Back to Basics Bento

Basic Bento
Originally uploaded by JB Doodles

Today's lunch in basic in a few senses of the word. Firstly, it contains foods which are whole and simple. As you can see, Fresh veggies dominate this lunch. Also included is a hard boiled egg which has been shaped into a pig. Molded eggs are a popular bento staple, and plastic molds can be ordered online. This egg, however, has been shaped using an Ice Cream Sandwich Mold that I purchased at Walmart. Check out this blog post from Lunch In A Box for more details. I actually prefer using the Sandwich molds because you have more control, and they look much more striking when finished. The cute blue penguin pick is accenting three vegetarian buffalo wings, and behind them is home-made dijon dressing in a mini-nalgene bottle.

The second reason I am calling this lunch basic is because it almost fulfills the general bento packing guidelines (link to Lunch in a Box). Basically, a guideline for lunch packing is 1 part protein (the egg), two parts fruits and vegetables (the veggies), and one part carbohydrate plus a treat if desired. Well, my lunch is a little heavy on the veggies and seems to be wholly missing a carbohydrate. The confusing part about vegetarian lunches is the imitation meat products. True they have protein and fat, but they also have carbs (about 4g per wingette). So, maybe I should have thrown in an onigiri, but I would have had to sacrifice some veggies or the egg to make them all fit.

I just want to point out the super cute owl paper in the background. It is wrapping paper from Borders. Isn't it so cute!! I want to make an owl bento to match now.