today’s lunch (made yesterday) came together quickly — no recipes involved, just soy boy’s carribean tofu, which is spiced so beautifully as to make a tasty meal with the addition of just nutty brown rice and a few garnishes. this lunch is totally in keeping with the tone it up nutrition plan‘s simple “lean, clean and green” philosophy!
nutritional info below.
i spent today batch cooking for the week from some tasty recipes i bookmarked in magazines i read in various airports during the past week’s work-related travels. tomorrow’s lunch, though, is just the basics: leftover lentil rice pilaf from last night’s dinner, plus two chicken-free nuggets (i prefer health is wealth’s version, as they are lower in fat than the comparable boca product) and some fresh veggies.
turns out that a realistic portion of both of these protein-rich foods is waaaay smaller than i thought! but that’s ok, i’m learning to listen to my body telling me it’s full when i eat denser foods, and the balance of healthy foods here is tone it up nutrition plan-friendly. calorie count below.
a quick lunch tomorrow (in my new bento & co. “origami bento,” bought on karaimame’s brilliant suggestion), made up of leftovers from batch dinner cooking i did earlier this week, plus a pantry item. recipes and calorie count below.
hi bento pals! it feels like years since i’ve had time to do a bento post… lots of changes in my life, but the one that’s most relevant to this blog is my diet… in the 1+ year since i got married, i somehow put on more than 15 pounds, and after my last doctor’s visit (during which the weight the scale showed literally alarmed me), it’s time to focus on healthy and balanced eating again. Read the rest of this entry »
tomorrow’s bread-free lunch is my take on soboro, mexican-style: a layer of spanish rice (cooked in my rice cooker with peas and corn), a layer of monterey jack cheese, and a layer of vegetarian ground beef sauteed with cumin. plus a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies — cuke, yellow and red vine tomatoes, steamed broccoli, pea pods, a big fat strawberry, and a few tangerine sections.
the star of this lunch is rilakkuma, cut with an exacto knife from two colors of egg sheet. i recently bought a package of onigiri cases with rilakkuma on them, and the package had two funny/cute rilakkuma designs: in one he is flying with cooking utensils in his hands (this is what i reproduced for my bento, without the utensils), and in another he is totally relaxing (per his name!), with one arm leisurely propping up his head.
just a reminder: the fabulous play bento set — consisting of adorable, hand-crafted fabric food items traditionally found in a bento box — is still up for grabs on ebay. the bento4japan charity auctions are winding down, but this item is like a grand finale!
tomorrow’s lunch was simple and easy to speed pack — which was perfect, since i went to happy hour with a friend and came home ready for bed!
i have one fairly thick cucumber maki here, rolled with rice that i mixed with shiso powder. in the bamboo box i also have two fat slices of a tamagoyaki that i pre-made the other night. a few citrus segments in the side box and i’m all set for a light and refreshing mid-week lunch. they can’t all be kyaraben!
i may steal mils’ idea for miso-soup-on-the-go to add to this, too… wouldn’t a nice mug of hot miso be great with these chilled maki pieces?
tomorrow’s lunch has two “club-style” (triple decker) sandwiches made from health nut bread, garlic-herb cream cheese, vegetarian ham, and cucumber. each sandwich is topped with a sort of scottie dog postage stamp.
in between the sandwiches is a steamed broccoli floret, a tamagoyaki slice, a purple potato dog bone, some pea pods, and one of the last of my israeli vine tomatoes with a yellow flower food pick.
if you haven’t done so yet, please check out the bento4japan charity auctions going on right now… i learned the hard way that i can’t bid on the cute shinzi katoh box that kir devries graciously donated and for which i’m hosting the auction (grrr)… but you can! plus, there’s plenty of other great stuff for me to bid on!
another super simple bento for tomorrow’s lunch: mini salmon cakes (from the frozen section at my organic market), brown rice with lentils and a black-and-white sesame seed stripe, “health salad” (cabbage, cucumbers, peppers, carrots and dill wilted in a light vinegar dressing, almost like a mayonnaise-less coleslaw), a few takuwan flowers, and a cherry tomato. banana ooyoo and a lady apple for dessert.
tomorrow after work, i’m meeting up with joe mcpherson of zenkimchi, one of my favorite food blogs. he’s in NYC after giving a presentation on buddhist temple cuisine, and hosting a meet-up for other foodies — we’re gonna grub down in K-town (which means bento-able leftovers, yay!). if you’re interested in joining us, check out the facebook page and RSVP!
[posted at what’s for lunch wednesday — check it out and add your link!]
tired work nights call for quick, easy meals; it’s no surprise that fried rice is one of my favorites. this batch has everything but the kitchen sink (leftovers from the last few weeks of summer produce): red and yellow peppers, serrano chiles, mushrooms, kosher hot dogs, spanish onion, kimchi, and zucchini, plus freshly-ground black pepper, soy sauce, gochujang, and a bit of sesame oil for flavor. the boyfriend hates peas and carrots, so i added a few of those, plus some takuwan strips, on top (rather than mixing in, which would mean he couldn’t pick them out) — i think the scattered effect looks a bit like festive confetti.
the rest of the box has steamed broccolini, cucumber sticks sprinkled with black sesame seeds, a fried quail egg, and a grape tomato. for dessert, i have a sidecar with green and champagne grapes, plus beautiful early-fall raspberries from my CSA share, garnished with a bit of mint. that’s it; no fancy decorations this time (save for one pick), just a quick transformation of leftovers into a reasonably appealing lunch for tomorrow.
i need to take ruby on one more walk tonight, and then i’ll probably fall asleep watching the giants game. g’night bento pals!
so, i treated myself and ordered a few things from rakuten… i’ve been slowly working them into my bento repertoire. the new item i’m featuring today is a melamine miffy fork, it’s so adorable, and it’s not even really child sized, so it’s actually comfortable to eat with.
today’s bento has a cheese, radish, and nori miffy, on top of a mixed rice batch from my cuckoo pressure cooker — i used near east’s lentil rice pilaf, as well as some brown nishiki. some baby cucumber slices also accent the rice, which is separated from the rest of the food by a strawberry-wax-paper divider. the top section has baked tofu (recipe below), carrot flowers, steamed corn, a tiny yellow tomato and three tiny sweet peppers (from various brooklyn rooftop gardens), and steamed broccolini (which i love because it has a more delicate look than regular broccoli).
yummy baked tofu
has anyone noticed that almost all of my recipes involve soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and pepper flakes? well, i guess i know what i like…
want to see more fab wednesday lunch bentos, or add a link to your own? check out “what’s for lunch wednesday” at bento lunch!
[as seen on japanistic blog]
bento zen 
