A Sunday Afternoon Bento

I hope you are having a wonderful and restful Sunday.  My morning was CRAZY; two kids acted up for most of it.  Nap time brought about a complete change in attitude and peace now reigns in my house once again.  Thank God!  I have two kids playing in the garden and a third playing with a puzzle in the living room.  Even DH is playing: fencing at a local park with some of our friends.  I thus had most of an afternoon to myself.  What did I do with that time?  Well, I made dinner - a bento box for each member of the family while watching a movie.  :)  What a lovely way to spend an afternoon!


The blue bento is a child's bento and the clear one is the adult version.  There is very little difference between the two.  I will describe the child's bento as the template for the day. 

The top section contains a pot sticker cut in half for easy eating, some dipping sauce, and three square onigiri made with peas in them.  The spaces are filled with grapes. 

The bottom section contains marinated cucumber slices (with sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce), some orange slices, broccoli, and some sauteed chicken.  Carrot sticks and grapes fill in any further gaps. 

The adult version of the bento has more meat and no carrots. 

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Wow!!! My work is completely outclassed.

I was visiting one of my favorite bento blogs this evening and just had to share.  There was a fabulous contest in which 220 people submitted their most beautiful bentos.  I didn't submit anything and I'm glad I didn't.  The work I see is simply lovely and far better than anything I have done!  Please take a look at these amazing bentos!

I shared them with DH and he commented that he would feel guilty eating any of them.  He's such a kind man!!!  :)

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Picnic Bentos: Part II

DH's bento is done!  He is taking this little beauty to the park today with the kids. 

Of course, the second I packed it, my little girl tried to flip it over . . .   Thank heavens that I packed it really tightly.

From left to right:  Tuna salad in a tomato and topped with green pepper slices, peppers and carrots, cucumber slices, orange slices, banana bread, grapes, and whole wheat rusks.

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American Bento Part II: A Picnic in the Park (AKA The Bento Strikes Back!)

Well, I haven't posted in FOREVER!  Luckily there are good reasons.  Since my last post, I had bronchitis and sinusitis for 2 months straight, we found a brain tumor in my father's head while he was visiting and meeting the grandkids, and . . .  I am pregnant.  As of this post 22 weeks pregnant (plus a few days).  So, as you can imagine, I've been pulled in 100 directions at once and not nearly as attentive to cute meals as I could be.  But, all that is past us now.  Well, except for the whole pregnant thing.  I'm due in November but as long as I'm feeling good and not waddling around the kitchen, I might as well play a bit. 

Today DH is taking the little kids to the park for a picnic - well those little kids who behave properly anyway.  I am in the process of packing lunch for everyone involved.  I hope to have some quiet time to get work done around the house while the kids get quality time with Dad. 

This is installment one of the picnic bentos.  Today is Friday, so usually, we go meatless.  The littles are eating chicken while DH is eating fish.  I haven't done his bento yet but here are the kids' bentos.


Since it's summer, everything here is meant to be eaten cold.  On the left is Greek yogurt topped with homemade plum preserves along with some peppers, carrots, and cucumber.  On the right is the main course: diced chicken breast, potatoes sauteed with onions and peppers, and then topped with peas. 

I love this bento shape for the kids.  It's not as cool as the multilayered bentos I use for DH and our eldest DD (who is starting college soon by the way), but each compartment has the ability to seal on its own.  For little tummies, this is about right in terms of size.  I can make things more complicated if I choose by adding subdividers or keep it simple. 


Here it is, all closed up. As you can see, I've added a slice of banana bread (miniature of course).

Everything in this bento is a leftover of some kind.  The Greek yogurt is breakfast food that I keep on hand.  The plum preserves were made last summer and frozen.  The veggies are leftover from salads this week.  The chicken was baked 2 days ago for dinner.  The potatoes were part of breakfast burritos yesterday morning.  Even the banana bread is something I pulled from the freezer: back when my mom and dad were visiting, mom made lovely loaves of banana bread one of which I found in the freezer today.  I thought we had gobbled it all up, but this lone, little loaf was hidden away for a surprise treat!

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