Tomorrow I leave my job of housesitting for the past two months and head back home. The trip is going to take me around 18 hours between layovers, and involves 2 taxis, 3 planes, and 2 trains. And not only do I get to deal with TSA, but I also have to go through US Customs. Yay.

so, here's my very LARGE bento of meals and snacks. I leave my friend's house at 6AM, and I won't arrive in my town until 11:55PM (and then I need to get a ride home or a taxi).


Bento 173: The 18 Hours of Travel Bento

In the Lock and Lock:
Clockwise from Top L - cut up veggie dog, leftover slice of pizza wrapped in foil, half of a bagel with cream cheese wrapped in Tim Horton's paper, frozen soybeans in the lidded cup for an ice pack, hard boiled egg. There's also a Cadbury's Thin chocolate bar down one side, and my spoon/knife/fork.

In the modified Tim Bit's Box:
It's a little hard to see, but this box holds all the non-cold items. There's a container of Apple Sauce, a fruit leather thing, pretzel + cheese snack pack, a granola bar, a mini kit kat and a mini box of smarties. There's also a small container of roasted cantaloupe seeds buried in there.

The plastic container in the front is actually an empty butter container I filled with 5 Tim Bits, next to that is the other half of the bagel (which will sit on top of the pizza). the plastic cup in the back has some Special K cereal in it, there's a bag of Dill potato chips, and my empty water bottle with drink mixes - Lemonade, Blueberry, and Dragonfruit to fill at different legs of the trip.

Collectively, this should cover all three meals and eliminate the need to spend money on pricey food in airports and train stations. I traveled up here with the lock and lock and the 2 silicone cups, and I got creative on the packaging for the rest. The Tim Bits box is lined with plastic wrap over top of paper towels as there was some glaze stuck to the side of the box. I was going to close it up the regular way, but it would take up too much space in my bag, so I folded the top in and am going to slip it into a plastic ziplock bag before putting it into my bag.

I keep forgetting to post them...

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I flew up to Winnipeg last week, and I packed this bento for the flight:

Bento 172 - Two microwaved scrambled eggs (via a previous posters directions), 2 Uncrustables, 2 Bagelfuls, a K20 packet (with an empty water bottle to fill once I got through security), skewers of tomato. This turned out to be a great lunch to take with me, as I left my house around 5 in the morning, and didn't get to my hotel in Winnipeg until 3PM. I also was taking a five hour train ride the following day, so I had plenty of food leftover for the train, too. Security didn't even blink at the box. I kept the Uncrustables and Bagelfuls frozen until right before I left my house so they would act as cold packs to keep the eggs cold. There's also a small plastic spork along the side:



If you look, the one side of the fork is serrated to be a knife. I picked this up in Baltimore a few weeks ago for $0.75, and really wish I had picked up more!

I'm housesitting in Dauphin until the end of September, then I go home for two weeks and fly out to the UK, so I might not be bento'ing much, unfortunately. I left all my cute boxes at home and only brought up the lock and lock (it seemed to be the easiest box to toss into my backpack) :(.

My mom's office switched to 4 10-hour days for the rest of the summer so the people with kids home from college could spend time with them. She asked me to pack her "extra" food for the longer days.

( bento and a recipe )

I usually wait until I have more than just two to post, but yesterday I had a problem with my new egg molds, and I wanted some advice, so here I am with just two for today.

( bento )

I placed an order with Ichiban Kan online,and with the exception of the way it was packed (I didn't have a packing slip in my box!) everything came as expected. I ordered Mom a new box in pink, as pink is her favourite colour, and I ordered a set of the bear/rabbit egg molds.
( new box! )
I decided to try the new egg molds, and to also use my existing molds to make 4 eggs to store in the fridge for this week. I had Jumbo sized eggs, and well, you can see the results in the following picture:
( egg masacre )

Out of sheer laziness, it's taken me almost a year to get to 150. I suppose that's not too bad, really. My first photos were taken on June 28, 2007. I suppose if in the next month and a half I can manage out 30 bentos then at least the average would be every other day. Which is sort of amusing when you've got two people to make bento for.

Anyway. On with the bentos!
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If you'd like to take a look at all the bentos I've made, you can view Bentos 101-150, or go back and see 51-100 and 1-50.

I also have one item up for trade. I purchased a Joyce Chen 6 inch bamboo steamer a while back and I don't have a need for it. It's never been used and is still tied together with the black string it came with. It cost $10, and I'd be willing to also toss in a few pairs of chopsticks that have dragons on them. I'm looking to trade it for bento supplies - I'd really like a collapsible sandwich box,and some cuter stuff. (I love my balloon boxes, I really do. but it gets so boring day after day!) If anyone wants to trade, let me know.

Not really a back log of bento, since three of them were made tonight for tomorrow and Tuesday, but here's seven of them -
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I have to say, the .78 mini milk carton of whoppers really lasted a looong time. A serving of those things is 18! I don't think I've ever eaten 18 of those in one sitting. So they worked out well as small fillers for holes in the bento, and the day I sent mom with the cupful, she held onto it for the next day and finished them.

Trying to get all my bentos posted before I head off for vacation on the 24th. If mom makes her own bento, I told her to take pictures of them, so we'll see if she does any.

Anyway...

( cut for the number of bentos )

I'm loving it now that mom has her own box, but I really need to get myself a *different* box so that we don't have the same box all the time. I'm so afraid some morning mom will grab the wrong one!

( on to the bentos! )

And check out my haul from _falnfenix_! This was mostly I think stuff she was supposed to send me for my birthday and wound up sending it late:

Hello Kitty tin foil, three tinkerbell snack boxes, LOTS of sushi grass, some silicone diamond and square cups, paper liners, 25 sets of chopsticks (only two pictured), silverware, and napkins!

I gave mom her blue box for Christmas, and we're wondering if anyone knows if they are microwaveable or not?

Anyway, on to the bentos!
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Not many bento boxes being made the past few weeks - too many holiday luncheons! But..here's some of my boxes, and my first attempt with egg molds!

( cut, for 10 boxes )

So, my first attempt at egg molds - I used "Jumbo" eggs. I peeled them while they were hot (ow, my fingers), shoved them in the molds, and put it in a bowl of ice water for about 15 minutes -

Not too shabby! I cut off the excess (which I assume is because of the jumbo nature of the egg?).I tried doing a star a second time with another egg, but I think I let the egg cool too much before putting it in the mold, so it wasn't as pretty. (I need more molds so I can make more than two at once!)

Also, because it's cute, even if it caused me to have to re-make part of the bento:

Will (my kitty) had to see what I was doing.


Here's hoping I'll get back into the bento mood and make prettier bento's as we head into the new year!

Wow! I can't believe I've already reached 100 Bentos. When I started in June, I started making them primarily for my mom, and a few for me here and there when I was actually out of the house for lunch (I work from home). I figure between vacations (hers and mine) and her funky work schedule, we probably could have reached 100 back in October, but anyway.....

( Bentos 95-102 )

Tips I've discovered the past two weeks:
*The "Mediterranean" bar at the grocery store is great for getting things to put on skewers. they had all sorts of things from Feta cheese to stuffed olives, other types of olives, anti pasta salad, stuffed grape leaves, etc. etc. I also picked up the shrimp off the salad bar and when I got home I put them on skewers ahead of time and froze them. The stuff from the Mediterranean bar I put on skewers as soon as I got home, and I REALLY managed to get a lot of skewers made! I just stored them all back in the container I got them in at the grocery store..and will re-use that container as a disposable bento!
**I bought a few of those .99 Lunchables that just have crackers, meat, and cheese, and then took a cookie cutter to them to make them cuter. The scraps went into a salad
***I bought a huge chocolate bar when they were on sale for $1 and have been breaking it up into smaller pieces to add to lunches.
****I discovered that if you freeze the bread ahead of time, it's easier to cut it with a cookie cutter. It cuts smoother/cleaner. And it's thawed out by the time I add the filling. Either pre-cut the meat and cheese before making the sandwiches, or use spreadable filling like tuna, peanut butter, etc.

And, now that I've done 50 more bentos, I created another Web album with bentos 51-100. Bentos 1-50 can be found here, or by checking my tag :D

It's been a while. My mom was working a weird schedule that had her home for lunch and then back at work for evening work, so she didn't need lunches, and I've just been eating yogurt most days. Anyway, here's a backlog of bentos.

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*Star-Kist makes these plastic cups of tuna without water added, perfect for tossing in a lunch. The container is re-usable (but not resealable or microwaveable) but can be used to keep food separate.

Mostly because I want to show off my pretty box trillian421979 sent me :D

( 80-84 behind here )

And now, my new box from trillian421979:


Bento 85: Mine - Bottom: Hard boiled egg, cut in half sprinkled with paorika, applesauce with cinnamon, babybell cheese, carrots, and a grape for a filler. Top: Tomato and Cat cucumbers, carrots, two tomato and provolone twirls, twizzlers. Vinegar for the tomatoes in the little pink thing.


My lid! Some pink M&Ms, and some Teddy Grahams.

YAY! But I do have a question...do the lids seal tightly? I couldn't get the lids to go tight, but then once I put the band on it it was fine.

Looks super tiny, but then it really packed A LOT into it. I just need smaller divider cups.

....the Bento Box collecting has begun! Tomorrow I head to the King of Prussia Mall. I know it has a Sanrio store, but I really don't want Hello Kitty stuff...but maybe I can find another store to shop in. I checked the directory, and there wasn't anything posted :(

Seems I forgot to post some of my Bentos! ooops. Anyway, here they are:
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Does anyone else have a problem with their lock and locks? I'm noticing that one side of the box Mom uses is sort of warped inwards. I can still lock it shut, but I have to do the warped side first or it doesn't let me click all sides into place. I'm wondering if this is because Mom sometimes microwaves her box and/or puts it in the fridge at work?

As you can see, these weren't "cute" bentos. I haven't been in the mood for cute lately, but I think halloween aproaching will make things a little cuter!

I also have a sad tale to tell of my bento biting me. I was using one of my cookie cutters on some cheese and had to pop it out of the cutter and the cutter slipped and cut through my finger! ow! Still really hurts, too.

Anyway. Onto the bentos, behind a cut, as usual. And wow, do i need to clean my stove!

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Whee, another week over, and more bentos to share :D

( under the cut )

Bento 64: Me
Lock N Lock: Salad of lettuce, tomato, egg, and shredded cheddar with acorn shaped cucumber. Fortune cookie hiding under cucumber cut out. Container of salt/pepper and container of vinegar (under another cucumber cut out). Will be served with a roll and an apple (not pictured)

Started actually making bento for myself every day, too. Although on Friday i forgot about it and had to throw it out, and today I ate my bento at dinner, but ah well.

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I need some new ideas. It keeps getting harder and harder to pack enough for mom's long days at work, and trying to make sure there's something she can pull out for breakfast, lunch, and then an afternoon snack.

Wow, I can't believe I've made 50 so far!

( cut, just to be nice )

I also put together a web album of bentos 1-50

*edited to add* Recipes:
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My mom is having a colonoscopy tomorrow (yuck), and they put you on a restrictive diet before it. She was not allowed to eat anything solid after midnight on Sunday (well, Monday), and was restricted to jell-o, broth, lemonaid, ginger ale, and water. So..this is what I made her to take to work today, and then her bento for right after she gets out of the hospital, because after fasting for over 36 hours, I'm pretty sure she'll want food. I also made myself a bento to eat in the waiting room, as I get to sit there for about 3 hours tomorrow and it overlaps Lunchtime.

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Of course, since mom's on a non solid diet, I feel REALLY bad making any food. Especially since her bedroom is right across from the Kitchen. Ah, well.

Usually I wait til I have more than just four to post, but I was pretty proud of the ones I made tonight for tomorrow, so...

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also, did I ever get my tag?

All for my mom, all planned for lunch and a late afternoon snack, as she's been working long days lately. Sometimes also including food for breakfast if she goes in early.

Less pretty, more functional. mostly because I've been on the sad/depressed side lately:
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Oi. So, here's some bentos from the beginning of the month, mostly. Bentos for my mom, and some bentos for silveradept while he was visiting me and we were wandering, and a few for me.

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I'm also putting together some supplies to send to silveradept for him to make bento lunches when he moves. So far, I have a lock and lock, and some cupcake papers that have basketballs and fooballs on them. I'm going to get him a small soft coolerbag, and one of those ice cube blanket things, and I'm going to also include a small assortment of picks, and at least one condiment/sauce container. He watched me make the ones I made while he was visiting, so he saw how fast and easy it was, especially when I was making them right after we finished dinner with leftovers.

I couldn't find my card reader for a few weeks, so here's a backlog of bentos:

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The mini pudding pies are super easy. All I did was picked up a pack of the keebler graham mini-crusts, and pudding cups. just open the pudding cup and empty into the pie crust. instant dessert :)

Tomorrow is going to be a long-ish day for mom, so she got a lunch and a snack.

( cutting four photos )