Protein for a cold day

For today’s bento I used:

Brown sushi rice mixed with chopped honey roast ham and topped with broccoli

Spicy beef meatballs – I made these ages ago and froze them, so I can remember exactly what I put in them, but it was something along the lines of cumin, chilli and tomato puree; egg in treasure bag; daikon in soy and mirin dressing

 

The only thing I did wrong was leave it til the last minute – this was all food I could have packed last night, but of course I faffed about and ended up doing it this morning and causing myself stress!

I made an effort this morning...

I haven’t really done much bento lately as the last few weeks have been a combination of NO TIME or LOTS OF LEFTOVERS or BEING HOME SICK and eating dry bran flakes for lunch because it was a better option than getting out of bed.

However, in celebration of my lovely new bento box:

 

I decided to make an effort this morning.

So, here we have organic brown sushi rice tossed with a handful of fine green beans which I’ve chopped. On top are some cute little honey roast ham shapes.

 

On top of that I put some little silicone cups filled with daikon radish in soy/mirin dressing; olives; chopped green beans; boiled quail’s eggs, and finally, I filled a bowl with healthy broccoli tossed with a little salt and some black sesame furikake.

Back to bento

I haven't been doing bentos lately as the dark mornings have made it increasingly hard for me to wake up early enough. But I got such lovely things in this week's veg box that I was eager to use them.

Today’s bento is fairly simple – I was pressed for time. Still, I think it looks pretty!

Part 1, easy: brown rice boiled and then doused with rice seasoning

Part 2, easy; boiled egg, sliced in half and decorated with nori pieces

Part 3:  Four of my colourful chard leaves and chopped the stalks. I then softened them in a few tablespoons of water with onion, slices garlic, salt and pepper. This works just as well as frying, but without the fat. At the end, I stirred in a teaspoon of butter – not enough to soften the veg or push up the calories, but enough to add a great flavour.

End result: yummy. 

Colourful chard

Look what I got in my veg box today!

I can't wait to use them to brighten up my bento lunches :)