El Cheapo Bento Find

The top containers were found in the baby care of section of Family Dollar Store for use as snack containers. They are not very sturdy but would be useful if you are not confident your container will always make it home. I am pretty dependable so they will last for me. The Christmas containers were intended for bubble gum cannisters. I tossed the gum and cleaned out the bases carefully. The design is a sticker but they will work well as mayo/mustard cups this season. What can you expect for $1.oo for an 8 pack.

Greek Bento #13

Lunch today is composed of leftovers from last night's supper. the stew-like portion is boneless chicken thighs that have been slow cooked with carrot, onion, mushroom, red wine and tomato. It does not translate to a very attractive photo but it is very tasty. The bottom two boxes have my snack 0% Fat Greek Yogurt and apricot halves. The bento box is a bundle from Borders bookstore called Pet Champz by Paperchase. These are the smaller boxes of four that nest in each other to store. They are watertight and great when you have lots of gooey stuff that you don't want to intermix. I use this style alot.

Yakatori Meatball Bento #8

Today's bento is composed of last night's cooking experiement. I made Japanese chicken meatballs with Yakatori sauce on bamboo skewers. The recipe called for creating tiny meatballs with ground chicken and other fillings. Then the recipe boils the meatballs. Very interesting, the boiling caused these little meatballs to puff up and I believe release most of the fat into the water. End result puffy, tender meatballs that were not greasy. Before finishing the recipe the meatballs are then towel dried, coated with Yakatori sauce and broiled for browning. Lots of work but they were good.
This bento contains one skewer of meatballs with cherry tomatoes, banana slices, green beans, white rice, yakatori sauce and furatake. Pretty fancy for a simple lunch. Have a great weekend.

Lonely little box %25 off

Keep your eye out for bento bargains in the clearance racks of Back to School Sales. I found this little Sanrio bento in the %25 off rack of a Hallmark card shop. The box was part of the store's back to school selection now being replaced by Halloween goodies. The box holds 550 ml. All of the information regarding care and use is in Japanese so your guess is as good as mine for instructions. I personally handwash all of my bento to keep them safe. List price was $5.95 (USD) originally.

Halloween Surprize at Michael's Arts and Crafts

Look what I found at Michael's Arts and Crafts Store over the weekend. They are Halloween snack containers that look like they will work as bento boxes. The bat holds 200 ml of water and it seems to be slightly smaller than the others. They are not water tight but they are super cute and if kept upright the tops are secure enough to hold food and things that are moist. The best news of all is that they cost $1.oo (USD) each.

Laptop Lunch Bento #4

This bento lunch was part of last week's menu. It is filled with all of the components for an antipasto salad with fat free italian dressing. The top container has hearts of palm with marinated mushrooms,
the lower container is filled with lettuce and salad dressing. The mini container is filled with sun dried tomato. The other smaller containers are filled with mini whole wheat toast, laughing cow cheese and sopressa salami. All in all the lunch was delicious and very well suited for the laptop lunch container.

Open House Bento#4

 

Last night was Open House at my daughter's school. Normally, I cook fresh food every night, but last night we were working in a survival mode. Five dollar pizza supper with bread sticks. Not very nutritious but I was really hungry. Today I was able to squirrel away two slices of pizza, bread sticks and a sliced plum in the Hello Kitty mini container. The bento box is a lock n lock style box from Sterilite called Ultra-seal. These boxes have a silicon ring to seal in fluids and a vent in the top for using in the microwave. The boxes are also dishwasher safe.

The Obession Began With a Pretty Little Box

New 2Bento
Originally uploaded by New2Bento

This bento was actually my third box after the obsession began. It is a two tier Skater Bento box from Japan that holds about 600 ml of food. Although the box appears small from "American food" standards, the 600 ml size is considered to be the correct size for a woman's meal. If I am not careful I can stuff this box and actually have too much to eat. I try to limit starches and supplement the box with lots of steamed vegetables and fresh fruit.