most boring bento award

Slacker! Yes, that's me!! I didn't make an April Fool's bento, or even an Easter bento! Though admittedly bunnies and chicks and eggs don't have great appeal to a 7 year old boy...I'll have to wait until Maia is older.

I didn't even think Tuesday's
lunch warranted a large
photo!!

Ryan's lunch: Tofurky
bagel sandwich; cucumber
slices; baby carrots;
strawberries.

Wednesday...
Ryan's lunch: fresh pineapple & strawberries; blanched spinach; mini pita triangles w/peanut butter; mini gel cup; grapes; mini banana blueberry muffin; steamed asparagus; gherkin pickle; smoked Tofurky rolls.

There were a few birthday
parties to contend with, so
we all enjoyed some cup-
cakes...chocolate with
vanilla icing and melted
dark chocolate stripes.

Thursday...

Ryan's lunch: grapes;
dark chocolate covered
pretzels; brown rice w/
stirfry (bok choy, broccoli,
asparagus, snap peas, baby
corn, chik'n strips). I was
happy to find fresh baby
corn at the regular super-
market!

The rains FINALLY
stopped. Our county was
ultimately declared a
disaster area (giving every-
one an extra month on taxes)
and earning our town a brief
visit from President Obama.

So we moved the picnic table
up the yard a bit, above the
water level, and enjoyed a
dinner in the sunshine. We
had corn, rolls, roasted pota-
toes, salad, pineapple & straw-
berries, sauteed spinach, &
bbq tempeh.


So what did I do inside during all that rain?? Obviously I wasn't making fancy bento. I was busy with another creative hobby though. Here is one of the many stamps I carved:

Home Tweet Home

So I decided to make an entry for the Spring 2010 Bento Contest at JustBento. It was a lot of fun to make. I'm sure the competition will be steep, but that's okay.

I tinted the rice with home-
made beet vinegar. Other
highlights include mini grape
tomatoes nestled inside some
steamed Brussels sprouts.

We have a birdhouse on our
garage that both the birds and
the squirrels have been checking out this week. Spring is definitely here despite the flood of rain!

Stuck inside during the wet
weather, I fed the kids a
"picnic" dinner indoors and
everyone enjoyed Maia's
first showing of Toy Story 2.
She seemed to enjoy seeing
"her" Jessie doll come to
life on screen.
Ryan's lunch: asparagus maki; avocado & cucumber maki; mini rice triangles; sesame tofu; apple bunnies.

Only one more day to go before my raw 40 days are up! I cheated again this weekend when my husband arrived home from the west coast and was hungry for a good dinner. I couldn't just watch him eat it alone...

friday:
7am- Raw Revolution chocolate coconut bar.
9am- 1 orange.
10:30am- sprouted chick peas w/lemon juice, scallion, olives, bell pepper.
12:30pm- honeydew melon.
3pm- apple slices w/almond butter.
8pm- pasta w/zucchini & olives

saturday:
7:30am- honeydew melon.
11:30am- 1 Raw Revolution chocolate coconut bar.
1:30pm- 1 orange; mixed nut.
3pm- 1 banana; handful of baby carrots.
8:30pm- pasta w/zucchini & olives. Yep, blew it when my husband got back!

sunday:
7:30am- tomato salad: tomato, onion, olives, olive oil, sprouted chick peas
9:30am- bowl of honeydew melon.
11am- small container of raisins, sliced almonds & date pieces.
1:30pm- 2 bananas w/almond butter, agave nectar & grated coconut.
4pm- leftovers from bento prep!
6pm- a pickle; Raw Revolution spirulina & cashew bar.

pizza sandwiches

By the time my husband has been away for a week my creativity and patience has dwindled to this...

Ryan's lunch: pizza sandwiches; orange slices; steamed broccoli; roasted almonds; cucumber slices.

Yep, pizza sandwiches. Like I used to eat in high school for breakfast, LOL. I think my record was 3 days with pizza for every meal. I lived, didn't I?

Let's see, what did I eat thursday...
7:30am- soaked steel cut oats &
grated coconut w/blueberries.
10am- 1 avocado.
12pm- marinated broccoli &
portobello mushrooms.
3pm- banana chips.
5pm- spinach salad: baby spinach,
scallion, tomato, shoyu; honeydew melon.

I dehydrated 2 types of banana chips: cinnamon & almond/hazelnut.

Maia is very eager for Dada
to get home from his trip
this evening. Of course you
can't mention it or she runs
to the door looking for him.
Let's hope the freak spring
snow doesn't delay any
flights today...

fried rice

Fried rice is one of the quickest, easiest, tastiest things to make in the morning when there's leftover rice lurking in the rice cooker. Toss in a little onion and/or scallion, some frozen or leftover veggies, and that's that. Peanut oil is my preferred cooking medium, but I'll use canola if I'm sending the lunch along to preschool or if it's going to be eaten in the classroom.


Nate's lunch for grandma's
house: vegetable fried rice;
honeydew melon flowers;
sesame tofu; mini banana
blueberry muffin.

And then there are always
snacks to be made...
more mini banana blue-
berry muffins; cucumbers
slices; baby carrots.

My muffin and cupcake
stashes have been running
low lately. Probably due to
the raw food eating plan.
I need to get baking! I can't
wait 'til next week!

Ryan's lunch: vegetable fried rice w/purple potato flowers; honeydew melon flowers; sesame tofu; mini banana blueberry muffin.

This was our very last potato from the farm. But I was impressed at what a deep purple colour it had. Not bad for a local potato!

Me, yesterday:
7:30am- apples slices w/almond butter.
9am- flax crackers.
11am- smoothie: 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen mango, 3 frozen strawberries, 1/4 cup ground almonds & hazelnuts, liquid DHA, water.
2pm- 1 avocado.
4:30pm- dried zucchini chips.
8pm- Raw Revolution chocolate coconut bar.

I just HAD to dehydrate some
zucchini chips yesterday after
reading about it on someone's
blog...but now I can't remember
whose! Sorry! I made three
varieties: garlic, kelp, and Old
Bay. LOL. And wouldn't you
know it, Ryan hated them, and
AJ loved them...the total
opposite of our norm.

turtle & flowers

Come on spring!Ryan's lunch: shelled edamame; double decker flower sandwiches of smoked Tofurky, rice cheese, lettuce & mustard; soba noodles w/carrot flowers; steamed broccoli; cucumber salad.
Yesterday for me:
7am- Raw Revolution chocolate coconut bar.
9:30am- sprouted quinoa tabbouleh salad; 1 banana.
11am- mixed nuts; 1 apple.
1:30pm- smoothie: 1 banana, 1 apple, almond butter, grated coconut, liquid DHA, water.
4:30pm- flax crackers.
8:30pm- 1 avocado; 1 pear.

If you're curious about my new favourite snack, Raw Revolution bars, check out Rawdorable's Raw Revolution giveaway! It ends March 30th, so get over there and comment to enter!

duck pond

Oh the rain!! It was downright dark on the porch this morning when I popped out to take lunch pics. Ryan looked out and exclaimed "the yard lake is back!" It had retreated quite a bit during the recent spate of warm weather, but as soon as it started raining again the water level rose back quickly. In fact the children's room in the neighboring town's library is closed because it is flooded, and many roads are closed in the town just north of us.
Maybe these duckies won't mind the wet weather...

AJ's
lunch
for
grand-
ma's
house
(same
as
Ryan's
lunch):
grilled
nutri-
tional
yeast
cheez
"ducky"
sand-
wich;
sliced
black
olives;
zucch-
ini brownie; carrot sticks; steamed asparagus.

AJ actually asked for the
grilled cheez sandwiches
to be cut into shapes,
because he remembered a
snack from 2 years ago (!)
when I cut his sandwich
into a dinosaur. He has a
memory, well, like mine;
he remembers crazy details
and dates like that.

My food yesterday:
7am- 2 sliced bananas w/almond
butter, agave nectar & grated
coconut.
9am- Raw Revolution chocolate
coconut bar.
11am- flax crackers; baby carrots.
1:30pm- 1 apple; 1 orange; leftover
miso soup.
3pm- salad: romaine, grated carrot,
olives, shallot, balsamic vinegar.
5pm- marinated broccoli, bok choy
& scallion in shoyu & garlic.

spring flowers

Spring is here! It's only March, but the April showers AND the May flowers are here already. And as Ryan would tell you, the Mayflowers bring...Pilgrims! LOL

Ryan's lunch: tofu salad sandwich; apple slices; Tofurky asparagus rolls; baby carrots; steamed broccoli.

I think my paring knife needs sharpening! It was mangling the apple peel (which admittedly wasn't so firm unfortunately). I need to become more adept at knife sharpening.

Catching up on my food from the weekend...

Friday:
7:30am- smoothie: 1 peach, 1/2 cup frozen mango, 1/4 cup blueberries, 3 frozen strawberries, liquid DHA, water.
9am- sushi!
12:30pm- 1 avocado; marinated green beans; baby carrots.
2:30pm- Raw Revolution chocolate coconut bar.
4:30pm- mixed nuts; 1 banana.
8pm- tomato salad (tomatoes, snap peas, grapes, scallion, lemon juice).

Saturday:
7:30am- bowl of cantaloupe; smoothie: 1/2 banana, 1 nectarine, 1/4 cup frozen blueberries, 3 frozen strawberries, grated coconut, liquid DHA, water.
10:30am- some raisins, sliced almonds & date pieces.
12:30pm- bento lunch while hiking: spinach salad (baby spinach, tomatoes, scallion, shoyu); cantaloupe; 1/3 of a Raw Revolution chocolate coconut bar; 3 baby carrots; olives; pickle spears.
2:30pm- flax crackers w/almond butter; an orange.
5pm- cold miso soup.
8pm- 2 sliced bananas w/almond butter, grated coconut & agave nectar.

Sunday:
7am- smoothie: frozen strawberries, blueberries & black raspberries, 1 banana, grated coconut, liquid DHA, water.
9am- flax crackers; 1 mango.
11am- apple slices w/almond butter.
1:30pm- 1 banana; Raw Revolution chocolate coconut bar.
3pm- marinated zucchini; sliced tomatoes.
8pm- 1 avocado.

Hi Maia!