Spanish Tapas Adult Bento Box Lunch

One of my favorite easy week night dinners is to just make an antipasto or "olive" platter with various olives, cheese, grapes, dates, prosciutto, salami, etc. Throw in a crusty loaf of bread and some aged balsamic and olive oil, and you've got a delicious dinner (especially paired with wine!). Since I'm only responsible for feeding myself (and sometimes Mike), this meal finds its way into our rotation quite a bit. It's healthy, it appeals to my snacky cravings, and it's got a great balance of savory and sweet. 

The leftovers also make the greatest bento meal, as you can see below. I've got delicious Castelvetrano olives, and if you haven't tried them, or think you hate olives, PLEASE try these, you will love them! They are not cured in vinegar, so they taste mild, with no bite, and have a really appealing firmness. You should buy them with pits, not pitted, because they'll lose some of their texture. They don't have a long shelf life, so eat them quick (not a problem, usually!), and buy them in the refrigerated or olive bar section. If you like olive oil, you'll like these olives, I promise.

I've also got little Emmentaler cheese stars, seedless organic black grapes, cubes of crusty country loaf, and fancy Medjool dates wrapped in prosciutto. YUM! It was also really easy to eat while I read a book! :)

Close up of the prosciutto wrapped dates below. My dates come pitted, but I cut them in half, remove the pit, and then fold a strip of prosciutto around half a date. You can also stuff your dates with almonds or goat cheese for an added treat!

These type of bentos are easy and really satisfying for your taste buds. If this sort of meal leaves you still hungry, up the protein factor by adding hard boiled quail eggs, or nuts such as walnuts, pecans, or almonds.

Friday Review: Dip, Dressing and Sauce Containers - Panda, Pig and Chick

I just bought these items about 2 weeks ago, but they have fast become my new favorite bento accessory! Next to the silicone ware and animal picks, they are just about the most useful thing for putting together cute, yummy lunches. 

Panda, Pig and Chicken Dip and Sauce Containers - perfect for holding hummus, peanut butter, ranch, etc!

For those of you that have children who may not carry their lunch boxes all carefully into the classroom, these little guys will be invaluable. The lids are easy to put on and take off, and they keep all liquids and runny dressings secure until lunchtime. No more dressing all over the sandwich! They may look tiny, but they hold plenty enough. We've been testing them out for a week and whether it's hummus, ranch, peanut butter or just salt and pepper (for hard boiled eggs or whatever), it's just the right amount.

The containers open like Easter eggs and have enough space in them for condiments.

I bought these at the Tokyo Japanese Outlet here in Los Angeles, and they were about $5.00 for the set of 3. Totally worth it!

Super Fast 10-minute Bento (with fruit, nuts, and bunny gummies)

Some days it's just hell to get out of bed, and today was one of those days. So I used the old bento fall back trick - stuff it full of colorful silicone cups and animal picks. And again, I stress it every time...prep, prep, prep! And also store things in your pantry or freezer that you can just toss in, like nuts, snacks, muffins, etc. It will really save your morning. 

Today I had about 10 minutes. I made a quick ham, cheese and mustard roll up on a tortilla (side note: the cheese was used previously for decorations and had lots of holes and punch outs from cutters, but in a roll up or sandwich, no one notices!); I cut two pieces to put all pretty on the side and stuck animal picks in the other two pieces. Dumped in my pre-prepped fruit stars and flowers, some bunny gummies from Whole Foods, sunflower seeds from Trader Joe's, and cut up a kiwi. Presto! 10 minute bento.

Top/bird's eye view:

Ham & Cheese Roll Ups on a Flour Tortilla, Mango & Watermelon Flowers and Whole Foods Bunny Gummy Candies

REVIEW: This was a favorite! Mike ate everything (and I had thought there was too much food). It helps that fruit is in season and delicious right now.

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 Snack

Mike is coming home from work early today, so I just made him a bento snack. PB&J flower stackers on whole wheat - they're two pieces of bread with PB or J in the middle and the other on the top, pretzels, and a fruit salad with kiwis, pineapple, and strawberry hearts! Obviously this fruit lends itself easily to the heart shape (I swiped these strawberries from my fruit tray at work and brought them home to use in the bento). 

REVIEW: Mike loves PB&J and fruit. Put those two together and we have a winner. Plus this snack had sweet and salty - which is lots of people's favorite taste combo! 

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).