Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Bento

That's right, Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal for Breakfast! This oatmeal is super nutritious and delicious, and it's sugar free. I invented it because I had a can of pumpkin that I wanted to use. Last night I experimented and came up with a yummy and nutritious Flour-less Pumpkin Pie Cookie that was Vegan, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, High Fiber, High Vitamin A, and had many other benefits. It's also only 29 calories per small cookie. Anyway, I had leftover pumpkin and I was craving something that tasted like pumpkin pie, so I made this...

I added extra water to make the oatmeal a pudding consistency, but next time I make it I think I'll use less water and leave it an oatmeal consistency.

• 2 Cups Water (Next time I'm cutting to 1+1/4 cup water)
• 1/2 Cup Oats (I use Gluten Free oats)
• 1/4 Cup Pureed Pumpkin (I had organic canned pumpkin)
• 1/8 Cup Sliced Almonds
• 1/8 Cup Chopped Walnuts
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon (I love cinnamon so I always use a lot, most people would be happy with 1 tsp)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 Packet Stevia (Or sweetener of choice. Maple Syrup would taste delicious with this recipe)

In a medium sauce pan mix water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla and bring to a boil.
Add oats and stir to combine. When the oats soak up most of the water add the pumpkin and stir until pumpkin is well integrated.
When the oatmeal thickens to the consistency you like, turn off heat and stir in nuts and stevia.
Serve right away.

I put this yummy pumpkin pie oatmeal in a bento box, and I was going to decorate it with a little pumpkin cut out... but then I realized that would make it look too much like a Fall themed bento. Oops! I don't know about you, but I like to eat squashes and pumpkins year round... Too bad I can never find canned pumpkin unless it's near Thanksgiving. I guess next year I'll just have to stock up on it.

Leap Day Calendar Bento

Tomorrow is Leap Day, so I made some bentos to honor the rare day. This Bento is a calendar showing February 28th and 29th.

This one is my bento. I felt like having a peanut butter sandwich, but I didn't want a PBJ or PBB or a Fluffernutter, so I made a PBA (Peanut Butter and Apple sandwich).

• 1 Strawberry
• 2 Blackberries (on a Leaf Pick)
• 14 Pistachios (Unsalted)
• Apple Leaf
• PBA Sandwich (Udi's GF White Bread, Teddie Chunky PB with Flaxseed, Apple Slices)
• Calendar (Apple Fruit Leather Strips, Corn Tortilla, Foodsafe Marker)

I know that's not the best calendar. I was planning on making a full calendar for February, but it wasn't coming out right, and it would be too small to see any detail. So I settles on showing the 28th and 29th instead.

Leap Day Clock Bento

Tomorrow is one of those rare days. That's right, it's Leap Day tomorrow, and I made some bentos in honor of the extra 24 hours we will be enjoying!

 I made this bento for my fiance using the rest of the leftover beef chili that my mom made.

• Beef Chili
• Extra 24 Hour Clock (Corn Tortilla, Foodsafe Markers, Apple Fruit Leather)
• Apple Leaves
• Blackberry
• Strawberry
• Apple Fruit Leather Strips
• GF Cornbread
• Baby Carrots

 Here is the clock. I couldn't resist making it Rainbow!

And here are all the yummy goodies on the side.

Creamy Dreamy Banana Split Ice-cream

This Ice Cream is Vegan (100% Dairy and Egg free), Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Soy Free, and if you do not add Peanut Butter it is also Nut Free.
But don't let all that deter you from trying this recipe, because this ice cream is super creamy, rich, flavorful, and satisfying. Not to mention, super easy to make, and you don't need an ice cream maker!

 It has the consistency of soft serve, but if you like hard ice cream you can pop it in the freezer and let it harden before scooping.

This ice cream is made from Frozen Bananas! That's right, next time you have some bananas getting brown, peel them and freeze them to make delicious ice cream in minutes!
This recipe is for 1 serving of Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream. The recipe can easily be multiplied to make several servings of. Or you can modify it easily to make several different flavors. (I will be making different flavors and blogging about them as well.)

• 1 Frozen Banana (medium-large)
• 1 Tbsp Natural Unsweetened Peanut Butter (smooth or chunky)
• 1 tsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (more if you want a darker chocolate flavor)

Put the frozen banana in a blender or food processor. I have a crappy blender, so I used the ancient food processor instead, and the recipe turned out great. I am not adding times for this recipe because everyone's blender or food processor is different and it'll take different times depending on the power.

 You may need to break up the banana a little, depending on how good your blender/food processor is.

 Start blending. The banana will start looking crumbly like this.

 Keep blending until you have a smooth creamy texture. At this point you can stop and eat it as is. Banana Ice Cream is delicious!, but if you want a different flavor, now is the time to add the other ingredients.

 I added peanut butter and cocoa powder to make a chocolate peanut butter ice cream. If you are allergic to nuts you can use Sun Butter, or omit the nut butter all together and make chocolate ice cream.

 Blend until the ingredients are well incorporated and smooth.

Scoop into a bowl and serve. The texture is melty like soft serve ice cream, so if you want a harder ice cream place it into a plastic container or zip-lock bag and freeze before serving.

The flavors made me think of a banana split, so that is what I called it.
Enjoy!

Pig Pen Chili Bento

Here is my fiance's bento lunch for today. It has the beef chili that my mom made for dinner Friday. I was making a piggy themed bento for myself so I thought I'd make this bento piggy themed too. The chili is acting as the pig pen and there are a few pink piggies running around.

• Gluten Free Cornbread (Bob's Red Mill)
• 2 Blackberries
• 1 Strawberry
• Beef Chili
• Pink Piggies (Cut from Corn Tortilla colored with Foodsafe Markers)

She also ate half of the pistachio nuts I packed in my bento. Yum, I love pistachios!

Piggy Vegetable Chili Bento

My mom had some family over for dinner last Friday and she made 2 kinds of chili (Vegetarian and Meat) as well as Gluten Free Cornbread. For dessert we had Chocolate Fondue!
Anyway, I got to bring home some of the chili and cornbread, so I made some yummy bentos with a Pig theme, since I love pigs so much.
Here is my bento; I have the Vegetarian Chili in my bento, and I love all the chunks of vegetables that add great color and flavor. YUM! It was like a thick vegetable stew with beans.

 Oink Oink Oink! I just LOVE pigs!

 in the bottom tier I have:

• Gluten Free Cornbread (The Bob's Red Mill mix, my favorite!)
• Pink Pig (Cut from Corn Tortilla and colored with Foodsafe Markers)
• 2 Blackberries
• 1 Strawberry
• 1/4 Cup Cole Slaw Mix (I added it to my chili to up the vegetables and to add crunch)

 Here is the Small Piggy Container that I used.

• 40 Unsalted Pistachio Nuts (I split them with my fiance)

And this is the Top tier of the piggy bento. This is what was under the piggy face. (The face was cut from corn tortilla and colored with foodsafe markers). The pink spoon sticking out was supposed to be the piggy tail.

• Vegetarian Chili (Beans, Tomatoes, Corn, Carrots, Zucchini, Peppers, Onions, and I don't know if there was anything else besides seasoning. It was Amazing!)

Night Sky Hello Kitty Bento

Here is the Night Sky Hello Kitty Bento I made for my fiance. It's the opposite of my Sunlight HK bento that I made for myself.

•  2 Slices Pork Loin (with spice rub)
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Pan Fried Quinoa Polenta
• Sugar Free Baked Apple (Recipe Here)
• Berry Salad (Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Grapes)
• Sugar Free Cherry Jello w/Strawberry Flower

 Night Sky Hello Kitty is made with Corn Tortilla, Black Food Coloring, and Provolone Cheese Stars

Here are the twin Hello Kitties. I hope you like them as much as I liked making them!

Sunlight Hello Kitty Bento

Today I made 2 Hello Kitties, a Sunlight Hello Kitty, and a Night Sky Hello Kitty. It's a Hello Kitty Kind of day today; I am wearing my Hello Kitty shirt and a pair of Hello Kitty Socks!

 Here is my Sunlight Hello Kitty Bento. I made a Sunlight HK for myself and a Night Sky HK for my fiance. I guess Opposites do attract!

• Sugar Free Baked Apple w/ Plum Amazins (Recipe Here)
• Tulip Container w/Light Italian Dressing (for Salad)
• 2 Blackberries
• Sunlight Hello Kitty (Corn Tortilla, Yellow and Black Food Coloring, Blue Clouds made from Provolone Cheese and blue foodsafe markers)
• Sugar Free Cherry Jello in Heart Cup
• Strawberry Flower
• 1/2 Cup dry Cole Slaw Mix 
• 1/8 Cup Shredded Carrots
• Cucumber Tulips
• Red Pepper Flowers
• Mushroom Flower
• 1 Cherry Tomato

 Here is a close up of my Garden Salad!

And here is my Sunny Hello Kitty, laying on my Cherry Jello Heart. The warmth of her light is making the flowers Grow!

Easy Sugar Free Baked Apples

These Baked Apples are Vegan, Sugar Free, Gluten Free, and super easy to make.

Most Baked Apple recipes call for butter and sugar, but I cut out the butter (to make it non-dairy, and healthier), and I used Stevia instead of sugar.
What you will need:

• 1 medium-small Apple (I used Macintosh, but feel free to use your favorite)
• 1 tsp-1Tbsp Ground Cinnamon (I love Cinnamon so I use a lot)
• 1 Packet Stevia
• Unsweetened Dried Fruit of Choice (I used Plum Amazins diced Prunes, but good options include Raisins, Golden Raisins, and Dried Cranberries)
• 1 tsp Water
• Microwavable Bowl
• Plastic Wrap
• Knife or Apple Corer

 First, Wash your apple and place it in a small microwaveable bowl.

 Core the apple, leaving the bottom intact. Make sure to get all the seeds out.

 Sprinkle the Cinnamon and Stevia into the apple.

 Stuff the apple with dried fruit, if you do not like/want dried fruit, you can skip this step.

 Put 1 tsp water into the apple, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave for about 2 minutes. Times depend on the size of your apple.

Carefully take off plastic wrap and enjoy! If you are packing this in a bento like I am, let the apple cool down before placing it into the bento. The cinnamon/stevia/water mixture makes a yummy syrup that you can pour back into the hole in the apple when you pack it into a bento.
Thismakes a delicious snack, dessert, or breakfast, and feel free to customize it to your liking.
Other things you could add to this baked apple are:

• Nutmeg
• Chopped Nuts
• Granola
• Oatmeal
• Ice Cream
• Whipped Cream
• Cocoa Powder (instead of Cinnamon)
• Peanut Butter
• Fresh or Frozen Fruit
• Brown Sugar (instead of Stevia)
• Honey (instead of Stevia)
• Juice (instead of Water)

Compartment Snack Bento

I was going to make a snack mix bento, but as I was pulling out my bento accessories I saw my super cute bento cups, and I decided to make a compartmentalized snack bento. I also added some picks for added color and cuteness.

• Sugar Free Raspberry Jello (In my Pink Heart Cup, also with my Green Turtle Spoon)
• 1 Clementine (With a Leaf Pick)
• 1 Tbsp Plum Amazins (In Pink Quarter Circle Cup, and Pink Bear Pick)
• 2 Tbsp Sliced Almonds (In Orange Quarter Circle Cup)
• 1/4 Cup Corn Chex (In Green Square Cup)
• 1/4 Cup GF Brown Rice Krispies (With Blue Cat Pick)
• 1/4 Cup Unsalted Soy Nuts (In Orange Half Circle Cup, and Yellow Dog Pick)

I love compartments and organization, but unfortunately I am not that organized with everything in my life. I hope that one day my house will be organized and neat. First stop? Get a toy box for all the cat toys taking up the house. lol

Low Sugar Dessert Bento

I made myself a quick bento for dessert, and I made it as low sugar as I could.
I am trying to get rid of as much added sugar as possible, so I am really watching added sugars. I was already doing this, but from now on, you may see more mention of this on my blog.

• 1/2 Clementine (This has 3.4g sugar, but it is natural sugar so I am not counting it)
• 1/8 cup Cocoa Roast Almonds (only .5g sugar)
• 1/2 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce (8g sugar. This is natural sugar so I am not counting it)
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon (.1g sugar, also natural)
• Sugar Free Raspberry Jello (0g sugar)

All together it's only .5g (added) sugar... for my entire dessert. There is actually 12g sugar, but almost all of it is natural sugars, and I am not worried about that at all. If I was worried about natural sugars I wouldn't eat bananas (14.4g sugar for 1 medium banana)!

It was so good, I took the picture twice... actually this picture shows that the cinnamon was supposed to be heart shaped.

Blue Hello kitty Bento

I made my fiance a special Hello Kitty today. She is wearing Blue and holding an Apple in honor of one of the characters in my fiance's Novels. My fiance is in the middle of writing a series and I decided to honor one of the characters in Hello Kitty form.

Here she is in all her glory! I tried hard to color in her dress, but the foodsafe markers always look blotchy to me. They aren't the easiest things to use. I don't know if my markers are just malfunctioning, or if the foods I am drawing on are just not good enough for the markers. But oh well, it works well enough that I'll keep using them until I get a better option. I also decorated this bento with an Apple Pick, an Apple Bottle (nothing inside, just for decoration), and a Blue Fork.

• Hello Kitty (Provolone Cheese, Foodsafe Marker)
• Italian Strata (GF bread, Eggs, Milk, Cheese, Italian Seasoning, Recipe Here)
• Mixed Italian Vegetables (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Zucchini, Italian Green Beans, Lima Beans)

 Here is Hello Kitty in detail. I used my Hello Kitty food cutter on Provolone cheese, then I used blue foodsafe marker to color in her dress and bow. Black and yellow foodsafe markers for her face, and red and green foodsafe makers for the little apple with a leaf.

It's so cute! I love my Hello Kitty Cutter, and I love the super cute Apple bottles and apple picks I have. I wish I had more occasions to use them, but I'm happy that I have them for special occasions like this.

Bento Giveaway

I stumbled across a super cute bento giveaway and I REALLY hope I win it! I LOVE the piggy bento box soooo much, and I have been wanting more bento picks.
Anyway, I am blogging about this giveaway as one of my entries, so I have another chance to win. Oh Oh Oh I hope I win!!!!

The items are a lunch box, 3 packets of picks, 1 packet of onigiri wrappers and 1 packet of plastic food cups (can be used as barans).
This giveaway is on http://bentomonsters.blogspot.com/2012/02/giveaway.html
Good Luck everyone..... but I really hope I win!!!

Gluten Free Italian Strata

In the freezer I had a 2/3 of a loaf of Gluten Free Bread that my mother made me, and I decided to use it to make a delicious GF Italian Strata.

 I made 2 separate ones, because I am not a huge fan of cheese, so I made mine with less cheese.

 It was super simple to made and everyone loved it, so I'm going to share the recipe I made.

 Here is the cheesier version of the strata, I didn't write down the recipe for it as I made it, but I did write down the less cheesy version that I made for myself, so you can take that recipe and double it to make enough for 4 people, and add more cheese to make it cheesier.

Here is the less cheesy version of the Strata. It's enough for 2 people, and if you want it cheesier, just add a little more.

• 1 1/2 cup Cubed GF Bread
• 2 Eggs Beaten (I used 1/2 cup Egg Beaters)
• 1/2 cup Milk (I used 1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk)
• 1/4 cup Broccoli (Chopped finely)
• 1/2 Slice Provolone Cheese (Broken into pieces)
• 1/3 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (I used Reduced Fat)
• 1/8 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tbsp Italian Herbs (I use McCormick Perfect Pinch no salt added)
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Milled Flax Seed

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Make sure the bread gets evenly covered with the eggs and milk, and make sure the cheese is mixed throughout.
2. Pour mixture into a greased baking dish (I used a glass baking dish) and cover. Put into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, but you can make this and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
3. Take Strata out of the refrigerator 30-60 mins before cooking. Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over the top.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Bake the Strata in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and crispy.
Enjoy!

Mardi Gras Snack Bento w/GF King Cake

That's right, I made another Mardi Gras Bento. I've been loving the color combinations, and have been getting creative with the colors and foods.
Anyway, this Mardi Gras Bento has my version of a Gluten Free King Cake!

I tried to have everything match the Mardi Gras colors Green, Gold, and Purple. I even used a Green food cup, and Yellow/gold and Purple/pink Spoon and Fork.

• Mardi Gras Fruit Salad (See Below)
• 1 Sunsweet One Prune (Individually wrapped)
• 2 Tbsp Soynuts (Dry Roasted and Unsalted)
• Gluten Free King Cake (See Below)

Here is my version of a GF King Cake. A King cake is a type of yeast pasty/bread that has some kind of filling (usually a cinnamon and brown sugar filling) and is topped with icing that is either colors Green/Gold/Purple or sugar in those colors is added to the top of the icing.
Basically my version of a Gluten Free King Cake is to take a Udi's Gluten Free Cinnamon Bun, divide the icing packet into three bowls. Add food coloring to the icing to make Green/Gold/Purple, then spread icing onto the warmed cinnamon bun. And there you have it, a super simple and super delicious GF King Cake for Mardi Gras.

Here is my Mardi Gras Fruit Salad

• 1 Kiwi (Sliced and peel removed)
• 10 Purple Grapes (Seedless)
• 1/2 Clementine [4-5 segments] (Peeled and cut in half. Remove any seeds)

Happy Mardi Gras everyone (That means Fat Tuesday in French). Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday, and Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. I am not Catholic, but this year for Lent I am going to give up Candy (Except for sugar free gum) and Baked Goods (Except for breads for sandwiches). I am trying to give up as much added sugar as possible. So I figured Lent is the perfect time to do it.

Mardi Gras Salad Bento

Here is another Mardi Gras Bento I made today. This is the salad I had with dinner made up of different things I got from the Whole Food's Salad Bar.

• Mesclun Mix (Lettuce mix that is green and purple)
• Shredded Zucchini
• Shredded Carrots (I know this is orange, but just pretend it's Gold)
• Shredded Red Cabbage (I don't know why it's called Red cabbage when it's visually Purple)

I ate this salad with my favorite dressing from Whole Foods, the Tomato Basil. YUM! It's the best! I also had Glutino Frozen Gluten Free Pizza. It was ok, but I REALLY miss the texture and taste of regular pizza crust. I miss the chewiness of the gluten in the crust. :(

Mardi Gras Oatmeal Bento

I made myself Mardi Gras Oatmeal for breakfast. That's just a fancy way of saying I dumped a bunch of food coloring into my oatmeal to make it pretty. lol

 

I Read that Purple is for Justice, Gold is for Power, and Green is for Faith 

• Purple Oatmeal (1/2 cup GF oats, 1/8 cup Plum Amazins diced prunes, 1/8 cup Dried Wild Blueberries)
• Gold Oatmeal (1/2 cup GF oats, 1/8 cup Sliced Almonds, 1/8 cup Chopped Walnuts)
• Green Oatmeal (1/2 cup GF oats, 1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon)

Mardi Gras is this Tuesday, so I hope you all have fun and enjoy tasty foods. :)

 Here are the bowls of oatmeal after I added the dye.

 And here I am about to have a taste. I ended up mixing it all together so I would have my cinnamon, fruit, and nut oatmeal that I like, but I didn't take a picture because the colors didn't make it very appetizing looking.