Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



Active Topics || Favorites || Member List || Search || About Us || Help || Register || Login
Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
 4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Subject Topic: Bento boxes Post ReplyPost New Topic
Author
Message << Prev Topic | Next Topic >>
guitarnan
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
Avatar

Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Maryland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10883
Posted: Sept 03 2012 at 5:45pm | IP Logged Quote guitarnan

With dd dancing until late at night three nights a week, I thought bento boxes would give her a way to carry healthy dinners to the dance studio, which does not have a microwave.

I'm a bento box beginner...does anyone have tips, recipes and/or creative ideas to share?

(We do have portable bento boxes intended for work/school use - my husband brought them home from Japan last year.)

__________________
Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
Back to Top View guitarnan's Profile Search for other posts by guitarnan Visit guitarnan's Homepage
 
Angi
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star


Joined: March 23 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 521
Posted: Sept 03 2012 at 6:19pm | IP Logged Quote Angi

We use tiffins mostly, rather than bentos. I use silicone cupcake cups to keep things separate (carrots/grapes/etc), not watery items. I try to make sure that the small containers for liquid items (aka the To-Go-Ware Sidekick) fit inside the tiffin that is being used. This seems to increase the likelihood of the smaller containers making it home . Our tiffins are usually filled with leftovers (eaten at room temp), wraps, or homemade lunchables. For my littles, I cut the meats and cheeses with cookie cutters, but I am guessing your dd will not appreciate that.
Back to Top View Angi's Profile Search for other posts by Angi
 
Chris V
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star
Avatar

Joined: Dec 03 2009
Location: Washington
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1598
Posted: Sept 03 2012 at 6:59pm | IP Logged Quote Chris V

I didn't even know what a bento box was! (I had to google it ) Turns out that's what my girls use for all of their dress-up jewelry. (somebody bought it for them at a garage sale).

And along those lines I had know idea what a tiffin was either! ...those are some pretty fancy lunch boxes, ladies

(... If memory serves, when I was a kid I had a tin box, with a handle, with "He-Man" on it.

__________________
Chris
Happy Wife with my Happy Life
Mama to My Five Girls ('04~'07~'09~'11~'11)
Back to Top View Chris V's Profile Search for other posts by Chris V
 
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
Avatar

Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
Posted: Sept 03 2012 at 7:06pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

what sort of things do you eat cold?

pasta
rice (sticky rice maybe?)
bread - rolls, tortillas, focaccia

fresh veggies (raw or lightly cooked and chilled)
           - sticks, slices, diced
           - carrots, cucumber, celery, tomato, zucchini lettuce, radishes, asparagus etc

grilled chicken - sliced or diced
fried chicken
roast or steak or pork chops etc (sliced or diced)
sausage or salami

cheese - sticks, cubes, shredded, sliced, many varieties

condiments
-chutney
-alfredo
-pesto
-mayo/mustard
-salsa
-dried cranberries
-sundried tomato
-marinara sauce
-ranch dressing
etc

Fruit - whole or as fruit salad or apple sauce and such

you can mix things together or pile them up (focaccia with slice tomatos, chicken and havarti on top with a mustard dill sauce)


__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4

All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
Back to Top View JodieLyn's Profile Search for other posts by JodieLyn
 
Angi
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star


Joined: March 23 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 521
Posted: Sept 03 2012 at 7:10pm | IP Logged Quote Angi

Chris - we bought our first To-Go-Ware when Ana was only allowed to eat handful of foods. We figured if she had to carry her food everywhere she went, she should get a cool lunch box lol. The other 3 were bought when a friend sold hers to me at a deep discount
Back to Top View Angi's Profile Search for other posts by Angi
 
mathmama
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star


Joined: Jan 07 2006
Location: Pennsylvania
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 771
Posted: Sept 04 2012 at 8:14pm | IP Logged Quote mathmama

Angi wrote:
Chris - we bought our first To-Go-Ware when Ana was only allowed to eat handful of foods. We figured if she had to carry her food everywhere she went, she should get a cool lunch box lol. The other 3 were bought when a friend sold hers to me at a deep discount


My dd has tons of food allergies and must bring her food everywhere we go. I never thought to buy her a cool lunch box. Thanks for the great idea! She will be pleased to have something "cool" and I will be pleased to have something so convenient!

__________________
Beth, wife to Tom and mommy to 4 beautiful girls:
Therese 11/04
Anna Mary 6/07
Veronica 10/09
Theodora 11/12
Back to Top View mathmama's Profile Search for other posts by mathmama
 
Angi
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star


Joined: March 23 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 521
Posted: Sept 04 2012 at 9:38pm | IP Logged Quote Angi

mathmama wrote:
Angi wrote:
Chris - we bought our first To-Go-Ware when Ana was only allowed to eat handful of foods. We figured if she had to carry her food everywhere she went, she should get a cool lunch box lol. The other 3 were bought when a friend sold hers to me at a deep discount


My dd has tons of food allergies and must bring her food everywhere we go. I never thought to buy her a cool lunch box. Thanks for the great idea! She will be pleased to have something "cool" and I will be pleased to have something so convenient!


Ana still has to take food most places, but there are now a couple places that she can eat.

She really enjoys fruit, wraps, and veggie sticks in her tiffin. Most restaurants do not even question when we bring food in, especially once I ask if they can accommodate her.
Back to Top View Angi's Profile Search for other posts by Angi
 
guitarnan
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
Avatar

Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Maryland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10883
Posted: Sept 04 2012 at 10:10pm | IP Logged Quote guitarnan

Our first bento box went well...teriyaki chicken and sticky rice. I'm glad dd can eat with chopsticks in a moving car...don't think I could pull that off.

I hope to get a bit more creative next week, now that we know the basic plan works reasonably well.

__________________
Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
Back to Top View guitarnan's Profile Search for other posts by guitarnan Visit guitarnan's Homepage
 
CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
Avatar

Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385
Posted: Sept 05 2012 at 8:50am | IP Logged Quote CrunchyMom

Rice noodles with peanut sauce and chicken? I can't actually recall where the recipe is that I've used, but it is a yummy combination.

Also, with Fall upon us, winter squash can be a yummy, nourishing alternative to pasta. Roasted spaghetti squash is yummy with meatballs. You can also use a vegetable peeler to make fat "noodles" to saute. I like it with lots of butter or coconut oil.

You can also puree cauliflower in the processor to make "rice."

These are recipes you can find from paleo type diet sources, but while we aren't strictly following such a diet, I find them to be nice ways to serve Asian style sauces and stir fries and squeeze a few more veggies into the mix.

I've mentioned the paleo cookbook I really like Well Fed in other threads, I think. I know SallyT recommended it, too.

In addition to recipes like the above, she has a "weekly cook-up" outlined in the book where you pre-cook chicken breasts, ground beef, chopped veggies, etc..., and then she has different "skillet plates" organized by region or country where she shares combinations of meat and veggies and spices/sauces that will work well. The plates come together so fast (and her recommendations are tasty, too) when the prep work is done. I imagine that this strategy would work really well for what you describe, and you could even add that sticky rice or pasta underneath or on the side if you didn't want to be strictly paleo.

__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony

[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
Back to Top View CrunchyMom's Profile Search for other posts by CrunchyMom
 
stefoodie
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
Avatar

Joined: Feb 17 2005
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 8457
Posted: Sept 07 2012 at 7:40am | IP Logged Quote stefoodie

Don't forget sushi!! :)

Seaweed + rice + veggies/meat/fish. Crabmeat + avocado + mayo is yummy too. And then there's SPAM musubi, but of course Spam isn't healthy :)

And onigiri -- rice balls -- they can be plain and packed with meatballs or fish balls or veggie patties, or you can put wrap the rice around the meat/fish/veggie.

Lots of ideas at Just Bento.

We also like tiffin boxes for huge salads!!

But in the winter I like using the Zojirushi bento box because you can pack hot soup + other things.



__________________
stef

mom to five
Back to Top View stefoodie's Profile Search for other posts by stefoodie Visit stefoodie's Homepage
 
juliana147
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star
Avatar

Joined: July 07 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 520
Posted: Sept 14 2012 at 8:15pm | IP Logged Quote juliana147

I was at Target today, and saw two plastic set-ups that looked like they could be used for Bento meals. (Maybe they were Rubbermaid? I'm not sure of the brand.) One was for salads, and one was for sandwiches. They stacked nicely and had a blue-ice pack. Has anyone tried these? They were less expensive than the Bento kits I've seen, but I'm wondering how sturdy they are.

__________________
- Juliana

Back to Top View juliana147's Profile Search for other posts by juliana147
 
juliana147
Forum All-Star
Forum All-Star
Avatar

Joined: July 07 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 520
Posted: Sept 20 2012 at 7:29pm | IP Logged Quote juliana147

I broke down and got Rubbermaid lunch Bloxs today. It looks like the salad style can be used as a bento box.

The ones I got had coupons inside, so I may go back and get sandwich ones, too.   

I'm going to ask for a real Japanese box for my birthday, but these will do just fine for my family for now. They fit inside LLBean's insulated lunch bags.   

__________________
- Juliana

Back to Top View juliana147's Profile Search for other posts by juliana147
 

If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login
If you are not already registered you must first register

  [Add this topic to My Favorites] Post ReplyPost New Topic
Printable version Printable version

Forum Jump
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Hosting and Support provided by theNetSmith.com