Et-a-Mommy's OCGBB

I'm moving on up...

2009-07-04T20:51:00.005-04:00

I'm working this weekend on a new "home" for my blog:

http://www.thesublurbs.com/

I'm feeling rather scatterbrained these days, with tons of different projects rolling around in my consciousness, begging for attention. It's not only bento that's intriguing me -- it's also a jedi costume I'm making for a friend's son; it's also the possibility of having to go gluten free; it's also my long-neglected garden; it's also a new idea for a book that I'm researching.

In order to impose some order onto the chaos, I've decided to make the switch to WordPress and have been playing around and getting things ported over and cleaned up.

So... come over to the new blog and see what is going on in my life.

Hope to see you there!
Eileen

Recent bento finds

2009-07-02T10:37:00.008-04:00

My son and I went shopping yesterday and today and kept our eyes out for items that aren't **specifically** bento tools, but would work great nonetheless.

The first thing we saw was an ice cream scoop (they also had cookie scoops) that would work to make rice balls -- they had a silicon bottom that would help to push out the rice ball once formed:

Not sure I'd spend the money, but it was interesting to think about.

Today's Target finds in the dollar section were:

Sandwich cutters for making dino shapes and butterfly shapes.

Paper punchers for decorations.

A drink bottle and sandwich keeper in camo print.

I saw more of the small snack boxes with a sports and a flower theme (but don't have a picture.) All of the Sesame Street boxes were long gone!

The good and the bad in one shipment!!

2009-07-01T16:04:00.005-04:00

Such a bittersweet moment -- seeing my last shipment from Ichiban Kan sitting on my porch today. **sigh**

First things first, the shipment included some new Hakoya boxes that came in with their last container -- they were understated and fairly large and had the added (and most vital) benefit that they are listed as being both microwaveable and dishwasher safe (except for the inner lids.)

Here they are in the original packaging:

...and removed from their boxes and "exploded" so you can see the innerds:

Next up were two boxes that have the cool factor necessary to a middle school boy!

A nice feature of the Skater "Urban Style" boxes is the ice packs that fit into the included thermal bags (which perfectly fit the box and ice packs.) They also have a special container in the lids for chopsticks.

This is the 2-tier box, which also includes one divider. I like how the lockable lid captures both tiers!

This is the larger single box:

I also picked up a few odds and ends, including a green snack container (which I like for a side salad) of the Natural Lunch collection. I already have the tan and pink snack containers to complete my sets, but needed the green to go with my 2-tier green bento box. Additionally, I picked up a four-pack of tiny containers -- perfect for dressing or dip or hummus. The Picnic Mini Twin will be great for when we do car trips!

I was a little surprised that they included a gift as well:

At first, I thought they'd switched something in my order, but everything I ordered was there. When I looked more closely at the tong package, I noticed they had written "gift" on the back card -- what a nice thing to do!

I haven't even had a chance to make a bento lately because I've been too swamped with other responsibilities (one of which includes making a Jedi costume for my BFFs son. Oy, the things we do for love!)

The Last Supper

2009-06-29T19:28:00.001-04:00

This could, depending on the test results tomorrow, be the LAST gluten-filled meal The Boy ever eats. *sigh*

Eating the very last bite was momentous. The Hubster and I did a mouth-trumpet rendition of Pray for the Dead" like a mournful dirge as the kid swallowed.

Back-to-bento! (#57)

2009-06-26T08:30:00.003-04:00

Best laid plans ... and all that jazz.

So, I was not up and at 'em early enough to put a bento together for The Hubster, but he got himself a lunch (and, from the looks of the fridge, he took some rotisserie chicken), but didn't take a picture of it and I suspect it wasn't done as a bento anyway.

After I was showered and dressed, I pulled a bento together for myself:

It consists of cubed rotisserie chicken from Costco, cole slaw, carrots, wasabi peas, cheese, yogurt and chocolate.

I had a slight problem keeping it horizontal as I got into the car this morning and was skeeved out to realize that the wasabi peas had tipped over and landed in the raspberry yogurt. I was able to fish them out and they didn't affect the yogurt at all. **phew!** However, I should've wrapped the cup of wasabi peas in plastic wrap to keep them from getting soggy.

Otherwise, it was a perfect lunch for me and I was thrilled to have it.

On the "the Mother of the Year trophy slipped through my fingers once again" front, I totally didn't make The Boy a bento and just told him to slap together a PB&J for himself. As it turned out, it was too hot today for him to feel hungry and he ended up just eating a fruit cup anyway.

The Hubster goes back to work!

2009-06-25T17:32:00.003-04:00

Today marked the first day for my husband to go back to work after a two week (sorta) comp vacation. I say "sorta" because he had to do a lot of work from home through all of that, but he *WAS* home and that made it better.

Much of his first week of vacation, I was away in Walt Disney World with girlfriends and he got to stay home and veg in front of the TV, mess around with video games and basically be a vegetable until I returned. My son finished up his last day of school a few days after that, so we --as a family-- got some great play time together, seeing movies, playing games, and enjoying each other for more than a full week.

As always, I was my jokey self and always trying to keep things lighthearted. What was so wonderful was that, in response to my silliness, I heard The Hubster laugh more this past week than I have in, probably, a year.

What a blessing!

**sigh**

On the bento-front:

As of tomorrow, I'll be packing daily bentos for my husband again and packing ones on Mondays and Fridays for my son and myself for the days that I'm in the office, working.

I'll be taking pics for the blog with my new cell phone.

It's an enV3 that I had to purchase in a panic after I left my old enV on the roof of the car during a rainstorm. On an interesting note, the old enV has come back from "the brink" --all except the camera works again-- and my son has been enjoying having a Qwerty keyboard. I've gotten more multi-syllabic texts in the past few days than I have in the 18 months since we got him a cell phone.

2009-06-08T20:06:00.001-04:00

Daddy's home!

The dogs in my life

2009-06-02T13:24:00.004-04:00

It's a cruddy picture, but I didn't want to deal with getting a flash camera for fear that they'd move.... but here are my two dogs (taken with my cell phone.)

The one on the left is my 10 year old border collie -- Treelo. (The little devil who woke me up last night.) He's a total Frisbee hound and, despite some pretty serious arthritis in his knees, he will still run to the point of total exhaustion.... on the part of the Frisbee thrower. He'd **never** admit defeat!

The one on the right is my beautiful girlie, Kenzie. She was rescued from Delaware by a group that told us she was a border collie.

Um... no. She's way too big, totally dim-witted, and unmotivated to move more than absolutely necessary.

She's also in complete possession of my heart.

When we got her, she had been on the streets for a looooong time and they suspected she'd had puppies. She weighed 32 pounds, had intestinal worms and heartworm. We drove to Delaware to get her and, the moment we saw her running through the rescue organization's yard, we knew she wasn't a BC.

But, she was a total clown and needed our help. We got her in our car and I proceeded to bond her to me for life by rubbing her chest the entire trip. The dog hasn't left my side since.

She *has* gained tons of weight. She now is a big, fluffy, beautiful girl of 85 pounds and is the sweetest most grateful dog I've ever had.

Boy's bento (#56)

2009-06-02T07:04:00.003-04:00

This is a "post-shot" day for me and my MS meds make me feel very cranky, achy and generally in need of great sums of sleep.

So, when the Hubster came home at 3AM and my male border collie decided that it would be appropriate to bark and bark and bark -- from his spot on the floor, right by my ear! I grumbled a few times and even contemplated swatting him with my pillow, but did nothing but lay in bed and steam until I fell back to sleep.

Then, The Boy came in our room at 4AM to tell me he had a Charlie horse in his leg and needed my ministrations. Ugh! That's what he gets for playing with my Wii Active without doing a proper cool down or stretching that close to bed time.

So... right now, the men in my life are all on my "naughty list" and I feel like doing nothing for them. My female doggie, Kenzie, is getting all the love -- she didn't make a peep!

For The Boy, he got:

Deconstructed PB&J crackers, apples, chocolates, GoGurt, G2 and a NutriGrain bar.

I threw a couple of grumbling complaints in the bag as well. (Oh, if only this were Hogwarts and I could send him a Howler!)

The Hubster got nothing -- not because I was mad at him for coming in late (he has to to complete this project and get on the road to do the install.) It's just that I was, at that point in the morning, so relieved that The Boy made it to the bus in time and I could head back to bed to sleep off more of my side effects.

From what I could tell from our fridge supplies, he was able to make himself something to take along to work.

Sesame Street characters at Target

2009-06-01T18:27:00.002-04:00

A PassPorter mentioned that there were some good Disney-themed items in the dollar section at Target, so I made a stop there on my way home from work.

I found nadda that was Disney, but saw these cute boxes, perfect for a small snack bento in the dollar section!

Boys' bento (#55)

2009-06-01T07:18:00.001-04:00

I'm totally not energized to do much that is interesting, foodwise... I'm relying on old classics that have little to do with bento right now.

The Boy got a PB&J sandwich, pretzels, GoGurt, celery, chocolates and a G2.

Mom's bento (#54)

2009-06-01T07:13:00.002-04:00

I have a long day at work today and some shopping to do for an upcoming trip afterwards.

Lebanon balogna and cream cheese sandwich, cheeses, carrots, pretzels, and chocolate.

The Hubster never ate yesterday's bento (he had too much pizza!) so he'll eat the one I made him yesterday for today lunch.

Dad's bento (#53)

2009-05-31T12:12:00.003-04:00

Today is the last day of play testing on the sub ride.

Even though he has plans to take a bunch of co-workers out for pizza, I put together a chicken nugget roll-up meal for him to construct later. I crammed in the last of the cut-up watermelon from earlier in the week.

Of course, I put the bento together and realized that I'd packed the top lid of the Hakoya box and had to REMAKE the lunch properly moments later.

Hubster's Long Saturday bento (#52)

2009-05-30T11:31:00.002-04:00

Loooong day for the Hubster today as he preps for the last play testing tomorrow. (Hopefully, the ride will ship next week!)

It's a ham and cheese sandwich, cheeses and chocolates. More of yesterday's watermelon sits in the tight upper container.

Since he needs lots of sustenance to stay awake into the wee small hours, his bag also included some homemade hummus, crackers, dried fruit, and extra chocolates.

Family bentos (#49, #50 and #51)

2009-05-29T07:32:00.005-04:00

I was up stupid late last night doing what turned out to be the less important of two writing projects for my overworked hubby.

Six AM came verrrry early today and I had to not only drag myself out of bed to get going, but had to motivate The Boy with some intense hollering.

Yes... it was definitely hollering.

While he got showered, flapped his hair into True Awesomeness, and discarded two sets of shorts before hollering back that he didn't have enough shirts in his drawer FULL of shirts, I got his breakfast and lunch ready.

It's just a ham and cheese sandwich, some pretzels and cheese. The time-consuming addition was a watermelon that I cut up to include in the sealed container of this Hakoya box.

I packed two identical lunches for myself and the Hubster:

A big container of watermelon, some turkey sausage I fried up and let cool, leftover quesedillas, some cheese, some crackers and my favorite cookies from Ikea.

I really liked these boxes I got at Ikea yesterday -- they washed well in the dishwasher without warping one iota. They are quite deep and, since this lunch didn't have a ton in it, I know my food will shift around a bit. (I realized now that I should have added some veggies to tighten it up!)

In all today's lunches, I used the "vegetable" picks I got from Daiso and they looked really adorable without being cutesy.

Ikea products for bento

2009-05-28T15:31:00.006-04:00

We had several doctors appointments today (still no definite Celiac diagnosis, but we've scheduled the endoscopy for late June.) As we left the last one, I realized that we'd be passing an Ikea on our way and that would be a great place to check for some interesting containers to use as bento boxes.

I liked this interesting cookie cutter set, but didn't get it.

Raritet containers are nice, sturdy and rather "manly." I bought the large rectangle because it's a great size, has a steam vent in the lid, and has a small, sealed container within. They are dishwasher and microwave safe. The larger box was around $10 and the smaller one was around $6.

These weren't marked with a name, but they were on display in the pre-check out area. They are three hinged boxes -- but one of the hinges snapped as I was putting it together once I got home. OY! They are rather deep and will be good for sandwiches. Even though I wasn't sure if they are food containers, they have markings indicating that they're food safe, as well as dishwasher and microwave safe too. They were $3.

Distans - sold as a 3-pack for about $6. I like that they seem very sturdy with a tight lid. Again, they are dishwasher and microwave safe.

These were actually my reason for shopping -- I'd seen them listed on eBay and knew they'd be great for making Jell-o Jiggler shapes!

Family bentos (#46, #47, #48)

2009-05-27T07:11:00.006-04:00

Okay... I'll admit it. The only bento I actually spent more than a half second on this morning was my own.

This is some boneless chicken nuggets I got from the grocery store the other day. I'm still not sure of the flavor as I think they were mismarked as being "Buffalo chicken" flavor. In truth, they taste like they were basted with baked bean sauce. But... since I **lurv** baked beans, I'm happy with that.) I made a wall of edamame pods to separate it from the mashed potatoes and -- even though I don't like cherry tomatoes -- I stuck one in there to bento-ize it a bit.

Unfortunately, I forgot to zip up my lunch bag and the whole thing hit the floor later when I grabbed my bag's handle to pull it off the counter on my way out the door. Luckily, the bento landed on its bottom and only the lid flew off. (And, also luckily, I had just washed my floor!)

The boy's bento is a standard PB&J sandwich, some skewered grapes, chips, chocolate and a G2. He's working on a project at school for a favorite teacher during lunch and needs something simple.

Of course, after I'd stuffed his lunch bag in his backpack, he revealed to me that his lunches can get "complex" again because the teacher has asked that he come at Advisory (last period's study hall) instead of lunch time. *oy!*

But, hey... I did remember to buy marshmallows for French class! In all seven years of my own study of the French language and culture, I never learned that mashmallows go great with crepes. (*gag*)

I had zero energy left for the Hubster's lunch -- plus, I think he could do with a hot meal and he finds it a pain to have to deconstruct his bento box to heat things up. So... this is just leftover spaghetti and meatballs from dinner the other night. I made a side salad in a lockable bento box to make sure I could "count" this as an official bento and not just a packed lunch.

I added chocolates, some bread (Hubster likes to soak up sauce!), and smooshed lots of love into his lunch bag.

I also remembered to zip his bag up, thereby negating the need for a clean floor. *smirk*

roses and rhododendrons

2009-05-26T07:37:00.004-04:00

The zepherine roses are going full tilt today and, backed by the rhododendrons and a birdhouse covered in pale purple clematis, it's quite a delicious display.

Dad's and Boy's bentos (#44 and #45)

2009-05-26T07:05:00.005-04:00

The Hubster is still hard at work on his thiiiiiis-close-to-finished ride. His days continue to be incredibly long and stressful, but play testing is shaking out fairly well (some bugs, some fixes that need to happen, but generally good.) I'm doing what I can to help by sending massive amounts of food to work with him to keep him going.

This bento is basically leftovers from last nights "non-Memorial Day" dinner of falafel. (It's not that we're not totally in favor of Memorial Day, just that I'd forgotten to get propane for our new grill and ... well... I also forgot that we didn't have any steak in the house.)

I had to use two Leaflet Tight boxes to hold it all, but they fit in his lunch bag stacked on top of each other. I included some tomato cous cous, fresh hummus and crackers to go with his tortilla (we ran out of pitas last night), tomato and lettuce. In the cup is some greek yogurt.

The boy only has about 18 days left of school and is counting down every minute!

For his lunch, he got a turkey and cheese roll-up, some TastyKake cupcakes (trying to cram in all the gluten-containg treats now, as our GI appointment is later this week) and a few grapes tucked in for some token fruit in this bento. (Oh wait, I packed a banana too!)

I included a bottle of G2 (low-carb Gatorade.)

I have a dental appointment that should be grueling today (two fillings have to be replaced!) and I decided to push my in-office day to tomorrow. No bento for me.

Not bento - ROSES!

2009-05-22T08:11:00.005-04:00

My garden is really starting to ramp-up and it's well on its way to the standard "Victorian Lady of Easy Virtue" look that it takes on in May. Seriously, there are so many blooms in my yard that it actually gets to be a bit MUCH!

This is a 'Zepherine Drouhin' rose -- thornless and lovely. Over Mother's Day, my husband installed a climbing frame that extends over the arch of our porch.

This "lamp post bed" is full of red Knockout and pink Carefree Wonder roses that are *just* beginning to show. Yum... the Carefree's have such a lovely sent.

I'm a sucker for irises and these 'Batik' ones are my absolutely favorite color. Behind them is a small stand of two-tone bearded irises. (The deep red ones are just coming up, but not yet ready to blossom.)Behind them is a large baptisia autralis (false indigo.) This beauty grips my heart every year and doesn't let go until the last bloom drops. (I have some in my big back garden as well.... sigh.)

My "hostafarian" bed along the side of the garage was designed by my "enabler" and wholesale plant dealer, Emanuella. She loves BIG plants and this bed really has her flare.

It's full of lots of varieties, plus ferms, tradescantia (spiderwort), heucheras (coral bells) and alchemilla mollis (ladies mantle.) On the two trellises are climbing hydrangea to match the two mop cap varietals in the back corner. (I'll include better pics later.)

Dad's and Boy's bento (#42 and #43)

2009-05-19T06:58:00.003-04:00

For the Hubster, I cooked up some chicken nuggets and chopped them up so he could make his own sandwich roll-up. Lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese (in silicon cup) and ranch dressing were included for him to put together with the tortilla I tucked into his lunch bag.

Cherries, a cheese wedge and carrots filled out the box.

For the Boy, I made a sliced turkey and cheese rollup:

Some chips, carrots, chocolates and fruit cup balanced it up a bit. I added a bottle of G2 (low-carb Gatorade) for his drink

Mom & Dad bentos (#40 and #41)

2009-05-18T07:24:00.004-04:00

We're still busy, busy, busy and the bento count shows it. All our other meals were general leftovers and I didn't even bother to present them nicely. This is the first TRUE bento I've made in a bit.

I cheated, though -- the chicken isn't homemade. I got it at the grocery store and just gussied it up in the Leaflet Tight box. Cherries and carrots rounded out the box and I added containers of yogurt and jello and some candies to the lunch bags.

Dad's bento (#39)

2009-05-13T07:29:00.003-04:00

More stick-to-your-bones meals for the hard-working Hubster.

A slice of meatloaf from the freezer, fresh-made mashed potatoes, and some edamame to round things out. (There's home-made BBQ sauce in the cup.)

The edamame from Costco comes with little packets of salt, so I tucked one in when I added the tomatoes, mini Reese's cups, and cheese.

The boy just had a regular PB&J sandwich -- so no bento pics.

Boy's bento (#38)

2009-05-13T06:51:00.003-04:00

I've been packing us lunches every day, but haven't had the time to photograph them (even in my "quick and dirty, stick it on the kitchen table in natural light and shoot it with my cell phone" fashion.)

There were a lot of spaghetti leftovers and sandwiches in regular plastic storage containers, with little or no thought to presentation, so... I guess they weren't really bentos and I'll have to let them slide and not get counted.

Here, however, is The Boy's bento from today. Since it's just yet another "decontructed" PBJ, I'm not sure that it's worth a picture, but... gosh darn it, I took one anyway.

Family bentos (#35, #36 and #37)

2009-05-08T07:28:00.007-04:00

I stopped at Sam's Club and picked up a rotisserie chicken for a quesedilla dinner last night -- with the intention of having leftovers for our bentos today.

I added a lining of lettuce and some picks, but neglected to add anything to make the now-dry chicken at all appetizing. (Yuck!)

The rest of the bento is rounded out with cheeses, crackers, tomatoes, nuts, and grapes. I added frozen berries to vanilla yogurt, but had to wrap it all in plastic wrap when I overfilled the container and worried about spillage.

Note to self: the Hubster doesn't like honey-roasted peanuts. They all came back in the otherwise empty bento.

My bento was pretty much the same...

The Boy had another "deconstructed" PB&J sandwich:

There's waaaay too much of the same pale green in this bento, but he doesn't like many veggies that aren't green. I'm having a heck of a time explaining that green bell peppers and red bell papers are essentially the same thing, only less ripe. Oh, well, it was nutritious and he ate it all. (Note the TastyKakes! Aaaaargh, how can we give these up?!)

Dad's bento (#34)

2009-05-06T08:20:00.002-04:00

I had picked up some boneless pork shoulder ribs (sometimes called a "picnic" shoulder) on sale at the grocery store. They had to be cooked last night so I browned them in a dutch oven and covered them with barbeque sauce before popping them in the oven for 90 minutes. I pulled the pork apart and let it sit and cool. (Hubby had to work late again, so it was his dinner at 10PM last night before getting put away for leftovers today.)

The veggies are propped up on a bag of airplane pretzels.

The other tier of the bento box includes his rolls and treat. I wish I'd had coleslaw...

Boy's bento (#33)

2009-05-05T07:12:00.003-04:00

We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner last night and I made sure to cook extra meatballs -- the boy loves those bone picks and thinks this presentation is a hoot.

Those are Tasty Kake peanut butter "Kandy Kakes" -- something that makes me ache when I think of my son facing a lifetime of not getting to eat these, still warm from the factory.

This was my one last attempt at offering cheese in his lunch. Let's just say the dogs were happy when the bento box came home after school.

Dad's bento (#32)

2009-05-05T06:54:00.003-04:00

Yeah... so when I said the grocery store had pork cutlets on sale, I meant the "value package" size. I made a boatload of tonkatsu and still had leftovers.

Not that the Hubster seemed to mind. He liked having the California roll parts again too.

But, I'm unhappy that I left a gaping hole in the bento. Why didn't I tuck one of the Rollos in that spot?!

Mom's bento (#31)

2009-05-04T06:47:00.004-04:00

I was rushing to make dinner for my son on Sunday (while still enormously full from Korean barbeque) and resorted to packaged noodles (not GF) and octodogs.

I packed up the leftovers for my own lunch the next day... and then ended up not going to work.

Noodles and octodogs

Dad's bento (#30)

2009-05-04T06:44:00.004-04:00

A local grocery store had pork cutlets on a big sale so I bought some to try tonkatsu.

It was pretty straightforward -- season the cutlet before coating it with flour (a GF alternative would be corn starch), then dip it in egg, then dip it in panko crumbs (the GF version is to dip it in crumbled Chex cereal.) Then fry it in a skillet with a 1/2 inch of oil until golden brown on one side, flip it and fry the other side. Drain on some paper towels before slicing and serving.

I had some home-made teriyaki sauce from a previous meal and I'd already put the leftovers into cute sauce bottles.

The garlic knots were left over from dinner the night before.

I'd tried to make California rolls but it was my first attempt and they were rather crap-like. Not to mention that I discovered that the smell of warm nori was not something I fell in love with right away. I did try the rolls and thought the taste of nori was something I could quickly learn to love -- if I could just get past that initial smell. (I think I need to find some "fresh" nori to try again.)

Anyway, I had leftover celery and crab sticks to add to the bento -- and it was A.L.O.T. of food -- the Hubster barely finished it and was, I think, a little uncomfortably full for the rest of the day.

Our Assi Plaza adventure

2009-05-02T18:53:00.006-04:00

My travel-lovin' husband is stuck with a wife and son who only want to go to Disney World anymore, so he tends to flip over opportunities to experience the "other" in our little suburban haven.

Whenever I can muster the courage to pull myself out of my comfy cacoon, it makes the Hubster incredibly happy to check out interesting venues with flavors of faraway places.

I pass by the Assi Plaza every time I go into the office, but I never gave it a second thought until I started getting interested in bento a couple of months ago. I finally worked up the nerve to stop there in early April, but was so overwhelmed by the packaging and the foods I didn't recognize, that I basically looked for some bento boxes and tools and then left, my xenophobic tail between my legs.

But this bento obsession is strong and worked and worked on me until I finally brought up the idea of going for an outing with my husband the moment our son was invited to hang out at a friend's house. (I almost typed "play date," but had to revert to a more teenagery term.)

I'd checked out the Bento Store Locator over on Lunch in a Box and people had given good comments to the Korean barbeque place in the same complex. We had a plan -- a quick stop in a fabric store (for me), a lunch at the Korean barbeque (for him) and a lengthy perusal of the offerings at the Assi Plaza (for both of us.)

The Korean barbeque was actually amazingly cool, even if I did get most of the smoke coming right into my face. We had sliced short ribs and tried all the great side dishes -- despite the fact that we didn't know what any of it was! Our waitress was very sweet and explained what she could and we just tried everything, hoping that we weren't committing any culinary faux pas by eating how and what we did. (I'm sure I did crack the servers up with the face I made as I tasted the green tea -- which I'd first assumed was some bad, green-tinged well water. Hmmmm... I'm no fan of green tea and this tasted just like grass clippings.)

Afterwards, we headed into the Assi Plaza and just explored and explored. I loved seeing all the incredible seafood and very fresh-looking produce. I was mighty tempted, but my fridge is currently full, so I resisted. We were both charmed by the candies and selected a few to buy and try.

I have to say the gummies were very good, with great "peachy" and "true strawberry" flavors -- not that processed "strawberry-like" crap most kid candy is flavored with in the US. But, the mochi and the sweet buns with anko bean paste? I liked the flavors, but the texture and the gumminess will take some adjusting to for me and I'm pretty sure my son won't be a fan. I did like the sesame mochi -- but again, the texture was odd, even if the overall taste reminded me, oddly enough, of peanut butter.

I was delighted to find that they had a few bento boxes on offer that day:

The Leaflet Tight boxes are nice, perfect for a sandwhich and a treat. I also got another tight box with 4 individual lidded boxes inside -- it'll be great for traveling.

One of the nicest things for me was seeing how inexpensive the specialty flours and starches used in gluten-free cooking were -- significantly less expensive than I'd seen in Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I'll definitely be back to Assi Plaza for those when (if) we get the final word on my son's Celiac diagnosis.

I was also excited by the labeling on the packages as most were either printed with English as well as their native language or had a sticker with nutritional information added by the importer. I was afraid that the GF shopping needs would make it impossible to find "safe" foods at a place like Assi Plaza.

Phew... I was much relieved. And, now that I've been there and really allowed myself to explore without fear, I don't think I'll need to drag my hubby along to give me courage.

The problem is more likely going to be keeping him away from the place!

Dad's bento - 5/1 (#28) (Mom's bento #29)

2009-05-01T07:25:00.004-04:00

I picked up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store the other night (to make chicken quesadillas for dinner) and decided these would be perfect for a leftover bento.

I whipped up some mashed potatoes and steamed the edamame, letting them cool while I skewered grapes and lined a box with lettuce for the chicken.

I had the same bento for my lunch.

Boy's bento 5/1 (#27)

2009-05-01T07:09:00.005-04:00

Just a simple PB&J rollup lunch with skewered grapes.

He liked the grapes presented that way and promised me that he wouldn't try and stab anyone with the picks! [o(

I know the box is pretty empty, but he doesn't have that big of an appetite and this bento box (one of the Hakoya boxes from Ichiban Kan is probably a little big for this type of presentation.

I wanted him to try some cheese sticks -- as cheese is a great low-carb item for Type 1 diabetics -- but, alas and alack, he didn't like this Monterey Jack/cheddar blend and gave it to his buddy. So, the current score is: strike one for string cheese and strike two for Monterey Jack/cheddar.

Sheesh.

Latest Ichiban Kan shipment

2009-04-27T16:02:00.010-04:00

I got so excited when I learned on the Lunch In A Box forums that Ichiban Kan had received a new container from Japan and were uploading new items to their online store. I got a little "panicky" when I heard that they were quickly selling out of egg molds and I hopped online and bought stuff without really planning it out.

So... what did I get?

I got two Hakoya boxes for my "boys" -- and I like how they are large enough to hold a sandwich as well as other lunch items. What I had thought was a repositionable divider was actually a small, angled-sided "cup" -- not quite what I needed, but I can see a use for it. The belts on these are rather nice, very strong, and secure. They come with a bag as well, but we tuck our bento boxes into thermal bags so I'm not sure how I'll use these.

I got the small red one for me -- and boy, was it S.M.A.L.L. It's practically a snack box!

Then I filled out my egg mold collection with fish, car, star, and heart. (But I have to admit that I'm the only one in the family who will eat a hard-boiled egg!)

I added to my Natural Lunch collection with the small, tight-lidded containers, one in each color -- sold as a set! These were much smaller than I'd assumed (see how big my hand looks... and my hands are small), but they will be good as mayo cups or to hold small items.

All in all, a pretty good haul, but I wish I'd waited until they were completely done cataloging and uploading the new items -- I've already found new things I want!

Mom & Dad bentos (#24 & #25) and Boy's bento (#26)

2009-04-24T07:36:00.007-04:00

On Thursday night, I had 4 lbs of ground beef to use up, so I made a big batch of sloppy joes and another of burrito filling (ground beef, salsa, black beans, and melted cheese.) I wanted to freeze them for future lunches, so I put all my silicon cupcake cups on a cookie sheet and then filled them with these two mixes. I put them into my stand-up freezer and was able to remove the silicon cups the next morning and put these foods into freezer bags for quick bento building later.

I mostly defrosted two cups each for the adult bentos today and added a hot dog bun to eat them on.

I had a side salad with the last of the homemade honey mustard dressing (which I think I'm totally sick of right now!) The Hubster got grape tomatoes and we both got baby carrots and some chocolate bars for dessert.

I tried an experiment of using a little plastic shot glass (gotten from Dollar Tree in their current "Luau" promotion) to pack the salad dressing. I sealed the top with plastic wrap and, I have to say, it worked pretty well.

The Boy had been asking for make-your-own peanut butter and jelly crackers as a bento for several days, so I was happy to oblige. I just plopped PB in one silicon cup and jelly in another, tucked crackers, carrots and a couple chocolates into his box and sent him off with a plastic knife from Ikea.

He liked it, but the Hubster took umbrage with the term "deconstructed" when I told him what it was. He said that sounded a tad pretentious.
Harrrumph.

Dad's bento (#23)

2009-04-22T10:24:00.003-04:00

This was a post-shot morning for me and, despite my wonderful husband getting up to get the boy in gear and out for school, I had to drag my achy, side-effecty carcass out of bed so I could finish up with the rented carpet shampooer that a girlfriend and I had shared. It needed to be back at the grocery store by 9:30 and I still had one room and a set of stairs to finish.

Soooo, I was saved having to feed the dogs or make the boy's lunch, but arrived in time to feed the boy his breakfast and make the hubster *his* lunch.

For bento #23, he got another "unlunchable" with meats and cheeses, plus a side salad. I keep worrying that he's not eating well enough during his loooooong days, so I tucked in a yogurt and some chocolate chips to fill out his bag.

I didn't bother to photograph it -- you've seen the unlunchables so many times already. :::smirk:::

Happy lunching, sweetie.

Dad's bento (#22)

2009-04-21T07:10:00.004-04:00

I had made some meatloaf and meatloaf "meatballs" last Friday and the hubster was mad that I only let him have one slice for a late dinner and put all the other goodies in the freezer to be bagged up for lunches.

Today, I relented and defrosted a slice for his lunch. I was feeling so accomodating that I also whipped up some mashed potatoes and barbeque sauce for his dining pleasure. I included my latest food obsession -- edamame! Yummy scrummy!

I made him another side salad in my Putifresh lockable container -- it had sliced carrots and almonds. The cup holds more mustard vinaigrette. I tucked three mini Kit Kats into the lid of the green Putifresh 2-tier bento box. His lunch bag also has some dried apple slices and a small apple too!

I'm not winning any Mother of the Year awards for the boy's lunch -- he got a PB&J, a fruit cup and a Capri Sun. I guess I'm holding a grudge today since he forgot to bring home his lunchbag ....from FRIDAY!!

Sheesh

Grown-up bentos - #20 and #21

2009-04-20T07:32:00.006-04:00

The hubster has been working crazy hours lately finishing up a big project, so I wanted to pack him a variety of foods that he could snack on throughout the day and evening, if he so chose. (I had the same bento, even though I was only at work thru lunch.)

I started with a salad, using my mini mandolin to slice up carrots and radishes, then added sliced almonds and a cup of homemade mustard vinaigrette.

The hubster doesn't like radishes, so his didn't get any!

I made us a little "unlunchable" bento of grapes, tomatoes, cheeses and sliced meats with crackers and a chocolate treat.

I used my Natural Lunch boxes (mine in pink, hubsters in green) to pack them up. I have the lockable side container for the salad.

The boy's "unlunchable" - #19

2009-04-20T07:03:00.004-04:00

I seem to be in a rut over what to pack my son in his bento -- he doesn't have a microwave, and cold leftovers don't appeal to him. That basically has me stumped on a choice between sandwiches (which don't fit into my current boxes well) and deconstructed cracker sandwiches. I've taken to thinking of these as "unlunchables" -- my own version of a home-made Lunchable.

It's nothing more than cut up ham and cheese, crackers, grapes, and chocolates. His lunchbag also included a drink pouch.

I need to start making some corn dog muffins today!

New food picks from OTC

2009-04-16T13:26:00.004-04:00

I just got my shipment of food picks from Oriental Trading Co. What fun! Now, if only I'd have time for more than PB&J sandwiches these days...

Here are some close-ups:

Heeeee!

Dollar Tree's bento-ish items

2009-04-02T10:06:00.004-04:00

I had to waste an hour while my son was at tae kwon do and, since they just moved to a new location in a strip mall, I had the opportunity to wander through a large Dollar Tree.

I found these in the baby aisle:

They have bowls and small containers - in hipppo, monkey, tiger and pig themes.

These flower-shaped cups were in the Easter aisle. There were two cups per pack.

Neat for decorating a bento. (Too bad my son wouldn't stand for it! ;))

My latest Ichiban Kan order!

2009-04-01T15:25:00.004-04:00

No bentos for us today -- I wasn't feeling well, so my son got a PB&J and the hubster got leftover spaghetti. Me? I got the opportunity to sleep in a little. :o)

I got busy with projects later this afternoon and was surprised by the dogs barking at our front door. Oooooh... it was the UPS guy and he had goodies for me from Ichiban Kan.

A lockable "side" container for my biege "Natural Lunch Time" 2-tier bento box (that my son usually uses. I also got some cutesy food picks for me and some more punches.

A pink Natural Lunch Time two-tier box, an oval box, a lockable side dish and some box belts.

I've threatened my son with sending this very "girlie pink" box the day after he forgets to bring home his "manly" box.

I love my banana Puti-fresh 2-tier box so much, that I decided to add a green grape version to my collection.

Family bentos (#16, 17, 18)

2009-03-31T07:11:00.003-04:00

This morning was a bit of a rush, so I'm glad that I had just done some food shopping for our upcoming Spring Break trip to the beach house -- it meant I had easy stuff to grab for my "assembly line" bentos.

My husband's bento is in the blue containers (upper left), mine is the yellow containers (lower left) and my son's was the white container with the soda.

We all had ham and cheese (hubster and I had some salami and "grown up" cheese), cashews/peanuts, and some mini candies. I didn't have much in the way of veggies, but I think we'll survive.

Diabetes: this is a 75 carb meal
GF: gluten in the crackers and Kit Kats

Dad's bento (#15)

2009-03-30T07:19:00.003-04:00

We had leftover cheesy chicken noodles after dinner last night, so I packed these up right away in a divided Tupperware container. This morning, I added slices of pepperoni (and one cut into a heart and placed on the noodles!), crackers, green peppers, cheese wedges, and a sliced strawberry.

For good measure, I added a Reese's Cup pack to his lunch bag.

Mom's bento (#14)

2009-03-30T07:13:00.005-04:00

We had a rotisserie chicken this weekend, so I made chicken salad with the leftovers and added a cup of sliced almonds and craisins to mix in right before I ate. (If you add them earlier, the almonds get mushy and the craisins leave "interesting" blobs of pink on the chicken.)

I included a strawberry, but realized that I needed to slice it to get it to fit into the bento -- so I took care of that after I'd already posted the picture to the blog.

The Smartie was supposed to be my treat, but.... the moment I smelled that Reese's Cup, I had to slip that into my bag as well.

Boy's bento (#13)

2009-03-30T07:00:00.005-04:00

We only had one piece of bread this morning (eeep!), so I made a half PB&J and happily discovered that it fit be-yew-ti-fully into the bento. I used a piece of silicon baran to separate it from some sliced green peppers. I filled the lower tier with Cheetos, but my son has asked that I only include a small amount of Cheetos -- apparently, it's just too much to try and finish in the short amount of time they have to eat.

I added a yogurt and a pack of Starbursts to finish out the meal.

Diabetes: this is a 75 carb meal
GF: the bread contains glutens

Dad's Bento (#12)

2009-03-27T07:19:00.005-04:00

I was dying to use my new "bone" food picks and meatballs seemed like the perfect choice! I tucked baby carrots and sliced green pepper around them and filled the bottom tier with Cheetos.

I tucked some chocolate squares in the bag for a treat.

Boy's bento (#11)

2009-03-27T07:07:00.005-04:00

More meatballs -- which my son loved, even though they were still cold. He ended up not touching the celery or peanut butter, but loved having a small soda (one of those 6 oz cans) in his lunch. (It's such a treat for a diabetic to have real soda.)

I included an "Oatmeal to Go" because I came across a couple in our rescue kit (the lunchbag we take everywhere with us, filled with 15-carb, quick-acting sugar treats to reverse a low blood sugar.) I'm trying to make sure that we use up all the gluten-containing foods before our appointment with the GI doctors... just in case.

While I'm still secretly hoping that The Boy does not have Celiac Disease, I feel rather ready to take the plunge and go fully gluten free. A good friend sent me her unused bread machine -- so I've got that going for me, which is nice. ;) I've also been reading tons and tons of library books on GF cooking, finally finding a few that I wanted to actually buy. Plus, I realized that we actually eat a lot of meals where it's easy to remove/replace the non-GF ingredients.

Diabetes: This is a 75 carb meal.
GF: There is gluten (or contamination of glutens) in the oats. The meatballs also contain breading.

Dad's bento (#10)

2009-03-25T07:25:00.005-04:00

This was the first day using the new bento boxes from Ichiban Kan. And... yes... I've already placed another order. :o)

I was a little concerned that they were too small for our appetites, so I used a 2-tier box plus a snack box for my husband's bento.

It includes a turkey and cheese roll-up (mayo and mustard), Cheetos (which, after packing up and sending off, I was suddenly unsure whether the hubs liked Cheetos!), peanut butter celery, sliced strawberries and 2 cookies.

Um... he texted me after lunch and, apparently, it was a lot of food. Oh well. The hubs has been working such late hours the past two months that it's never a problem if I overpack -- it gives him something to eat later in his day.

Mom's bento (#9)

2009-03-25T07:06:00.003-04:00

Even though this is one of the days I'm home and didn't need a "packed" lunch, per se, I went ahead and packed it up. (Mainly because I'd made a mistake making my husband's turkey and cheese roll-up -- I forgot to add mustard and mayo!)

Plus, this is my "post shot" day and the MS meds tend to make me feel like I have a mild case of the flu. I like to return to bed after sending the boys off for their busy days, so having a lunch to wake up to is wooooooonderful. :o)

Almost identical to my husband's bento -- minus the Cheetos. Turkey and cheese roll up (w/o mustard and mayo, but only because I forgot), sliced strawberries, PB celery sticks and two cookies.

This is all a little monochromatic, but I didn't have much in the way of decorative foods to add today, plus I was feeling flu-ish and not all that inspired, even with the adorable boxes to work with.

Boy's lunch (#8)

2009-03-25T06:46:00.003-04:00

Turkey and cheese roll-up, carrots and PB celery stalks, Cheetos and two cookies.

This time, the omission of mustard and mayo was intentional - boy doesn't like 'em.

I used the Natural Lunch 2-tier box plus another Natural Lunch box -- again, I was worried that it wasn't enough food and I'm not a "tight" bento packer yet.

Nutritial info:
This lunch was roughly 80 carbs
The tortilla wrapper and cookies contain wheat flour, but the Cheetos do not.

My Ichiban Kan order arrived!

2009-03-24T15:35:00.003-04:00

Yippy skippy! It finally got here after a week of stalking the UPS site to see where it was in transit -- why, oh why didn't I pay the extra money to have it flown here?!

I waited to open it until my son got home from school (which wasn't a hardship really, as I was napping on the couch -- feeling a little sick and under the weather today!) But, once he was home, we cracked that baby and started pulling out all sorts of bento boxes, sauce bottles, rice molds, slicers, baran, cups, and great food picks.

Here's the haul in all of its glory!

Molds, punch and travel bento containers

2009-03-24T15:29:00.001-04:00

2009-03-24T15:27:00.001-04:00

packing items

2009-03-24T15:27:00.000-04:00

prep tools

More bento boxes

2009-03-24T15:22:00.002-04:00

The ones at the top are for my son at school. The Putifresh (which I keep slipping and calling Putri-fresh... ewwww!) is for me.

2009-03-24T15:21:00.002-04:00

Another "girlie" set that is for me.

2009-03-24T15:20:00.001-04:00

Natural lunch set

Boy's bento (#7)

2009-03-18T13:25:00.008-04:00

My son had the state's standardized testing today and was let out early, so no need for a packed bento this morning.

Since he's always bemoaning the fact that the school cafeteria is problematic for the timing of insulin shots and he can't get a hot meal, he requested a freshly made lunch he can only get at home.

Hmmmm.... sounds like it's time to try my hand at octo-dogs!

These were amazingly easy and fun to make. Just zip, zip, zip and dunk dunk dunk... and TA DAAAAH!

I tossed in some cherry tomatoes (even though my son hates tomatoes) and sliced some green peppers up to be seaweed. I had to move fast as CJ was practically eating out of the bowl before I had given him his insulin.

Alas, the tomatoes were not eaten, but everything else was. And he LOVED the octo-dogs -- he said he doesn't want them in a school lunch, but he'd love them any other time.

With the noodles in cream sauce and a bowl of ice cream, the meal was 80 carbs.
The noodles have gluten in them, but the brand of hot dogs my family prefers do not! Yay!

Mom's bento (#6)

2009-03-18T13:10:00.003-04:00

Mom's bento had not-so-good crab-dogs in it.

Dad's bento (#5)

2009-03-17T07:06:00.005-04:00

Completely ignoring the fact that today is St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to use up leftovers from last night's chicken parmesan dinner. I made a frittata from the leftover spaghetti (added beaten eggs to the spaghetti and sauce, fried it in a cast iron pan until the bottom was crust-like, then popped it in the toaster oven for 20 minutes at 350 until the top was cooked. I finished it with some grated parmesan and let it cool.) The chicken parm was cut up into nuggets and I added a separate cup of spaghetti sauce for dipping. I cubed some cheese and popped in a couple of cherry tomatoes.

It's terribly monochromatic, but I didn't have the energy to be creative.

On the good news front: my Ichiban Kan order has shipped and should be here by the weekend!

Boy's bento (#4)

2009-03-17T07:00:00.003-04:00

I had little time this morning, so this is simply a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a Go-gurt, some pretzel sticks, a jello cup, cheese and green pepper skewers and some chocolate.

It's a 100 carb meal (he has all day placement tests and I wanted him with slightly elevated blood sugars.)

There's gluten in the bread and pretzels (obviously.)

Mom and Dad's bentos (#2 and #3)

2009-03-16T17:43:00.005-04:00

I have yet to receive my order from Ichiban Kan, but I used a divided Rubbermaid container I found at Walmart for these bentos I made for my husband and myself. It's mainly finger food of rolled turkey, salami, mushrooms, olives, cherry tomatoes, and carrots. I added a childhood favorite of cream cheese on lebanon balogna (a sweet lunchmeat popular in PA's Amish country .) I had some mini pitas in my lunchbag, but I wish I'd thought about something crunchy, like crackers. I tossed in a mini cocktail fork in bright red.

All day at work, I kept thinking about my lunch -- just sitting there in my drawer, calling to me. I finally gave in to the temptation at 11:30. (But, hey, I'd been awake since 6AM and that coffee was only gonna hold me so long!) I cracked the lid and sighed... it was pretty, it smelled good, and it was all foods I really like.

Yum dilly-icious!

It didn't hurt that my dear hubby sent me a text saying how much he was enjoying his too. :D

Boy's bento (#1)

2009-03-16T17:42:00.004-04:00

My son isn't particularly picky, but he doesn't like mayonnaise. (Oy!) So, it was no wonder they he felt his mini pita sandwiches with turkey and cheese were a little dry. I fell in love with the Cheeto's curls the moment I saw them in the store, but they got soggy in the open Lock & Lock box I used for my son's bento. (Next time, I'll make sure they are in their own container.)

Since I didn't want his meal to "stand out" in the middle school lunchroom, I went rather subtle for the first bento. There were blueberries in the cup in the upper left, a jello cup in the upper right, some edamame in the lower right and a lovely Dove chocolate on top. (I added a second chocolate to increase the carb count to reach our goal.)

In terms of diabetes, the carb count for this lunch was 100 grams of carbs.
The pitas weren't gluten free, but... since we don't have an official Celiac diagnosis yet (coming soon), he's supposed to eat a little gluten every day until all testing is completed.