Pikachu Bento Lunch

Today's lunch is a Pikachu bento. I don't know a lot about Pokemon, but since I have the food picks, and the characters are cute, I like to make Pokemon themed bento boxes. Pikachu is made from yellow soy cheese. The black accents are Nori, the white accents are white soy cheese, and his rosy cheeks are tomato. He is perched on an egg salad sandwich. Brussels sprouts, cucumber, and tomatoes on the side. This bento is a bit too green, but I didn't have any more colorful veggies to go with my sandwich.

Since I went Gluten Free, I have found many awesome alternatives for desserts and snacks, but I really missed sandwiches. Every brand of Gluten-free bread I tried was terrible. But I'm happy to say that I found a great brand. Udi's Gluten free products are great. So far I like their whole grain bread and their plain bagels, although the bagels taste more like bread rolls than actual bagels. My big complaint with other brands is the thick gooey-ness of the bread. It doesn't toast because it doesn't dry out. So weird. I love the bread mixes that I make in my bread machine, but they are difficult to slice thin enough for sandwiches. Udi's isn't gooey and it toasts up nicely. It tastes great too. Udi's is a bit expensive at about $6 a loaf, but so are every other gluten-free brand, so I can't complain about that.

Flickr Kyaraben Highlights

Since I have been horribly lackadaisical about my bento making/blogging lately, I thought I would highlight some of the awesomely creative and inspiring bento lunches our friends have been posting over at the Kyaraben Flickr Photo Group.

 

Are these amazing or what?!?! This is just a random sampling from the group. You can click on any photo to visit the original Flickr page. Many of these Bento artists have blogs so make sure you check them out. 

I'm regretting the fact that I didn't make a Halloween Bento. It is a really fun and creative holiday and I wish I had taken advantage of the excuse to make a creepy or scary bento. Maybe I will just make one now and call it a "gothic" bento! 

Winnie The Pooh Bento Lunch

Well, once again my bento posts have become infrequent. It's just what happens when fall rolls around and I find myself back in school. I have been eating a lot of soup, which isn't very bento-pretty, or just being lazy about my lunches because I'm busy. I promise I am still making bentos, just a little less often than in the summer.

Today's lunch is salad, an egg salad sandwich on gluten free bread, a gluten free piece of cake, and some tortilla chips. This gluten free bread is yucky (I can't remember the brand right now). I have yet to find one I really like. Pooh is made from rice cheese and nori. Pooh is an easy face for cute bento making. It is all packed in my laptop lunchbox, which is an excellent bento system, but it is always too much food for me. I have to learn to pack less.

Hunger Games Bento Lunch

In honor of the release of the third and final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, I decided to take a break from reading to make a Hunger Games Bento. The bento is a tomato, yellow pepper, and tofu salad. The mockingjay pin logo, and flame details are made from Nori. I thought this bento would be easy to make. Just cut some veggies and nori into the shape of flames right? Well, it was much more difficult than I had anticipated, and I'm not satisfied with the results. But, I haven't posted a bento in a while, so here it is. On the side is some delish gluten free pizza with vegan cheese. Ever since I went gluten free I have been craving pizza. I'm so happy I found a local pizzeria that has gluten free and vegan pizza.

If you aren't familiar with the Hunger Games, it is a hugely popular middle reader/young adult dystopian series. If you are looking for a good read, definitely check it out.

   

Happy Star Bento

Today's bento full of fresh veggies (corn on the cob, tomatoes, and cucumber), grapes, and two store bought falafels. In the front is some hummus to eat with the falafels, and the two happy stars are vegan cheese and nori.

Laptop Lunches

I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more bento boxes, but when I saw Laptop Lunches at a local natural food store, I couldn't resist. So, here is my first ever lunch packed in my Laptop Lunches lunchbox. It is pretty ordinary. I included a salad, some cottage cheese, some vegetarian chik'n salad on gluten free bread, some rosemary garlic potatoes and green beans, some cashews, and two gluten free cookies. I love this cute lunch box but it was way too much food for me.

And just because I haven't posted in a while, here is a bento I made on July 5th including some picnic leftovers

A vegetarian BLT, potato salad, corn on the cob, fresh pickled cucumber, and apple pie.

Laptop Lunches are described as "American-style bento boxes" and are free of phthalates, BPA and Lead. The makers of Laptop Lunches are proponents of healthy and waste-free lunches.


Laptop Lunches are also available on Amazon.