Kiwi and Strawberry Peacock Bento

Some people make their bentos around a character or idea that they have, and they build it. I do the opposite. I look at a piece of food and think, "what does this look like?" or, "what can it be?" Today, the kiwis (especially since our "old vine" kiwis grow weird) and strawberries looked like a peacock to me, so that's what we went with. Do you see it? 

On the bottom we have an onion bagel with Cuban style fillings - ham, pickles, mayo, mustard, and lettuce, flanked by potato chips. I cut the middle of the bagel out to lessen the carb load. This way the top and bottom are a little thinner and the whole sandwich fits into the bento box. 

REVIEW: Mike ate the whole sandwich and chips, and the strawberries. He left ALL the kiwi. Partly this was because there was a lot of food, but also because I made the kiwi peacock the night before. If your kiwi is already ripe, prepping it the night before will just make it juicier (not a good thing). It sort of stuck to the bottom of the container. Kiwis are like avocados - there's a very small window where they are still firm, but perfectly ripe, and you've got to eat them right at that moment. 

Easter Duck and Bunny Sandwich Bento!

I put a little more effort into today's bento to make up for yesterday's quickie bento. Today we have a duck/chick tuna salad sandwich, and a bunny hummus and avocado sandwich. I used egg whites and nori for the eyes, fruit roll ups for the bunny nose/mouth, and carrot for the beak and feet. I also used the same cutters for the sandwich bread on the avocado, so that it would fit perfectly onto the bunny shaped bread. In retrospect, the bunny body looks a lot like a turtle, so I might have to try that sometime in the future! How fun would it be to decorate a turtle shell?

Since Mike's had two days of veggies, we went back to fruit for today. I had cut some Caracara oranges yesterday, and peeled a kiwi, so we have oranges, kiwi and pineapple, dressed up with a bunny pick. 

Here's what it looks like all together:

I hope he likes it!

REVIEW: Hummus and avocado was a hit, probably because it's something new! And it was plenty of food. Yay.

Friday Review: Animal Food Picks

These food picks are absolutely the go-to item out of all my bento supplies. When you're running late or your brain isn't working, or you failed to prep a single thing, these little guys are life savers. They will make anything cute. Stick a few into an ordinary sandwich, and you've got a zoo. They're handy for quail eggs, fruit, cheese, and veggies, and also eliminate the need for utensils. 

There are two different types displayed here: single picks and what I call "multi" picks. The ones on the left are from one package and came with short ones and tall ones. I've used the short ones for skewering string cheese or roll ups, which was super cute in my coworkers lunch bento, and I plan to use the tall ones for sandwich "stackers." The multi picks on the right are great for mushier things like fruit or mini sandwiches on soft breads.

I will say that I have not used both the tall single skewers or the tall (elephant and giraffe) multi skewers because they do not fit well into the bento boxes we have. If I laid them down sideways, that might work, but I tend to pack the boxes full, so there's really no room. The shorter picks all can stand straight up and still fit, so they are more useful. 

They're reusable and more durable than party picks or toothpicks, and super easy to wash - I just dump them all into a dish of hot soapy water and swish it around a bit. Just don't let them go down the drain, especially if you have a garbage disposal! 

These types of picks should cost you no more than $5.00 max, for a package of at least 10-15. They also come in lots of different varieties, like hearts, flowers, leaves, even little hats. If you don't have a store that sells this type of thing in your neighborhood, Amazon online has a pretty good selection. But if it's over $5.00, they're totally ripping you off. My single skewer picks are going for $11.99 on Amazon and I bought them for $1.50 at the Daiso store. 

Mushroom Bento

Mike and I both love mushrooms, but Mike doesn't like to eat them, he just likes the way they look. Inspired by the ones I saw online, I made Mike a salad with tomato and string cheese toadstools. I hollowed out sugar plum tomatoes for the tops, cut up a piece of string cheese for the stems, and put a tiny bit of ranch dressing on the top, which acted as "glue" for a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. They came out pretty cute!

On the left we have a salad with carrot flowers, sliced sugar snap peas, smoked gouda stars, "toadstools," and "chicks" made from quail eggs with black sesame eyes and carrot beaks. I threw in sunflower seeds to up the protein factor a little. On the right we have a fuji apple, blood orange and green grape salad, a heart shaped tuna sandwich on squaw bread, kumquats, and some chocolate covered sunflower seeds for dessert. I inserted a little bottle of ranch dressing after I took the picture; it fit right on top of the heart sandwich.

This is the first mostly veggie/fruit bento I have made for Mike, so I hope it is filling enough. I prepped the whole salad and the fruit last night, so this morning all I made was the heart, and cut up some kumquats. Which was a good thing, because I woke up late with the time change. I miss my sunlight in the morning!

REVIEW: Mike loved the salad and even ate the tomato tops of the "mushrooms" which is weird because he hates tomatoes. I would like to think it has something to do with the cute factor, but I think it's probably because they were hollowed out, then coated in ranch and parmesan. :) 

Also, chocolate covered sunflower seeds were a huge hit with both of us! They are like mini M&Ms. I love the pop of color they provide.

Bento Bear

Last night we had dinner with our neighbor, and managed to get home by 9:30pm. We go to bed at 10pm, and our nighttime routine includes taking care of our fish, frog, 4 cats, and rabbit. So you can imagine I was pressed for time and needed to create a bento that was quick and easy! Here's what I came up with: peanut butter/jelly bear (there's extra jelly under the nose), bear shaped muenster cheese with crackers, a pretzel "nest" with smoked gouda birds, and a salad with ranch (I got these nifty little bottles at the Marukai Market). I put a clementine on top of the box for him to take along, too. I'm not sure if it'll be filling enough for Mike, but it'll tide him over until he gets home. Oh yeah, there's a package of gummy bears hiding under the peanut butter bear, for dessert. 

The bento bear is easy, I used a water glass for the face, then a circle cutter for the rest - the ears were pressed into the remaining bread I had left after making the face, I went right off the face circle, which is why they fit so nicely. The entire bear is about 5 inches across.

REVIEW: This was Mike's favorite meal so far, and he ate all of it. Which is amusing, because it took the least amount of effort. Let that be a lesson to me! To improve the healthy quotient of this lunch in the future, I might try to add a protein/fruit like yogurt with strawberries, or some quail eggs and a fruit salad, and take out one of the carbs (the crackers or the pretzels).