! I was so excited, because they were so cute! I hate to eat them though. But, they are eggs after all. I felt like bentoing for dinner tonight, and so I did, except I didn't make one for Erika, since I kinda just didn't feel like it. I just put her food on a plate and such.

I didn't plan on eating the lettuce, really. I just wanted a filler, but I ended eating it with the tuna salad. It was pretty dang tasty.

twenty-eight.

Top: Roast beef, oreos, mayo in penguin, chocolate dipped strawberry, clementine segments for filler
Bottom: Salad with bleu cheese, bacon bits, grape tomatoes. Salt for sammich in the sauce bottle
Outside box: Bleu cheese dressing for salad, whole wheat white bread.
Not pictured: 3 musketeers mint fun size bar.

my favorite things - 27.

for a thing at my mom's church. [ explanation to follow ]

Left to Right: Cheese shapes [ tulip, bear, bunny, bird ], fruit by the foot, craisins, mint herb tea, clementine tangerine, oreos, 3 musketeers mint, more cheese shapes [ heart, bunny, star ]
Not pictured: tube of blue glitter I placed in the box after I shot this photo.

Okay, so my parents are Latter-Day Saints [ LDS, Mormon, whatever you'd like to call them ]. And the ladies have their own group called Relief Society [ I have NO idea why it's called that, but just go along, kay? ], and they had a birthday of sorts. They have a dinner [ this time it was various salads - regular lettuce kind, pasta, fruit ], and you bring a gift. And this year's theme was "my favorite things". So for the gift you have to bring your favorite things [ and less than $10, of course, but I think I might have spent more than that, but ah, what the hell ] and wrap them up.

So of COURSE I decide to do bento, since it's SO much fun (: It didn't help that I decided to go last minute [ like, 5pm that night, and the dinner started at 6.30pm ]. But, mom and I ran down to Wal-Mart and luckily found those lock-and-lock boxes that most people on bentolunch rave about. I also found a 3-set that I can use for Dad's lunches that have a smaller square and round one with a sandwich-size box.

So I get home at like, 6.25 and run in the house to throw my box together. I wanted to put things in that if they kinda weren't refridgerated, it wouldn't be too big of a deal. I mean, I think the cheese could hold up pretty well, since it normally does in stuff like sandwiches and the like. So I figured ah, what the hell.

I also got a purple stuffed lamb to put in with it. It was SO adorable. Luckily they had another one [ bought at Dollar Tree ] and Mom bought it for me, since it was so cute (:

25.

mine, finally!

Top: Tangerine slices, apple chunks and half a kiwi
Bottom: Cream cheese/ham sandwich pinwheels, string cheese chunks, craisins

I felt like having a whole bunch of fruit today. Mostly because if I had veggies, i'd have to cook them [ which was more work than I had time for this morning ] or eat them with ranch dip, and i'm trying to eat healthier. And the ranch dip we have is made with mayo, a ranch packet, some milk and a bit of lemon juice. That's not exactly calorie-free.

Note to self: Do NOT, WHATEVER you do, drink Coke Zero EVER AGAIN! Especially without food. It will fuck up your stomach and your brain and give you the nastiest headache EVER.

I had to go and buy subway just to calm my stomach down since there wasn't enough food in my box to keep my stomach from going crazy and the room spinning. This is not a good sign. Never again, my friends. Never again will I drink that crap. And diet/calorie free sodas are worse for you than regular sugary sodas. It's so horrible.

So my dad still has a lunch for tomorrow, since he went out surveying instead of staying in the office today, so he's just going to have it for lunch tomorrow! And, he's even coming home for lunch to eat it, since he's working about 15 minutes away instead of an hour away. He also won't need one for Thursday since he's working out of the office on friday as well.

twenty-five.

another for my papa.

Left to Right: Salad with bleu cheese, grape tomatoes, and bacon bits. Rolls of roast beef for sandwich, salt for sandwich, pepper for salad. Mayonnaise in the third dixie cup for sandwich. Shepherder bread, kiwi, craisins, string cheese. Bleu cheese dressing and apple.

So, when my dad started taking his lunch to work [ vs. going out to eat every day, cheaply of course since this damn economy sucks ] my mom would make him a sandwich, an apple, and a cookie for his lunch. And that was also his dinner, but he'd snack on some pistachios or something after he got home if he was hungry. And then I volunteered to start making his lunches, and he appreciates it every day that I do. So this is somewhat of a spin on what my mom would make him.

I mean, the same thing for lunch every day gets a little boring after awhile, doesn't it? I know it does for me, especially since I pretty much did the same thing throughout middle and high school. It sucked.

24.

for my papa.

Left to Right: Corn chips, chocolate chips and craisins, refried beans and chili with a deformed shredded cheese heart
Not pictured: Apple

This is pretty much a leftovers bento. Momma's sick, so I defrosted and heated up some pre-made chili [ her chili, none of this crap from a can ] for dinner and heated up some refried beans and we had that for dinner. It was also a lazy bento because I was exhausted [ i'm still trying to kick my sinus infection ]

So it's pretty much the chili and beans that didn't get finished. I then used my largest heart cutter to try and put a cheese shape with the shredded mexican cheese we have. But, it didn't quite work out very well and I had to form it into a heart kinda. Oh well, it probably melted every which way when my dad heated it up.

Then I put some chocolate chips into a bag, and thought fruit would be nice with chocolate, so I threw some craisins in with it, thinking and hoping it'd be a good combination [ the sour and tang of the craisins with the sweet chocolate ]. I also threw some corn chips into a bag, since he likes them with chili.

In the morning my Mom threw in an apple, since we have more than we know what to do with, and they should be eaten before they go bad.

bento 23 today (:

for moi ;D

Lid: String cheese, my cute clickety click fork! (:
Sidecar: Tangerine slices, ham rolls, banana oatmeal to go bar
Sealable container: Pizza mac+cheese

Okay, so I threw this quickly together this morning since I kind of woke up late [ well late enough for me to rush make my bento and try and get out the door to catch the earlier, two-car train ] I dumped the pizza mac+cheese onto a plate that i used to cut the ham up on for the ham rolls, threw in the microwave for a couple of minutes and sprinkled some extra cheese on top [ it was melted by the time I ate it 45-50 minutes later ]. This was the last thing I did before I went upstairs to shower, and honestly, it wasn't too bad slightly cold/room temp.
I threw the ham, tangerine and oatmeal bar together while I was making breakfast, so that wasn't too bad. Wondering how I made that pizza mac+cheese?

Pizza Mac+Cheese:
1 box kraft mac+cheese
1 can diced tomatoes [ I used petit diced tomatoes. They're basically just cut into a smaller dice ]
1 can sliced BLACK olives
2 heaping tablespoons [ okay, more like 4 heaping tablespoons, lol ] ricotta cheese
some hamburger, cooked with garlic salt, broken up
small handful of parmesean cheese
a couple handfuls of some sort of shredded cheese [ I used a Mexican 4-cheese blend, its what we've got ]
Butter according to mac and cheese box
milk/cream according to mac and cheese box
italian seasoning [ like, a half-tablespoon or so, just throw in however much you'd like ]

Ok, so while the noodles are cooking, pre-cook the hamburger with some garlic salt and maybe a bit of onion powder, if you've got it. Once the hamburger is almost done, cook the noodles however you like, and drain, finishing the hamburger and then turning the pan off while you prepare the other stuff. Leave the stove ON [ unless you've got a gas stove and can reheat the pan easily ]. Throw in the can of diced tomatoes. and let cook down a bit. Throw in the italian seasoning and stir. Throw in the parmesean cheese and the cooked hamburger. Stir. Put the butter in for the amount of mac+cheese you're cooking, and then put the noodles back in the pan [ the stove is still on, make sure the noodles don't stick though ] and combine with the tomato/hamburger mixture. Throw in your can of olives [ or if you don't like them, find something else! ] Add the milk. I personally start out with heavy whipping cream, as I like mine thick and creamy, and thin out as needed with milk. Dump the cheese packet into the macaroni mix and stir in until it's mixed in. Add the ricotta cheese and mix in until nice and creamy and all melted and stuff into the mac mix. Then put the shredded cheese in and mix until combined and melty.

You can also throw in pepperoni, sliced hard salami, whatever you'd like. It's mostly preference and what you've got. If you've got italian sausage, you could honestly throw that in too, and that'd probably be so delish!

I ate a heaping bowful of this for dinner last night and I still had 4 roughly 1-1 1/2 cup servings of this stuff, just perfect for my bento box! So it really is an awesome thing to make in advance and reheat later for quick and easy starch and protien. Although you may want to have more protien in this, since it's mostly carbs.

twenty-two.

for my papa.

Left to Right: Chocolate chip cookie, Shepherder bread, tangerine slices, grape tomatoes, baby carrots, ranch for carrots and tomatoes, butter, and my mom's lasagna.

All in all, a fairly easy and quick bento to throw together. My mom suggested that I give my dad lasagna for lunch, since he doesn't eat dinner due to acid reflux problems.

He also said that yesterday's lunch was about the best i've made yet, so I think that will be a future recipie to make for him, as well as me. I've been considering going to work with him when I have a day off. Maybe on spring break or something? I dunno.

bentos 20 and 21

mine, for lunch today

Top: Pistachios, broccoli, grape tomatoes, ranch in lemon cup
Bottom: Shell noodles with butter, garlic salt, nutmeg and parmesean cheese, banana
Lid: Spoon, fork and string cheese.

To make the shell noodles:
My brother (or his girlfriend, most likely) a couple of weeks ago made macaroni and cheese from scratch, and they left half a box of shells, so I totally took them and threw them in the cupboard. I cooked them in boiling water with salt and some olive oil to just past al dente (I don't like chewy noodles) and then cooled them, and then put in a ziploc bag and threw them in the fridge. Then this morning, as I was making my lunch, I put some butter down in the pan, threw the noodles in and sprinkled in some garlic salt and nutmeg (I unfortunately couldn't find the whole nuts, so I used ground) and then let it cook for a minute, moving the pasta around so it wouldn't stick. Then I saw some parmesean cheese in the fridge and sprinkled that over, and let it heat up in the pan and stirred it around.
I would honestly eat these hot, since I don't have a microwave source at school, I cannot easily do that. But, tasty nonetheless.

I'm trying to eat healthier bentos (yeah, I know butter isin't really THAT healthy, but it IS healthier than margarine, ick) and I thought this was a good start to it. I got a good portion of fruits and veggies. I just need to have more meat/protien in it, I think. My mom is always complaining that I dont eat enough salads and veggies. I mean, I like them and all, it's just a hassle to prepare them a lot of the time.

for my dad for tomorrow's lunch.

Left to Right: Cake balls, salt, pears, chicken in a white wine cream sauce, asparagus and spinach in white wine cream sauce, shell pasta.

Now, for the chicken and veggies, I kind of did what I normally do when making Chicken Florentine at home. Although I didn't feel like chopping up fresh onions and garlic, I just threw some dried onions and sliced garlic into the wine and soaked it before I put the wine in the pan. I cooked the chicken (pan frying -- dredging in flour+salt+pepper -- in butter) and then took the chicken out of the pan and threw the white wine mixture into the pan, let that reduce, threw some cream in (eyeball it -- god, I sound like Rachel Ray) and let that reduce some more until you get a nice thick sauce, and then throw the chicken back in and coat it in the sauce.
For the asparagus and spinach I pretty much did the same thing, except a bit differently. I took the asparagus, cleaned them up and threw some butter into the pan, then sauteed the asparagus for a minute or two. Then came the wine. I just splashed enough in to help the asparagus cook a bit and then I reduced the wine and then added a bit of cream, and then I saw some baby spinach in the fridge, so I put a bit of that in there also and let the sauce reduce down even more into a nice thick sauce. Then I put the asparagus mixture over the chicken and noodles.
HOPEFULLY I will get a good report on this one tomorrow. It should come back empty, as per usual (since my dad will eat just about anything) and it's nice that he gives me suggestions and stuff to work on my recipies if he has any qualms with them (I think he wants me to be an awesome cook for whoever I marry, hahahaha).

bento 19

for my papa.

Left to Right: Chicken Fajitas, Refried beans w/ cheese, kiwi and apple, salt, flour tortillas and a chocolate chip cookie

I've done as many bentos as I am old! [ bento 18 ]

So today is one of my days off from school [ I only have school on Tuesdays/Thursdays ] and my Dad had jury duty so he came home for lunch today! Which means I didn't have to make him a lunch, since he doesn't have refridgeration/microwaving capabilities, as he as not at his office. So I made my own bento today, even though I ate at home. It was delicious, regardless!

mine! (:

Top: Baby carrots, Grape Tomatoes, Ranch in the sauce cup, craisins, and a strawberry chocolate cheesecake ball in the green divider cup [ my mom calls them that because it's strawberry cake mixed with cream cheese frosting covered in chocolate ]
Bottom: A mix of pepperoni and italian sausage calzone.

The calzone was leftover from when my parents went out for their anniversary and decided to bring back calzone for my brother, best friend and I!
I also don't have a picture of my dad's lunch, because he ate it by the time I even thought about taking a picture! Sad panda. Oh well, I will be back to making bentos for him tomorrow!

breakfast - bento 17.

Yet again I needed something to take my pills with (I have to take them twice a day) and I thought this would hold me over until dinner sometime this afternoon/tonight. Hopefully it'll allow me to be fuller and not eat so much at dinner! I sure hope so, since I'm trying to lose weight. And hopefully this is somewhat healthy, so I will! (: But then again, by the time I ate this you could/should probably call it brunch.

mineeeee.

Top: Banana chunks, Craisins, string cheese chunks
Bottom: Peanut butter and honey sandwich pinwheels