Almost 3 years to the day of my last 9-5 job, I have returned to the 9-5 world. What that means with regard to this blog…
MORE BENTO!!!
First day: walnut dill crusted salmon alongside a rice salad. Rice salad wasn’t all that great, won’t be doing that again, won’t be sharing the recipe. Walnut crusted salmon was FAB and I will share the recipe in a separate post… eventually.
Second day back: leftovers from the previous night; salad and two really good falafels.
Do you see someone peeking into the photo?! This was my dinner that night, bento-style. 3 XO dumplings by Prime Foods (my favorite dumplings to keep on hand in the freezer); Brussels sprouts my mom gave me from her freezer which were terrible (“in a butter sauce” – blegh, oily and soggy); sauteed mustard greens; clementine; duck fried rice; really good artichoke hummus and pita. I love my trays!
Plainly roasted pork chop; the last falafel; duck fried rice; sauteed mustard greens; last of the Brussels sprouts.
This is what that lunch looked like at work: rounded out with my breakfast (the yogurt and banana: I dunno, evaporated cane juice tastes awfully chemically to me!), a clementine for a snack, and my 3:30p pick-me-up – a Trader Joe’s caramallow (caramel marshmallow covered in dark chocolate), which is really delicious. A full day of food – both to help me budget and to regulate my intake.
Sugar snap peas – bought these frozen and dropped them in boiling water, then tossed with chipotle honey butter. Frozen sugar snap peas are horrible. I won’t be buying those again. Duck fried rice, and sauteed mustard greens.
Duck fried rice, grilled chicken thighs, spring roll. The latter two items were leftovers from dinner the previous night.
In a rush one morning, I scooped some leftover soup I’d made into a container. Fully loaded baked potato soup, that is! Bam! Delicious and perfect for these cold days we’ve been experiencing.
Brown butter mushrooms to top my fully loaded baked potato soup, and the last of the duck fried rice. Yum!
My first two weeks back, my first two weeks of bento (minus a few lunches with friends). Super bonus: I walk to work. It’s about 1.5 miles each way, and I try to walk both ways – except when it’s freeeeeezing, which I guess it has been a bit the past two weeks. But it’s a start, in terms of getting my weight back on track. I’m not entirely happy with where it is right now.
Any suggestions or requests for what to put in my bento next? All options considered!
Happy eating!
Monique says
welcome back to the grind! Kudos to bringing lunch to work. And Looking forward to walking to and from work once the weather warms up…and the days get longer. 🙂
Feisty Foodie says
I’ve been walking actually – just not the first week. It’s cold today but as long as it’s in the mid 20s and higher, the walk warms me up and is fine! Plus I get to stop for a coffee and if I want, a bagel (trying not to make that one a habit). But yeah, the walks home are a little depressing when it’s dark out… thankfully the days are already getting longer 🙂
Corinne Flax says
Yay Bento! I love your lunches b/c I bring my own as well. Mac n’ Cheese and left over crudite today.
Feisty Foodie says
Great minds! I actually made mac & cheese yesterday and put some into cupcake liners to bake… so they are perfectly bento-sized. You’ll probably see them in the next batch of bento pics! (And I have some cut up bell peppers today too – I would say ‘leftover crudite’ too but I didn’t put out any crudite yesterday for Super Bowl hahaha)
hungry says
Yay! Bentos are back. When are Sunday Suppers coming back!?
How about trying more themed bentos? Like a Japanese one. An Italian one. Seems like the food right now is all over the globe.
Feisty Foodie says
Sunday Suppers won’t be coming back for a while – though I never made mention of this fact in those posts, I actually had a companion with whom I dined during that time, to help me eat what I made. So maybe once I start living with another person again?
Themes aren’t a bad idea. I like my mish mash to keep me interested though. I also realized I have to work on not making so much food at one time; I use very little for bento and I get really bored of eating the same thing in every bento, even if it’s only one component flanked my other stuff (ie, the fried rice appeared so many times I was really sick of it, as delicious as it was).
Brittany (BentoKitty) says
She’s Baaaaaaaack! I loved this post. 😀
I think the mac n cheese baked in muffin-tin portions is a great idea. I like doing the same thing with eggs and making mini frittatas. They’re nice and portable and I don’t mind eating eggs for brekkie or for lunch. Mini baked potatoes also worked well for me in bento, with variations like chicken/cheese/broccoli, chili, salsa/sour cream, sauteed mushrooms, etc. They’re pretty filling with the possibility of even being healthy!
Feisty Foodie says
Haha, glad you liked it! It’s a little easier to let the pictures accumulate a bit.
I’ve tried the mini frittatas/quiches but I discovered I’m not a big fan of cold eggs. Which is funny/weird because I can/will eat just about anything else cold (most of my bentos are eaten room temp). I like the baked potato idea though… I may use that. Thanks!!! 🙂
Dessert Zombie says
Get back onto some noodle dishes. And different salads since you like them.
Feisty Foodie says
Noodles aren’t the easiest to bento… and salads are worse, because they are so fluffy and unfilling! But I’ll try 😛
Stephanie says
Yay! Will you start posting on All My Bentos again? =)
Mm, wraps? Grapes? Avocados? Nuts? I think my suggestions are more snacks than meals..
Feisty Foodie says
Bentos can be snacks too! Enough snacks = a meal for me anyway 🙂
Feisty Foodie says
Also I really LOVE grapes, but I’m spoiled now. I used to just buy whatever was cheapest/on sale, but after my time in SF in October, I discovered the kinds of grapes I really LOVE at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market and all grapes here just taste yucky to me now 🙁
As for AMBABTM, no, I doubt it. I don’t want to go back to posting daily about my bento (don’t want to and simply can’t), so that format won’t work for me. Sorry!
Stephanie says
No worries. I just enjoyed reading your bento blog too. =)
And yes, I feel like I never really eat lunch now. More like two or three healthy snacks!
Feisty Foodie says
Thanks! I think the bento blog became a lot more like a personal blog, and I’m not sure I want to go there anymore.
diana says
your bentos look so neat! was this before or after you bought it to work?
Feisty Foodie says
Haha, the pictures above are all taken in the morning before I leave (except for the one with the black table and the granite/marble table). However, in the past, my bentos stayed pretty neat because I had a purse that I’d place the bento in the bottom, flat, and the bag stayed upright my entire commute since I would get on the express bus and just go to work. Now I walk to work, so they sometimes get a little messy if my bag is jostled, but nothing crazy!
Ttrockwood says
The bentos are so brilliant! I always bring snacky lunches- trader joes meatless balls are a favorite, raw veggies with hummus, and lately clementines.
Be sure to drink lots and lots of water to help keep your body happy too!
Feisty Foodie says
Thanks! I love hummus and clementines (um, not together) too.