A Five Minutes or LESS Bento

Tomorrow's lunch was packed in under five minutes.

I know.. I haven't been blogging recently, sorry, life got nutty,

and something had to go... I know.. it's a reoccurring theme.. but

hey, this girl is giving life her all!

So here is lunch (please ignore the FLY that I only noticed AFTER I deleted the other shots..
processed.. and wrote the blog.... DANG.. oh well..)

A chicken salad sandwich, the last of the green salad, fresh chopped

tomatoes with cracked pepper (and dressing for dipping), black grapes,

and some baco bits for the salad & tomatoes.  YUMM!!

Want to know what I've been doing while I'm to busy to blog?

Taking a great photography class from Nancy at Ordinary Miracles

http://nancyvnjourney.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_4.html

Teaching... and working out in Columbia!

HAVE A Great day!!!!!!!!!

A New School Year

A new school year is beginning!  I teach on a modified year round

school year, so summer vacation is short to begin with, and then I also

teach extended school year (it's like summer school), so my summer is busy..

but then I had two weeks of vacation, well almost, if you don't count my prep days.

I had lot's of fun this summer.. ESY was great! 

  My niece came and stayed with me for most of a week.

We did lot's of fun things, like going to Natural Bridges

 (not the state park, but a cave you can swim through), and I took her

on her first trip to Japan Town and the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco!

We of had cute crepes in JTown...

Then off to the Tea Garden.. I love it there, it's so pretty!

My friend Holly of http://www.kimchikawaii.com/ wore a beautiful

dress she made recently.  She even designed the fabric herself!!!

Everyone wanted to pose for a picture with her, but who can blame them!

I mean, look at how cute she looks!!!!

By the way, the beautiful blond is my niece.  And while we were in Japan Town

she bought her first bento box!  I can't wait to see what she packs!

I can't wait to go to the Tea Garden again.  I love it there!

Anyway, LUNCH.. tomorrow's lunch is a simple one.  I've been eating

far to much processed food recently... So for tomorrow I have

some yummy tomatoes fresh from my sister's garden with salt and pepper,

some meatless meatballs, and cantaloupe.  I will also have some

air popped popcorn (which I keep at work).  It's a munchy kind of lunch..

Here's hoping for a great new school year! 

Seeing Stars!

With the Fourth of July Coming up, I decided to dig out some of my

stars.  Tomorrow's lunch is a salad.  Perfect for a hot day.

I used a star shaped silicone cup to hold some mandarin oranges, and sprinkled a

few black sesame seeds on top of them. I added a few cheese stars for color on the salad.

There are some red white and blue tortilla strips, and some sesame dressing in the yellow cup.

I tucked a string cheese in with the silverware, and added some apricots for a sweet

at the end of lunch.  I love the fresh fruit this time of year! 

We'll Have A Whale Of A Good Time!

Pool Day #3 has arrived!

I was starting to get worried as it was raining the last two days,

tomorrow is supposed to be 91 (and Friday it will be over 100!

Lunch for Wednesday is cucumber and tomato with Thousand Island and Baco Bits,

Santa Claus melon, and a Trader Joe's Meatless Meatball and avocado sandwich.

I also tossed in a cheese stick with the silverware as on pool days I tend to be STARVING!

Fish Are Friends, Not Food!

I decided to "fish out" my marine cookie cutters as my students are learning about

ocean animals.  Be on the look out for more fish themed lunches this summer!

Lunch consists of an avocado and egg salad sandwich in a pocket, fresh tomato,

garlic and pepper onions, baco bits, thousand island, spring mix lettuce, and a cheese

fish for decoration.  I also had an orange (not pictured) for desert.

No Time To Monkey Around..

Tonight's lunch brought to you in less than five minutes of prep time..

I added some Monkey touches, because, well... I love monkeys!!

Lunch is a salad with baco bits (hiding in the monkey), fresh tomato,

and Thousand Island dressing.  To go with that is some Santa Clause Melon,

and and egg salad wrap. Why egg salad in a wrap you ask?  I need bread. :)

Happy Bento!

CuteZCute Panda

The CuteZCute Panda is one of my favorites...

He  adds such a cute touch on those days I'm in a hurry!

Tomorrow's lunch for the first Pool Day of ESY (think Summer School)

is a Trader Joe's Meatless Meatball sandwich topped with a cheese panda. 

I tucked the scraps inside so nothing went to waste.  There is some marinara with parm 

for dipping.  A salad with ranch and baco bits, along with some fresh mango, a panda

pick, and you have a lunch!  Can't wait to swim with the kiddos tomorrow!

Summer Fun!

It's summer time, which means I'm busier than ever!

I teach ESY (Extended School Year), think Summer School.

Today my kiddos got to play with shaving cream, 

water beads, and roll paint balls down our slide.

I also go to go out to lunch with a good friend.

Tomorrow however it's back to Bento for me!

I've been so nutty recently, and with the end of the school year

I've had lot's of lunches out with coworkers and friends.

Here is tomorrow's lunch:

Lunch is nectarines, yellow tomatoes with ranch for dipping, the last of my current

batch of lentil salad, and some popcorn kernels (hiding in the cheerful lunch container)

 to pop and top with some extra virgin olive oil and salt. 

I still exist..

Life just got a little nutters...

But I'm still here..just barely! 

Tomorrow's fast and easy (largely left overs) Bento is here!

Lunch is whole wheat spaghetti, a nectarine, salad with bacon bits 

(in the yellow container, I have some dressing at work), 

sauteed zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and fresh basil, and a string cheese. 

It's Artichoke Season!

It's artichoke season here in my neck of the woods!

That means I've been getting them in my produce bag.

YUMMO!

Tomorrow's lunch is an artichoke with some Mayo for dipping.

The last of the leftover Farmer's Market Cous Cous.

An Orange, a string cheese, and some dark chocolate cocoa covered almonds.

I added some piggies for cuteness, and because I've been thinking of a certain friend of

mine who hated pigs.  I started buying her pigs as a joke.. at one point she called me

and told me she had been walking through a store and saw a little pig statue

and thought "Oh.. what a cute little, NO!!!!!!" Hee Hee.. 

Check out some other meatless lunches in the Meatless Monday Link Up!

Picnic

Tomorrow I will join my brother's family at the 

Mount Diablo Coalfield Descendant's Picnic.

You might ask why we are attending the picnic when we aren't descended from

any of those who lived in the coalfields.  Well.. it's started years ago

when one of my sisters was at the cemetery on Mt. Diablo on a field trip.

While she was there she spotted a headstone with our last name on it.  Our last 

name isn't overly common, so when she got home she told our parents about it.

At some point after that my mom took a group of kids up to the cemetery to look

for the headstone, but they couldn't find it.  They searched the whole cemetery.

After a while a man approached asking them what they were doing.  Upon hearing

the story he said he though they should look in the back of his truck. He had

been picking up some headstones which had been vandalized, but his truck

wouldn't start, so he was waiting for someone to come help him.  

Sure enough, the missing headstone was in his truck.

My mother took four pictures, one of each side of the headstone (in the days of film).

Each picture turned out clear enough to read! 

After the pictures were taken, the man got back in the truck,

and attempted to start it.  It started....

A few years ago my oldest brother decided to sponsor a new marker for them.

So now we get invites to the picnic.

I'm hoping to enjoy some picture taking, but we shall see.

In any case, I need a lunch!

Lunch consists of: a sandwich, some celery with tomato basil laughing cow cheese,

watermelon flowers, rainbow carrots, sugar snap peas, and some dressing for dipping.

So life went a little nutso...

My life went a bit nutso recently.. I guess I just got busy.

Some days I went home on my lunch break (the joys of a half mile commute).

and others I just snagged something from the fridge on my

way out the door.  But I am trying to go back to being

mindful of what I am eating.  To taking the time to prepare and eat

healthy foods.  To care enough for myself to eat the way I need to.

So while tomorrow's lunch isn't overly cute, it is planned.

Lunch is some greek yogurt with raspberries, along with some 

Farmers' Market Cous Cous.  This version contains rainbow chard, zucchini,

a bit of garlic, cous cous, and some feta over the top.

I'm happy to have my lunch back!

Beyonce For Lunch

Warning: The lunch is very kid friendly.. the links are up to your discretion.

Tomorrow's lunch is a salad, with a flower shaped hard boiled egg (the center is a

cheddar circle), Beyonce is painted on cheddar, there are carrots,

dressing, and half and apple too.  

Tomorrow's Lunch is inspired by my all time favorite Blogger,

Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess! 

She moved recently, and Beyonce lost a leg.

If you want to learn more about Beyonce, click here:

http://thebloggess.com/2011/06/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/

And of course, anytime she posts about Beyonce I always end up with 

this song by The Merry Wives of Windsor (NOT for children)
stuck in my head... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tnxdcm7yQOU

And yes, I will be eating this song at work.. no I won't be explaining it to

my students beyond, yes, it's a chicken!  We recently finished a farm

unit, so it's perfect!  I'm sure my students will love it!

(and yes, I will be giggling in my mind)

Two-fer

Friday is a Two-fer day for me.. as in "Two-For-The-Price-Of-One"

I have a lunch to take to work with me, and a dinner to take to class with me.

Lunch is in my two tier Strawberry box from Daiso, it's an egg and cheese sandwich,

salad with Creamy Avocado Cilantro salad dressing, and an apple.

Dinner is asparagus grilled with lemon, quinoa with black beans and corn,

half an orange, a bit of salad with more of that dressing 

(it's my first time making it,if I like it, I'll share the recipe), 

and a fiber one brownie tossed in for an easy peasy dessert.

Cheerful Lunch

I had a crazy day today, not a bad day, just a really crazy one.

We had quite a bit of rain last night.. and my classroom has a new leak.

A bad one.. 

Thankfully my program manager is awesome, and we got things moved.

Now they can start getting the water out of the carpet.

Thankfully I rearranged my classroom during the break and moved my

desk just enough that my printer and copier were not under the leak.

So... tomorrow's lunch is a cheerful lunch.

What is more cheerful than polka-dots?    

Even my fruit cup lid declares the lunch to be cheerful.

Lunch is an egg, veggie sausage, and avocado wrap (that I will pop into the microwave).

Spinach salad with thousand island dressing (hiding under the lid), and baco bits, topped

with cheddar dots (of course!). And some kiwi dots to eat (with a dot pick).

Have a great Tuesday!

Back to Work

Spring Break is over.  I am both happy and sad.  I missed my kiddos,

but man, I could use a few more days!!!

I got home kind of late, so tomorrow's lunch fits in the packed in five minutes or less category!

I still wanted a bit of spring in my lunch, so I grabbed some cutters and a hole punch.

Lunch is the first of the sugar snap peas, a Trader Joe's meatless meatball sandwich

with some sauce for dipping and an orange.  I used a bit of cheddar to make two flowers and

a butterfly.  You might notice I do meatless meatball sandwiches often, 

they are a fast and easy standby!!  

Check out BentoForKidlet, and Meatless Mondays for more fun yummy Bento ideas!

Spring Break

I'm halfway through my two week Spring Break.  

I haven't gone anywhere, so I haven't been packing any Bento Lunches.  

I did make this yummy Carrot, Kale, and Baked Tofu with Sesame Seed stir fry

YUMMO!  This will be appearing in future Bento Lunches!!! It was super easy too!

(see the Recipe at the Bottom, it's super simple!)

SO - I decided during break it was time to add another set of drawers (the one on the bottom of this

stack).  My Bento supplies were no longer fitting in the existing drawers.  You really don't need 

a ton of stuff to make cute lunches, but once you start... well... it's addicting! 

I am pretty lucky in that I get to goto the City, and hit Japan Town.  Japan Town has 

two stores, Daiso (which is like a dollar store, but most of their stuff costs $1.50), and Ichi Ban Kan

 (only slightly more expensive, but often as cheap).

Now there is room for MORE Bento Supplies!  Maybe I should go to Japan Town!!!

While I was sorting Mayhem decided to make off with a plastic spoon that belongs at work.. I had set it aside, and she nabbed it!  She wouldn't share it with Mischief, but was willing to play a bit of fetch with me.

(sorry for the fuzzy picture..)

RECIPE - Well, really it's more of a formula :)

Sesame Baked Tofu -

Extra Firm Tofu

Marinade of choice (I used low sodium soy sauce, and some hot sesame oil tonight)

Sesame Seeds 

First Drain the water off your tofu and rinse it. Then press the tofu to get rid of extra moisture.  You can do this either by placing it on a cooling rack (with a plate under it), OR on a towel on a plate, then place another plate with a nice heavy can on top.  Let it sit for 15-30 minutes.  I never time this, I just go about my time.  

Next slice the tofu. Today I cut mine into bite sized pieces, but sometimes I choose larger slices for sandwiches. 

Put the tofu and your marinade in a ziplock bag.  I put this in the fridge to keep the kitties out of it.. turn the bag every so often to ensure equal absorption.  Marinate for about half an hour.

Preheat your oven to 375.  Line a  cookie sheet with some parchment paper.  Spread your tofu out in one layer on the pan.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake 20-30 minutes depending on how thick you sliced it.. turn about every 5-10 minutes to ensure equal baking.  Basically you are cooking out extra moisture.  For tonight's I wanted mine pretty firm. Baking tofu changes the texture.

Kale, Carrot, and Sesame Baked Tofu -

Sesame Baked Tofu

Carrots - cut into bite sized pieces (I had lot's of baby carrots, all long and thin.. so after a quick wash, I cut chopped them without peeling)

Kale - rinsed well, torn without the large stem/vein, into bite sized pieces

Garlic Salt

Olive Oil or Olive Oil Spray

I sprayed the pan with some OO spray, and cooked the carrots, then I added the kale, sprinkled on some garlic salt, and put a lid on it, stirring often till the kale was wilted... add some Sesame Baked Tofu, and YUM!   

It's great served over brown rice, but as I had a ton of carbs today in the form of Easter Candy, I elected to just have more veggies instead!

Delicious Veggies!

I have some delicious veggies around the house right now.

Sweet Baby Carrots (actual baby carrots, not baby cut carrots.. so YUM)

Broccoli, and Radicchio to name a few.  So when I realized I hadn't made

dinner yet, and it was fast approaching seven, I decided to make a quick and

simple stir fry.  I also put some brown rice into the rice cooker, and cut up a Kiwi.

The leftovers from dinner, along with a string cheese for protein make a lovely lunch!

Happy Bento-ing!

Yummy Leftovers

I had a friend over this weekend.  We were working on making mock ups of

new corsets to wear out at Columbia State Park.  We had Spaghetti and Salad

for dinner last night, and it was delicious.  I have the leftovers in my lunch.

Lunch is whole wheat spaghetti with sauce, and some meatless meatballs from Trader Joe's,

Salad with dressing (Ranch and Italian mixed, Jennifer taught me), and some orange slices.

The weather was beautiful, and I opened up the doors and windows. 

The girls LOVED being able to sit and watch the outside world!

GREEN!!!

I started making a green lunch, in honor of St Patty's Day,

I decided to keep this one dye free.  I'm not against using dyes when I need

them (as you can see from past lunches), but I see no reason to use them 

when I can do the same thing naturally, or with a piece of boran. 

While I was digging through my fridge I could hear the frog song from my open

windows.. YUP, open windows!  Today's forecasted high was 79.  I broke out the capris

blinded the world with my white girl legs! So, back to those open windows... it's spring

which means frogs galore.  I haven't found the first frog in the classroom, or in the house.. but

it's just a matter of time.  I live in "Frog Town"  If you have ever read Mark Twain's

"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" you have heard of us. You see, I live

in Frog Town.  That means we have Frogs.. big frogs, little frogs, noisy frogs, frogs that

do nasty things on the windows, frogs that sneak into the classroom, frogs that get in the

washing machine... So, when trying to decide on something green to put with my wrap (which

is green on the inside), I decided to choose it little piece of froggy boran.

Tomorrow's lunch is an egg salad and avocado wrap (yummy, and GREEN), steamed

Brussels sprouts, raw broccoli with some ranch in a green container for dipping, and some

lovely kiwi fruit.  Both the "baby cabbages" and the kiwi have a green pick for eating.

Happy Bento-ing!

Spring is in the air!!

Everywhere I go I am seeing signs of spring!  I love it!!

I'm still pretty busy, so blogging has taken a back seat to life.. but I wanted

to share a spring themed simple bento I packed tonight to take with me tomorrow.

I used a few small cutters that I got at Daiso (the flower and grass came from a set), and a

skinny rectangle from another set that I got at Ichi Ban Kan.  I also used a bit of food coloring painted

onto cheese, and some sprinkles to add some bright colors to this lunch.

Lunch is a Sandwich with pea sprouts, kiwi fruit, salad, and chocolate mousse.

Even the girls are loving spring!  They love to watch out our front window.. and they are

getting pretty good at the whole leash thing, so we went outside the other day.

They weren't quite sure at first, but I think they enjoyed their outing.

Mayhem has the purple harness, and Mischief has the pink.