Lunch for Thursday, September 30, 2010

Last day of September.  Wow this month flew by.  I am very excited that I get to start decorating for Halloween tomorrow.  Maybe I can theme my bentos for the month of October.  Hmmm... we'll see.  And I have to mention that the flatbread we ate yesterday did not get any better with added ingredients.  Even the kid said it was blah.  So I will be tossing it out for the birds.

For today lunch in honor of our local fair starting we have mini corn dogs.  I also cooked up a tamagoyaki for add protein.  I'm sure the kid would have though all fried foods would be fine for his lunch today but I decided that corn dogs were enough. 

my lunch

the kid's lunch


Lunch for Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Today's lunch is real simple...sandwich, chips and fruit.  The kid had to be at school at 7am again today and I only got a few hours sleep last night.  After yelling at the kid for his grades, etc I was too wound up to sleep.  And now I am paying for it with being extremely tired.

I used some Flatout brand flat bread and put in some mayo, ham, cheese and lettuce.  I did try a little bit of the end of one and I'm not sure if I will like it.  It has an over processed wheat taste.  But I am still willing to give it a try with the other ingredients.  I put in some honey wheat pretzel sticks in mine and Flaming Hot Cheetoes in the kids.  He loves those.  I know this is mostly carbs but at least I put something together.


my lunch

the kids lunch



Lunch for Tuesday, September 28, 2010

For today's lunch we have Lemon Chicken, dumplings, yellow carrots, broccoli, strawberry and grapes.  Not much going on with this lunch.  Just yumminess.  The kid did complain about the grape tomatoes I put in his lunch yesterday.  And I was in such a hurry I forgot some for mine today.  You would think 30 minutes was enough time to put together two lunches and cook the kid some breakfast.  Oh how I wish I could freeze time in the mornings.

my lunch
the kid's lunch



Lunch for Monday, September 27, 2010

This weekend I went to Whole Foods and bought some yummy goodies.  Most of what I got was snacks.  But I did manage to pick up strawberries and grapes in addition to all the goodies in the pictures.  I know I go overboard at Whole Foods but I just get excited when I see all the things I can't get at my regular grocery store.

Yellow Carrots!


Organic Cherry Tomatoes
  
Coconut pieces with lime


Purple Jasmine Rice

Trail Mix
 
Wasabi Trail Mix
  
For Today's lunch I have Sweet Sour Red Wine Vinegar Chicken, yellow carrots, broccoli, grape tomatoes, wasabi trail mix, spring rolls, grapes, strawberries and a chunk of that coconut.  I almost ran out of items to put in my lunch.  Especially since I cut back on the carbs in this one.  Not making any rice sure does leave a lot of room.  But I'm sure there will be rice tomorrow.


The kid did talk me into fixing his lunch as well.  He had been spending WAY too much money at school for lunch.   I had the cafeteria manager print me a report and he had been spending roughly $5 a day when the regular lunch price is only $2.25.  I told him I could not afford to have him eat like that.  So we did agree that my lunches were cheaper.  It just takes extra time to fix his as well as mine.  Only difference in his lunch is he has Teriyaki chicken and some Fruit by the Foot instead of the coconut and trail mix.  He had been buying a Fruit by the Foot at school for .70 cents a day.  I bought a pack of 12 for $3.50 which makes them around .30 cents each.  Less than half the price of the schools!

Lunch for Friday, September 24, 2010

A full week of bento's.  I'm proud of myself.  And the kid stated that starting next week he wanted me to start making his bento again to take to school.  Not sure how I feel about this.  Guess I am going to have to get back in the habit of using a planning sheet.  But I think this time I am going to make him sit down with me and tell me what he prefers so that I don't have uneaten items in his bento.

For today's lunch I have the rest of the garlic green beans.  I really like these but I am glad that this is all of them for the week.  I'm going to have to find something else for next week.  I also added some rice balls, chicken nuggets, grape tomatoes and mandarin oranges.  I left the chicken nuggets frozen since they are precooked.  We'll see if they thaw out by lunch time.  And I did manage to stab a couple of pics for feet into them.  Pretty much the same thing all week.  I need variety next week.


I really wish I could buy some more bento accessories such as punches.  But I am trying to save money.  When I look back at the things I thought I had to have when I was spending money, I realize I was spending it on the wrong things.  I thought I needed all those nifty bento boxes.  Now I know I would have been happy with just this one blue box since I seem to use it most.  If only I knew what I really needed was punches and food cutters.  Oh well, lesson learned.

Lunch for Thursday, September 23, 2010

It's the first day of fall.  My favorite season is fall.  I love the way the leaves change colors, the cooler temperatures, and the holidays.  Especially Halloween!  I am trying to wait patiently for October 1st so I can start decorating my house.  A self imposed scheduled I have followed for years.  October 1st I decorate for Halloween.  November 1st I decorate for Thanksgiving.  Day after Thanksgiving I decorate for Christmas and mail my Christmas cards if they are done.  I do make my own Christmas cards.  Then New Years Day all the Christmas things come down.  I have made some new things for Halloween this year and should be posting them on my other blog soon.

For today's lunch I heated up some Sweet and Sour Red Wine Vinegar Chicken, put in some of my garlic green beans, grape tomatoes and mandarin oranges.  I also made peanut butter mini leaf sandwiches with white cheddar on top.  I hope everyone enjoys their first day of fall.

Lunch for Wednesday, September 22, 2010

This morning I was ever so thankful for my bento stash.  The kid had to be at school at 7am and I was trying to hurry.  We normally don't leave the house until 7:15 so my morning was cut 30 minutes short.  So for today's lunch I grabbed the rice and Balsamic Sesame Chicken from the freezer.  Then I threw the chicken into a pan until heated.  I let it cool while pulling the green beans, grape tomatoes and mandarin oranges from the refrigerator.  Placed everything in my box, sprinkled some black sesame seeds on the rice and volia!  It was done.

Lunch for Tuesday, September 21, 2010

For today's lunch I have chicken teriyaki, dumplings, garlic green beans, grape tomatoes and mandarin oranges.  This lunch is lacking the cuteness factor.  Ugh I need some inspiration.

Lunch for Monday, September 20, 2010

Yesterday we went to Red Lobster for the Endless Shrimp.  OMG it was so good.  We try to make it every year at least once.  My oldest daughter and I see how many pieces of shrimp we can eat.  This year's total... I had 72 and she had 75.  We have ate more in the past but just not this year.  After all that shrimp I surprised myself by coming home and cooking up a bento stash.  I made Lemon Chicken, Sweet and Sour Red Wine Vinegar Chicken, Balsamic Sesame Chicken, Teriyaki Chicken and cooked up some garlic green beans for the week.  After all that cooking I have enough chicken for two weeks of bento's!  Yeah me!

So for today's lunch I packed up some of the Lemon Chicken and some rice balls I had made last week and put in the freezer.  I also put in some of the green beans I made yesterday.  And I made a couple of ladybugs using a grape tomato and nori.  In the smaller section I put some mandarin oranges and some wasabi rice crackers.  By having a stash this went together so much quicker.  Not super cute but it works for me.

Dinner for Wednesday, September 15, 2010

I ended up going out for lunch so what I made will be eaten on Thursday.  But for dinner my son asked me to make teriyaki tofu.  Yes, a 11 year old asking for tofu.  So I grilled some on my indoor grill, made some rice and tamagoyaki.  I made the kids plate a little cute by just using pic's and a star cookie cutter.


I put all of mine into a bowl and the kid poured me a little bit of teriyaki sauce.


Then the kid decided to make a bowl like mine.  He didn't do too bad. 

It was a very tasty dinner and I made enough rice to put some away for my bento freezer stash which is a plus.  Hopefully we will be home enough this weekend so I can cook up some more for the stash.

Lunch for Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Eating out is hurting my wallet.  But we had been putting off going grocery shopping because of other things we were doing to fill our evenings. Finally last night we went to the store.  I don't really feel like I got much and I am sure I forgot a lot of things.  My man had already been there shopping for 30 minutes before I got there and so I was trying to save him from going up and down all the isles AGAIN.  I know I will have to go back to the store for something soon.

For my lunch today I have some chicken nuggets.  I did manage to grab a bag of them while shopping.  I have been wanting to try these for my lunch after seeing so many people make cute things with them.  Unfortunately mine is not cute.  Again in a hurry in the morning and no time in the evening to prep.  I also grabbed one of my mashed potato bake portions from the freezer.  I then cooked up some stirfry noodles and threw in a couple of pieces of broccoli in the water with them at the end.  I didn't even put any fruit in this.  UGH!  I need more hours at home in the evening.

Lunch for Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Yesterday I had already downed my spaghetti and salad before I even thought about taking a picture.  Oh well, it was nothing special.  This morning as I was packing my lunch I was in the mood for fruits.  So I halved my larger section of this bento with grapes and cantaloupe.  In the smaller section I tried to make some flowers using deli ham slices.  I think I got one descent one out of four.  The rest is just broccoli and carrots with a Laughing Cow cheese wedge and some ranch dressing.  I need to plan ahead.  I'm getting burned out on broccoli and carrots.

Lunch for Thursday, September 2, 2010

I think I forgot how to make bento.  But honestly I love my leftovers AND unfortunately they have to be heated.  Today I brought leftover Beef Tamale Bake I made last night.  It has a cornbread type crust and chili type mixture on top.  And what was funny is one of the guys at work was eating his lunch and asked me if I wanted a tamale.  He had purchased some from a street vendor.  I took one and of course it was delicious.  Mexican street vendors around here know their food.  It had chicken and salsa verde inside.  YUM!  I have never had a chicken tamale.  Hmmm I wonder if I can make bento sized tamales.

Lunch for Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Today there is leftover spanish rice (we had tons leftover from taco night), leftover Mashed Potato Bake, a spoonful of carrots and a half of a chicken breast.  I think the reason I don't make these types of lunches cute is because I have to pop them in the microwave to heat up.  More leftovers... what can I say... why be wasteful of delicious food.