pasta and meatball bento

Pasta, meatballs, tomato pasta sauce, grades, Babybel, Timtam biscuit, cherry tomatoes and baby cucumbers.

Another take on the basic meatball idea. I made a very simple pasta sauce using tinned tomatoes, onion, garlic and a little red wine. Easy, quick and tasty!

sticky meatball and potato salad bento

Meatballs, potato salad, multi-grain rice crackers, Babybel and grapes.

The meatballs a bit of an experiment. I have made a batch of fairly plane flavoured meatballs and my idea is to add different sauces to them to add variety to my bentos this week. Today's are coated in kecap manis (sweet soy sauce).

The potato salad was well and truly thrown together. The fridge here is bare (doing the shop tomorrow, but I managed to find a potato and decided to give potato salad a go.

I cooked the potato in the microwave and while it was cooking I mixed from fat-free natural yoghurt with a little mayonnaise, grated carrot and green onions. When the potato had cooled a chopped it up and mixed it all together, it actually turned out really, really nice!!

cinnamon chicken and couscous bento

Cinnamon chicken, couscous salad, celery with peanut butter, a Babybel and grapes.

The salad was amazingly good, I adapted the recipe from a few different recipes. It has cherry tomatoes, cucumber, fetta, sultanas, curry powder and red wine vinegar.

The cinnamon chicken was okay, but I think I will work on the recipe before I make it again. All the marinade contained was ground cinnamon and olive oil, a bit bland.

If you have any ideas on how to spruce it up, I would love it if you shared!

I'm back!

After a long absence I am back to bento!

Here's my first bento of the year, a tuna and bean salad, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and crackers and a Babybel.

I got the recipe for the salad here: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/07/06/burgers-in-flowerpot-smoker-recipes/ and let me tell you, it is delicious!

lamb kebab bento

Mini Moroccan seasoned lamb kebabs, salad with lettuce, red and yellow capsicum, cherry tomatoes and olives, light Caesar dressing, light jelly (lime) and honey roasted macadamias.

Calories: 375

Very quick to make and the lamb is delish! Cut it into strips and thread it onto shortened skewers then coat with Master Foods Moroccan spice mix. Then grill. Yum!!

Process:

1. Start heating frying pan.
2. Make kebabs and place on heated pan.
3. Cut salad stuffs and place in bento box (while keeping an eye on and turning kebabs when needed).
4. Remove kebabs from pan and set aside.
5. Pack nuts and jelly.
6. Place kebabs in bento box.
7. Fill dressing bottle.

Time:

15 minutes!

jelly snack bento

Blueberries, strawberries, diet cherry jelly, crackers with peanut butter and strawberry jam.

Calories: 382

I found some great diet jelly (or jello in American). I made it using two sachets of crystals with the water for one sachet (to make a nice firm jelly) and put it in individual cups, each with only 14 calories.

I was scared to taste it first, my previous experiences with diet jelly have not been good, they always had a terrible artificial sweetener after taste. This one on the other hand doesn't and is very tasty. I'm interested in trying the other flavours.

Process:

1. Make jelly and allow to set for at least 4 hours (I left mine other night).
2. Spread crackers with peanut butter and jam.
3. Pack everything in bento box.

Time:

10 minutes (Not including jelly prep and setting times).

smoked salmon bento

Crackers, smoked salmon, tzatziki, celery with peanut butter, strawberries, blueberries and chilli flavoured peas.

Calories: 507

Process:

1. Rip salmon into smaller pieces and place in bento box with crackers and tzatziki.
2. Spread celery peanut butter place in bento box with berries and peas.

Time:

A snap at 15 minutes!