Requested Bento

Today was my day off, and since I had extra time my wife asked me if I would make her a bento for her lunch tomorrow. She asked for Octodogs and Spinach Tamagoyaki. I decided to go a step further and make Onigiri as well.

 Here it is! I hope she likes it. :) I used some of my new bento goodies from Christmas to make this bento. The 3 tiered Blue Bento box, the Cube Rice Shaper, and some of my Crystal Food Picks.

The first tear has a cute Royal Salad using my Heart Mold and some Chrystal Food Picks.

• Lettuce Spring Mix
• Hard Boiled Egg
• Sesame Seeds (Eyes)
• Craisin (Lips)
• Balsamic Vinaigrette

 The second tier has the two foods my wife requested.

• Spinach Tamagoyaki (made with egg beaters and fresh spinach)
• Octodogs (made with a Chicken Hot Dog cut into thirds)

 The bottom tier was fun to make with my new Cube Rice Mold.

• Cube Onigiri
• Salted Almonds

I had to use a pink bento belt to hold it together because my black belts weren't stretched enough to fit around the 3 tiers. This was my biggest/stretchiest bento belt and it had enough room for me to add some chopsticks in their case.
I had to use a bento belt because the octodogs wouldn't fully fit into the bento with the cover on. Oops.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bento

This delicious oatmeal can even be eaten as a dessert, but I opted to have it for breakfast!

• Gluten Free Oatmeal (I used Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Packet Stevia
• 1/2 Banana
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 Cup Raisins
• 2 Tbsp Peanut Butter (I used Teddie Natural Creamy with Flaxseed)
• 1/4 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Mmmm, care for a bite?

Well here's how I made it.

1. Boil your water and add enough rolled oats to make 1-2 servings of oatmeal. (Follow your package's directions for amount of water/oatmeal).
2. Add your sweetener, mashed banana, vanilla extract, and cinnamon, and stir to combine.
3. When oatmeal has cooked and thickened stir in the peanut butter, turn off the heat and stir in the raisins.
4. Right before serving mix in mini chocolate chips, and enjoy.
5. Optional, eat it with a splash of milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

Breakfast Fried Rice Bento

That's right, Fried Rice for breakfast. This isn't your ordinary fried rice with vegetables, this has dried fruit, peanut butter, and banana in it.

• Orange Slices
• Breakfast Fried Rice

Want to make Breakfast Fried Rice? It's easy! Here are the ingredients.

• 1 Cup Cooked Rice (I used a mix of Brown and Wild Rice) 
• 1 Tbsp Raisins (No sugar added)
• 1 Tbsp Golden Raisins (No sugar added)
• 1 Tbsp Dried Cranberries (I used 50% less sugar added Craisins)
• 1/2 Banana Sliced
• 2 Tbsp Peanut Butter (I used Natural Peanut Butter with the oil on top)
• 2 tsp Sunflower Seeds (or nuts, or other seeds)
• Optional: Ground Cinnamon (or Nutmeg, All Spice, Ginger, Salt, etc.)

Directions.

1. Spray a frying pan with non stick spray and add the cooked rice.
2. Cook on medium heat while adding the peanut butter, dried fruit, and seeds.
3. Mix well and cook until warmed through.
4. Remove from heat and add the sliced banana. Gently mix it in and serve warm.

Of Pocket Sandwiches and Fruit Salad

This bento has a lot of different things in it, I couldn't figure out what to call it.
I tried out my new Pocket Sandwich press (though it's a little difficult with my gluten free bread. I also used Chocolate PB2 as the filling.

 This bento if just full of color and deliciousness... :)

 This tie of my bento looks like a silly-eyed monster.

• Red Mini Sweet Pepper
• Yellow Mini Sweet Pepper
• Pocket Sandwich cut in half (Udi's fiber bread, Chocolate PB2 mixed with Cocoa Powder and water)

• Green Onion Dip (Greek Yogurt mixed with Green Onion Dip Mix)
• Crunchmaster Crackers (Hint of Sea Salt)
• Carrot Sticks

 

This tier of my bento is very colorful thanks to the fruit medley ! :)

• Fruit Medley (Cherries, Peaches, Pineapple, Pears, packed in 100% juice)
• Cucumber Sticks
• Carrot Sticks

Next I'll show you how I made the Pocket Sandwich.

 First I cut the crust off my slices abread and flattened them out with my hand. I had to do this because the gluten free bread tears/crumbles/falls appart easily, so flattening it down it help it hold it's shape better.
Next I placed one slice of flattened bread into the sandwich press and filled the center with the Chocolate PB2 mixture.

 I placed the other slice of bread on top and pressed the top of the sandwich press down over it.

This is what it looked like after coming out of the press. I gently cut it in half and place it into the bento box.

Mmmm, It's like a dessert with all that Chocolate Peanut Butter inside. To make the filling I took 2 Tbsp Chocolate PB2 (a powdered peanut butter with less fat and calories) added 1/2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder and 1 1/2 Tbsp Water (a little at a time).
I stirred it until it was combined and the consistency of peanut butter. You can add more liquid to make it thinner, or less liquid to make it thicker.
To compare the calories of the Chocolate PB2, the Chocolate PB2 has less than 50 calories for this serving size. while Nutella has 200 calories for a serving, and a Chocolate Peanut Butter has between 180-200 calories per serving.

Rainbow Rice Bento

I have been bringing quick lunches to work in my mini crock pot. Usually I don't have the time to take a picture, but yesterday I took a picture since it was kind of pretty. I'm calling it Rainbow Rice for lack of a better name.

 This dish is made with two types of frozen veggies. An Oriental Vegetable Mix, and a Rice and Mixed Vegetable Steamer Bag.
I poured some of each Frozen Vegetable Mix into my crock pot, added a dash of Gluten Free Soy Sauce and some Cracked Pepper.
At work I plugged in my crock pot and it was hot and ready to eat by lunch time. It would have been sooo much better if it was stir fried first, but it tasted good anyway.

• Red (Peppers)
• Orange (Carrots)
• Yellow (Corn)
• Green (Peas)
• Green (Green Beans)
• Green (Pea Pods)
• Green (Broccoli)
• White (Onion)
• White (Water Chestnuts)
• White (Rice)
• Black/Brown (Gluten Free Soy Sauce)
• Black (Cracked Pepper)

Chocolate PB2 Banana Ice Cream

This easy recipe is healthier and lower calorie than a traditional ice cream. Plus it's Low Added Sugar, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Soy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan!

My mom gave me a Vitamix blender for Christmas! I have been wanting a Vitamix for so long, and I finally have one, so what is the first thing I make? Ice Cream! lol
Also, I have been wanting to try PB2 for a few months now (ever since I heard about this low fat powdered peanut butter) and for Christmas my wife gave me a jar of not only the PB2 but the Chocolate PB2 as well! If you haven't tried this yet I recommend it. I haven't tried mixing it with water to make regular peanut butter yet, but I have used it in a few recipes and it's delicious... including in this recipe...

Chocolate PB2 Banana Ice Cream

What you will need:

• Frozen Bananas (I used 2 small ones to make one large serving)
• PB2/Chocolate PB2 (I used 1 Tbsp Chocolate PB2 for 2 small Bananas, but you can add in more to make a stronger flavor)
• Vitamix (or a high speed blender/food processor)
• Optional Ice Cubes (I used 4 Ice Cubes to make the portion size larger without adding calories)

Directions:

1. Cut Bananas into 2 or 3 smaller pieces before putting them into the Vitamix.
2. Blend on low for a few seconds until bananas become crumbly. 
3. Add Chocolate PB2 Powder (or regular PB2 if you don't want the chocolate) and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. If you want to add the Ice Cubes to make a larger portion Add them and blend until fully crushed and mixed with the banana mixture.
5. Scoop into a bowl or a cone and enjoy.

This is so creamy and delicious, you won't miss the cream, sugar, or egg at all!

A Bento fit for a Pig

My wife made me a delicious stir fry for dinner and I put it into one of my piggy bento boxes and ate it with my brand new Piggy Chopsticks. Can't tell I love pigs huh? Lol

• Chicken Stir Fry with Wild Rice (Chicken Breast, Wild Rice, Bell Pepper, Carrot, Broccoli, Snap Peas, Onion, String Beans, GF Soy Sauce, Black Pepper)

Forest Friends Bento

This bento is full of Forest Animal Friends.

 This picture came out a little washed out looking.I took my leftovers from going out for lunch yesterday, and I turned it into a forest bento.

• Grilled Chicken
• Bears (Udi's GF Fiber Bread)
• Romain Lettuce Leaves
• Greek Salad

 These little bears are laying in a field of flowers.

There is a baby bear and a bunny playing hide and seek, while two lovebirds sing.

I used one of my new Bento boxes, and some of my new picks and the new bear cutter/press as well as some older picks I had yo make this cute Forest Friends Bento. The leftover Greek Salad and Grilled Chicken fit into the bento perfectly.