The Bento Shop - Welcome. Mitsuwa bento. My sweet husband surprised me last week with a new bento box (he saw it at a store when he was looking for something else). wanting to use it, and finding ourselves with more time on our hands than usual due to the three-day weekend, we decided to take a trip to edgewater, nj to go to the fabulous mitsuwa marketplace — a veritable wonderland comprised of a full-sized japanese supermarket as well as a food court and a number of specialty shops and stands. more on our trip, after the jump. first of all, it’s a good thing we don’t live closer, because i’d be obese. between the redonkulous black sesame soft-serve ice cream at ito-en (the teahouse), the beautiful wagashi at minamoto kitchoan, and the delicious patries (especially the eclairs and cream puffs) at yokohama st. honore, there is no way i could control myself. i would also be poor!
Pretty low calorie, actually, and will be a nice way to re-live the fun trip once i’m back at my desk tomorrow. here are the stats: TOTAL: 360 calories. Panda onigiri bento. Salmon yuzu rice bento. A bento inspired by two dear friends i wish i saw more of — mira, with whom i had dinner at our fave edo sushi on friday night (providing salmon leftovers for the main dish here), and rupal, currently in shanghai but who left me this pretty bottled lemon drink which i knew i would use as a bento prop. this salmon yuzu rice is a lovely and light use-up for a half-portion of miso grilled salmon from edo sushi. i simply microwaved a bowl of pre-portioned rice (i happened to purchase 햇반 brand on my last run; their bowls are 210 grams each and are perfectly sticky after 90 seconds in the microwave) and flaked the leftover salmon (about 5.1 oz.) into it, mixing gently. i added half a packet of dried yuzu (a mitsuwa find) and topped with about 1/2 tsp. sesame seeds and 1 tsp. chopped scallion. the result is a protein-packed mix that serves two. plus, omega fatty acid-rich salmon is a tone it up nutrition plan fave!
Flower bento. Pikachu omurice bento. Game of Thrones bento. Onigiri curry bento. Salmon Flakes. These easy-to-make salmon flakes are great with steamed rice. You take a cooked salmon fillet, flake it with fork, and pan-fry with seasonings until all the moisture is gone. You can simply put some on top of rice as furikake or mix inside onigiri (rice balls.) Since the fish is dry, it can be kept in the fridge for about a week. Mexi-wrap bento and mon bento box review. Tomorrow i’m going on another hike (same adventure company, different location and different friends). since i’m going as part of a larger group this time, everyone is bringing their own food — no need for a two-person bento, so i made a simpler lunch for just myself. i’ve got some mexican and spanish flavors in this one, and it’s packed in my new mon bento two-tier box. click through for details on my lunch, the wrap recipe, and my product review. for a first course, i’ve got jalapeno-stuffed olives, juicy cherry tomatoes, steamed asparagus tips, and smoked gouda cubes. this felt very tapas to me!
The fresh veggies are certainly TIU-approved, and this small amount of dairy early in the day is also OK. Eggplant & kale nooch bowl. As some of you may know, i’ve been attempting to shift to a more plant-based diet. i’m not ready to commit to being vegan (and not sure if i ever will be!)
, but i had already pretty much limited my animal-based food intake to fish and dairy, and have now found that further reducing the amount of dairy in my diet gives me less digestive issues and higher energy. exploring vegan pantry staples has been a fun exercise for me — for example, nutritional yeast (nicknamed “nooch”) is a go-to product, but was totally new to me. this simple dinner satisfied my craving for earthy, umami flavors and hearty (almost “meaty”) textures, but was entirely plant-based… filling, but surprisingly light. cooking method after the jump. for my first attempt at incorporating nooch, i wanted to go with an italian-ish flavor profile — hoping the nooch would stand-in for a sprinkle of parmesan. this eggplant and kale bowl really hit the mark, and the nutritional stats are amazing!
Hapa bento. Chinese Steamed Buns Recipe. Kanzashi bento. Spring maze gohan: Green pea rice, Asparagus rice. It’s finally spring, which means some of my favorite vegetables are showing up at the markets.
One way I like to enjoy them is to make maze gohan (混ぜご飯), which just means ‘mixed rice’, featuring the ingredient in question. Maze gohan (pronouned mazeh-go-han) differs from takikomi gohan (炊き込みご飯), such as this mushroom rice, where the ingredients are cooked with the rice. Maze gohan is more suited for delicate ingredients. It’s also a frugal way of stretching the use of some rather more expensive vegetables, such as really fresh peas.
Because the rice is subtly flavored, you don’t need a lot of other things in your bento box. Here are two very simple recipes for spring maze gohan. Green pea rice Makes about 5-6 cups of cooked rice 2 cups (about 500ml) shelled raw green peas2 rice cooker cups of uncooked rice, or 1 1/2 US cups (about 360ml) 1 Tbs. sake 1 tsp. salt Pinch of dashi granules (optional) The appropriate amount of water for cooking the riceWater and salt for cooking the peas. Lunch in a Box: Building a Better Bento. Soboro noodle bento. Hearty meatball and vegetable soup (that's almost a stew) The Guy (also known as Max) and I have a shared resolution this year: We Must Lose Weight And Get Fitter Or Else.
He has high blood pressure, I have high or disturbingly fluctuating blood sugar. But we both have this basic problem, that we love to eat good food. And, especially during the day, we need our tummies comfortably filled or we get cranky. Laptoplunches.com - Lunch Boxes, Bento, Containers, Stainless Bottles. Protein-packed pesto bento. I know my last bento also had cherry tomatoes and a sprig of fresh basil, but don’t those flavors just scream SUMMER to you?
I can’t get enough of them. tuesday’s lunch (packed in advance today with leftovers) contains my healthier take on pesto… i wanted a dish that would be TIU nutrition plan-approved for M3, which means limiting/eliminating dairy and keeping the carbs in balance with protein, vegetables, and fat. my solution (and pesto recipe) below… to start, i used carba-nada lemon pepper fettucine… these noodles are egg-based, so they are pretty high in protein/fiber and low in refined starch. next, instead of using parmesan in my pasta, i used silken tofu! The “good fat” (and protein) from the pine nuts combined with the binding/emulsifying action of the tofu in the food processor gave this pesto a great, creamy consistency… i didn’t even need to use olive oil!
Simple two tiered bento. Bento filler: Cucumber and Nashi (Asian pear) marinated salad. Cucumbers are a perennial staple for me.
They are available at any time of the year, even in the depth of winter. Sure they are greenhouse grown, but they are for most of the year anyway. They add a nice refreshing crispy crunch to any meal, including bentos. This is an extremely easy to make-ahead salad or marinade. Make it at least an hour before you want to eat it, or the night before for bentos. Recipe: Cucumber and nashi (Asian pear) marinated salad Makes about 8 cups of salad, plenty for several bentos and meals. 2 large cucumbers 1 medium to large nashi or Asian pear 1 teaspoon salt, divided 1/2 tablespoon light (usukuchi) soy sauce (see soy sauce basics) - or use any soy sauce you have instead.
Slice the cucumbers in half lenghwise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Peel, quarter and core the nashi pear. Pikachu soboro bento. Healthy hike bento. Guy Does Bento no. 5: Meatloaf and potatoes. At this point The Guy is pretty much on his own with his bento making, and he’s branching out in ways that I would have not imagined.
I’ve said this before on these pages, but sometimes I think that I’m a bit too stuck in my Japanese ways when it comes to bento composition, so it’s always fascinating to see what people like Mr. Guy who don’t have all that cultural baggage come up with bento-wise. He does still peruse the pages of this site for inspiration, and that’s how he came up with this very substantial bento. It consists of three elements: meatloaf, sauteed haricots verts or green beans, and mashed potato dumplings with vegetables. The meatloaf was a ‘mini’ meatloaf that The Guy made a couple of days before, alongside a regular sized one he made for dinner. The green beans were blanched for a couple of minutes in boiling water, then sauteed in olive oil. This is the variation he packed for me.