Snack Bento in New Quad!

I was Finally able to make a Bento today. Earlier this week I was sick so I didn't make any bentos, then when I recovered I wasn't able to make any bentos because my mother-in-law took over the entire kitchen to do all the Easter Baking (Her family celebrates Easter on Palm Sunday). So, While my Mother-in-law was on the phone I quickly ran into the kitchen and threw this together while the bento box was precariously balanced on top of the tissue box squished next to the refrigerator. It was difficult trying not to let any of the flour that is covering the kitchen into my food. I am gluten intollerant but there is FLOUR all over the kitchen. WTF?
Anyway, Here is my bento!

This bento is really big enough to be a lunch, so I think I will count this as my lunch (Since the nuts will make it high calorie anyway).
In the top Left Section I have:

• 1 lg Strawberry
• 5 Blueberries (On Leaf Pick)
• 4 Blackberries (On Cute Face Food Picks)

In the Bottom Left Section I have:

• 1/4 Cup GF Rice Krispies (Made with Brown Rice)
• 1/4 Cup GF Puffins Cereal (Multigrain)
• 1/4 Cup GF Whole O's Cereal

In the Top Right Section I have:

• 2 Tbsp Pepitas (Unsalted Pumpkin Seeds)
• 2 Tbsp Sliced Almonds
• 2 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds (Unsalted)
• 1/4 Cup Nutrotious (Pumpkin Palooza)
• 1 mini box Raisins

In the Bottom Right Section I have:

• 4 Baby Carrots
• 1 lg Slice Mushroom
• 1 thick slice Cucumber
• Light Italian Dressing (In Apple Container)

I love this Quad Bento from LunchBots! It's such a great size and perfect for packing a lot of different foods all at once. I love variety, so this Bento Box makes it easy for me to have a large Variety in my meal without the inconvenience of foods mixing together. :) I also LOVE that this box is Eco-friendly! XD

New LunchBots Bento!

I'm so lucky! I won a LunchBots Stainless Steel Quad Bento from a Giveaway on Happy Little Bento. This bento is Stainless Steel, Healthier then Plastic, and Better for the Environment. Plus the Quad LunchBots have 4 divided sections that make it perfect for packing a variety of foods. I am most looking forward to packing some snacks in my new LunchBots Quad.

 I got the Lime Green LunchBots. Such a beautiful color, and the perfect fit for such an Environmentally 'Green' lunch container!

It's a great size for a variety of meals; Breakfast, Snacks big enough to share with a friend, Lunch, a Small Dinner, or maybe even a Dessert Sampler. Mmm, I will definitely have to plan a Dessert Sampler Bento!

The Compartments are all the same size, divided by Stainless Steel. This Bento is meant for dry foods, so the compartments are not liquid proof. But it would be easy to pack a wet food into the bento using a silicone cup or covered container.

 I love my new Lime Green LunchBots Quad!

The Compartments really are nice and big. And I can't wait to think of new yummy things to pack in this container. I am excited to try it out!

Thank you Sheri from Happy Little Bento! And Thank you Everyone from LunchBots!

Eggs & Bunnies Bento

Last Friday, my fiance and I died some eggs for Ostara (A few days late because we were busy) and so I decided to make a bento using one of my died eggs.
Check it out

• Yogurt Covered Raisins (In the Mini Purple Plastic Egg)
• Blueberries (On the Leaf Pick)
• Blackberries (On the White Rabbit Pick)
• Lg Strawberry
• Annie's Bunny Fruit Snacks (Berry Patch, in Green Cup)
• Shredded Carrot 'Nest'
• Natural Almonds (In the Mini Yellow Plastic Egg)
• Chopped Cucumber
• Fresh Spinach 'Nest'
• Hard Boiled Egg (Died Purple with the Triple Moon Goddess on one side and a Pentagle on the other)

 Here is what the bento looks like with the Pentacle.

 Close up of the Pentacle Egg

 Close up of the Triple Moon Goddess Egg (My favorite symbol)

 Close up of the Top Tier of the Bento

Here is my salad with the egg peeled and the almonds out of the plastic egg. I ate it with some Light Italian Dressing

'Ice Cream Cone' Bento

The past few days have been in the 80's and the warm summery weather has been making me crave Ice cream. So in honor of the warm weather and my craving's for ice cream, I have made an 'Ice Cream Cone' Bento for breakfast.
Check it out! Doesn't it look like real ice cream?

 In my breakfast bento I have:

• Breakfast Bar (Glutino Gluten Free Blueberry Breakfast Bar)
• 'Summery' Fruit Salad (Watermelon, Pineapple, Green Grapes, Blueberries, Blackberries)
• Lg Strawberry
• 'Ice Cream' (See Below)

The 'Ice Cream' is made out of Fat Free Ricotta Cheese that I sweetened with a packet of Stevia. I found these awesome Gluten Free Ice Cream Cones (Let's Do Gluten Free Ice Cream Cones) at the grocery store.
First I filled the cone with Blueberries and Blackberries. then I topped it with the Ricotta. Last I pressed some Rainbow Sprinkles on top to complete the look. I love how the Ricotta looks just like a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream!

I am such a dope! I had this all planned out, and I was going to decorate the fruit salad with my new Ice Cream Face Food Picks that I got, but in my excitement about the Ricotta 'ice cream' I completely forgot to decorate with the picks! :( Oh well, I'll just have to make another one!!! :)

I am so proud of my creation! LOL!

I even used my webcam to take pictures of myself eating my 'Ice Cream'. lol I'm so silly.

YUM! It was sooooo good. I will definitely be making this again as a dessert or a snack. Or as a healthier treat when I am craving something sweet.
By the way, the gluten free cones have no sugar or fat or anything in them. They are just 10 calories, 3g Carbs, and 5mg Sodium. That is it!

New Piggy Bento!

Today I am trying out my new Piggy bento and some of the new Picks I got from the bento giveaway. I packed a pretty light lunch because I had a Vegan Smoothie, some Dry Cereal, and a Gluten Free Banana Muffin for Breakfast.

 Isn't this a cute Bento box? I love the piggy face! I want to make a Big Pig Bento Picnic (BPBP) using all the piggy bento boxes I have. I think that would be really cute. I will try to do that at least once this year!

• Fresh Spinach
• Italian Ground Turkey w/ Veggies (Summer Squash, Zucchini, Eggplant, Mushrooms, and Garlic)
• 5 Blueberries (On two of my cute Face Food Picks. The Piggy Dango and the Flan Bear)
• 1 Blackberry & 1 Grape (Sliced in half and alternated on one of my new Jewel Tone Picks/Pink Heart)
• Homemade Banana Muffin w/Walnuts (Gluten Free, Vegan, and Sugar Free, with my new Tiger Muffin Face Food Pick)

Wow, what a yummy bento. I love making that Italian Ground Turkey and Vegetable meal, It's a very light meal but it's packed with flavor. I usually make it in the summer, but the weather has been very summery lately, so I was in the mood for it. YUM.
I made 18 Banana Muffins Monday, and there are only 6 left. These Vegan, Gluten Free, Sugar Free Muffins are SOOOO GOOOD! And they are moist too! You can not tell they are Vegan, Gluten Free, or Sugar Free at all.

Here is the Vegan Purple Smoothie I had with Breakfast. It's a mix of Fresh and Frozen Fruit (Blueberries, Strawberries, Banana, Pineapple, Blackberries) as well as Chia Seeds, Silken Tofu, and Almond/Coconut Milk. The purple color was more intense in person.

This is the Smoothie I made for my fiance. A Mix of Fresh and Frozen Fruit (Blueberries, Blackberries, Strawberries, Raspberries), and a spoonful or two of Plain Low Fat Greek Yogurt.
The color of this was a lot more red then in the picture. The picture makes it look pink.

Ostara Bento

This bento is in honor of Ostara the Spring Festival. If you want to learn more about Ostara please check out my blog post about it Here!

• Egg in a Basket (GF Bread with Egg shaped cut out, with a Fried egg in the middle)
• Ostara Egg (The Egg shaped cut out of bread, toasted with Egg shaped cheese on top, decorated with purple green and blue foodsafe markers)
• Fresh Baby Spinach
• 2 Strawberries
• Pumpkin Seeds and Sunflower Seeds with a Bunny Pick
• Flower (Cheese cut into a tulip and colored with purple foodsafe marker, placed on a flower stem pick)

 The Egg in a Basket (other names are Egg in a Hole, Bird's Nest, Egg in Toast, Toad in a Hole, etc.) has some Ostara symbolism that makes it the prefect food to eat today. The egg has a lot of symbolism with fertility, but when made this way it symbolizes the union of the sun and soil, the union between the God and the Goddess. It also represents fertility, prosperity, and potential.
Unfortunately my yolk broke, so it doesn't look as pretty as it should... but it still tastes delicious!

Besides Eggs, Other foods traditionally eaten are Sprouts and Fresh Greens (I used Baby Spinach), Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds (I used both), Nuts, Dairy (I used Cheese), Lamb, Cured Meats like Ham, Hot Cross Buns, Honey Cakes, Asparagus, and Fresh Fruits (I used Strawberries).

My Ostara Egg is painted with some of the colors of Ostara, Light Green, Sky Blue, Lavender. Other colors include Yellow and Pink. I painted it with a Pentacle to symbolize the elements.
I Decorated the Bento using a Flower and a Rabbit because those are both strong symbols of Ostara.

I hope you all enjoyed my Ostara Bento! Have a Happy and Blessed Ostara!

I Won A Bento Giveaway!

Last Month I entered a Bento Giveaway on Bento Monsters Blog and I won! (Giveaway information here and here) I have been eagerly awaiting my package to arrive in the mail, and today, just as I was finishing my breakfast there was a knock on the door. The package came in the mail! YAY! I was so excited it took all of my strength not to jump up and down in front of the post man. But once the door was closed I excitedly ran into the living room and grabbed my camera to take lots of pictures!

 Look at all the amazing goodies I got! I am so excited to make bentos with these cute bento accessories.

First up is the super cute Piggy Bento Box. I Love Pigs! Pigs have been my favorite animal since I was a baby, and I am so excited to have this super cute piggy bento box.

 I just love the face. So cute.

This bento box is a one tier bento with a divider and a set of chopsticks.

• Microwaveable (without lid)
• Set of White Chopsticks on Inner Lid
• Inner Lid is Tight Fitting to keep foods contained
• The Bento has a 330 ml capacity
• White Bento Belt included

 Next is the Cute Zoo Animal Food Picks!

They are soo cute! These picks are 2 and 4 pronged picks that are perfect for picking up small foods in the bento. The giraffe is the perfect size to use as a small form to eat foods from the bento box.

• 2 Pink Dogs
• 2 Blue Bears
• 2 Green Monkeys
• 2 Yellow Cats
• 2 Orange Giraffes 

Next are the Jewel Tone Food Picks. This set of twenty is a mix of colors and shapes, and will be perfect for adding a small detail to a bento. I look forward to using the bows and the crown to turn a hard boiled egg into a person.

• 2 Pink Bows, 1 Orange Bow, 1 Yellow Bow, 1 Green Bow
• 1 Orange Crown
• 2 Orange Flowers, 2 Green Flowers
• 1 Pink Diamond, 3 Yellow Diamonds, 1 Green Diamond
• 2 Pink Hearts, 1 Orange Heart, 1 Yellow Heart, 1 Green Heart

These picks are so cool, and very unique. At first glace they look like Japanese Desserts, but if you look at them again they have little animal faces on them. Besides the super cute piggy bento box, these picks are my favorite out of the whole giveaway.

 Can you see the cute little faces? There is a Pig, a Bear, a Tiger, and a Cat.

• 2 Pig/Hanami Dango. (Dango are Japanese dumplings made from rice flower. Bocchan dango: Dango that has three colors. One is colored by red beans, the second by eggs, and the third by green tea. Hanami Dango is three color dango eaten during Hanami/Sakura flower viewing)
• 2 Tiger/Cupcake
• 2 Bear/Flan (Flan is a custard with a soft caramel sauce on top made from sugar, eggs, and milk)
• 2 Cat/Ice cream

Next up are the Side Dish Partition Cups. These are also unique because they can be uses a both a baran (something placed between foods to keep them separated) or a food cup. I will most likely use these as baran, but I may also try them out as a side dish cup once and a while. There are instructions on the back of the package that show you how to turn it into a cup. 1. Pinch the top lightly. 2. Open into a cup shape. 3. Place a small amount of food inside.
These are so cute, and I want to be able to use them more then once, so I probably won't use them as cups very often because that would be more difficult to clean.

There are 12 Baran/Cups in the package and there are many different colors and animals shown on both the front and backs. Teal/Squirrel, Yellow/Lion, Peach/Bunny, Orange/Elephant, Pink/Cat, Blue/Dog, Lilac/Panda, Green/Pig, Lavender/Bear

And here are the Rice Ball wrappers. First you make a round onigiri and put it inside the bag, then fold up the end and close it with the included sticker. These are super cute, and I will be using these for special bentos since they aren't reusable. I'll have to plan a special onigiri bento to use these in. And they are so cute. This is a set of 6 different animals.

There is 1 Pig bag and sticker, 1 Bear bag and sticker, 1 Elephant bag and sticker, 1 Tiger bag and sticker, 1 Lion bag and sticker, and 1 Bunny bag and sticker.

Here is everything I got! It's a lot, and I am so happy with everything. I am so grateful that I won this giveaway. I am so happy I got some piggy bento accessories because I love pigs. And I am excited to use this all to make some amazing bento lunches!
Thank you Ming from Bento Monsters!

Check out the beautiful Bentos on Bento Monsters' Blog. Ming makes wonderful charaban bentos for her two boys. Look for them Here!

Breakfast in New Bento

I made my usual breakfast this morning, but I packed it in the new bento box I bought last week. I think it was the perfect size for my cereal, and I was happy with the spoon as well. Sometimes the bento spoons are too small to hold things like cereal, and they are only good for smooth things like pudding, and apple sauce. But this spoon was a good size and held the cereal without a problem.

 

In the left side of the bento I have the cereals, and in the cup on the right I have the berries. I also poured the milk in with the berries (see below):

• 3/4 Cup Rice Chex (Gluten Free)
• 1/2 Cup Puffin's Multigrain (Gluten Free)
• 1/8 Cup Sliced Almonds
• 6 Small Strawberries (Chopped)
• 3 Blackberries (Cut in Half)
• 10 Blueberries
• 1/2 Cup Vanilla Almond Coconut Milk (Unsweetened)

And here it is with the milk added. The side compartment is the perfect size to hold all the berries and milk, and I liked that I could keep the wet foods separate from the dry foods until I was ready to eat them.
To eat it, I just picked up the cup holding the berries and milk and I dumped it into the bento on top of the cereal. Then I set aside the empty cup and used the included spoon to eat my cereal.

Great Bento Box Find

My fiance was getting her glasses fixed, so we shopped around in Marshall's while we waited, and look at my lucky find! A great bento box set that I almost walked right by. It was the only one in the store. Only $5.99!!! WOW! I am so lucky!
The sticker on the box shows a Brown, Black, and a Purple bento, but only the brown was in the store. Although I am not a huge fan of the color brown, (I would have LOVED the Purple or the black bento) but it's still an amazing bento box.

Here is the lucky find. It's a very large bento box, and I might have trouble filling it, but I think it might be a great size for salads or other meals filled with vegetables. I might use this for a picnick bento as well because it's big enough for two to share.

Here's what's under the cover. The cover has a liquid proof seal, and tight locking slips.
There is a shallow dish on the left that is called a 'cookie tray'. This will be usefull to keep crackers, cookies, and breads away from wet foods.

Removing the shallow tray reveals a large space for food as well as a Fork and Spoon.
The Removable Deep dish on the right looks to be a good size for a side dish that may be wet. Or a food you don't want mingling with the rest of your meal. I am thinking it's perfect for mac and cheese or a few pieces of chicken or meatballs. Or even a small side salad. Maybe some chips to go along with a sandwich.

The bento is huge! I wish the dimensions were listed on the box like Japanese bentos are, but this one is American made... probably why it's so large.
I love the cute fork and spoon, and the handles of the utensils have little heart cutouts on them.

Here is everything the bento comes with. Here is the description on the box: '6 Piece Set Includes: Fork, Spoon, Cookie Tray, Side Tray, Easy Snap Lid, & Bottom Tray.'

• Easy to Clean
• Good for All Ages (seems kid of big for a little kid, I would only pack a meal for an adult in this bento!)
• Perfect for Work, School & Travel
• BPA Free Durable Plastic Containers & Flatware
• Helps you Pack a Healthy & Economical Meals Fast!
• Dishwasher & Microwave Safe

 Here is a side view of the bento.

I love that this is microwave safe. I do not microwave any of my bentos because I don't want to ruin them, but I might try microwaving this bento. I am not sure yet... If I do, I will write about it on the blog and let you all know how it turned out.