I got the sack today bento 28/8/12

I won't go into the massive favouritism & poisonous in fighting that led to it; you'd think working for a charity would be nice!

This is the first time I've been sacked, well the first proper job - I did get sacked from a waitressing job coz I used to turn up to work off my head & in the clothes I left in the night before. And I argued a lot with the 2nd chef (his hobby was making waitresses cry & I didn't like it. He used to frisbee oven trays at my head straight out the oven). Oh I shagged one of the waiters too. But I digress - my newly unemployed status will undoubtedly negatively effect the amount of bento's I make & post but here is the one I took to work today - and then took home again. I did have some almond stuffed olives as well but I ate them for elevenses.

The starring role in this bento goes to the prawn, papaya & avocado salad I made (with some fennel in too) there's some lemon & mustard seed dressing from righteous in the chick. Very tasty & refreshing.

I also had a sunshine box of veg - left over roast butternut squash, orange & yellow peppers and some radishes.

Some sesame Japanese rice crackers for a bit of carbs and a piece of (gf & df) millionaires shortbread and some friendly bacteria choc too.

A very good bento for what turned out to be my last day!

Feeding Day Bento 23.8.12

Today's a feeding day but I got up late so it's not a very impressive bento! I've got left over paleo dirty rice (still good), some fennel salami, bread sticks with aioli and chocolate pudding, more chocolate and an apple. I doubt I'll eat it all. Then again I don't finish til 4! Another fast day to go this week - I might do it tomorrow.

Fast Day Dinner Bento 22.8.12

So as I've said previously (keep up) I've been 'doing' 5:2 and today was a fast day. I must admit I haven't been counting my 500 calories religiously on fast days but I had a small piece of salmon with veg for lunch and this bento for tea and I don't think that's more than 500!

A little bit of left over turkey, some of those fig & rosemary crackers (made from almonds rather than grains) and some crunchy veg bits. A slightly discolored peach and a wee bit of sneaky chocolate!

Fast days are getting easier & I want less on the non fast days now. I certainly feel better for it.

Lunch Bento 21.8.12

I forgot to take a pic until I'd eaten most of it but you can kinda see what I had!

Swedish meatballs & pickles in the top layer, crunchy nibbly bits in the bottom, with a side tub of the rosemary & fig crackers I made (http://clairesspecialkitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/rosemary-fig-crackers.html?m=1). I am doing the 5:2 way of eating (you eat what you want five days a week and do a fast of 500 calories the other 2) and tomorrow's a fast day so my bento won't be that exciting!

An eggstravagant Lunch Bento 16/8/12

A poor pun but I couldn't help myself! Last of the quail eggs today with some celery salt in the chick. Some Genius bloomer - which I love - with some dairy free spread as my carb; a girl can only eat so much rice and all my usual crunchy veg bits. Watermelon & chocolate pudding to finish - not simultaneously though!

4 days off work now so I don't know how many bento's there will be, if I keep necking this wine there's not likely to be much of anything.

Dinner Bento 15/8/12

I'm a couple of days behind in my bento blogs, time for a catch up.

This one was for my first late shift back after my week off which went surprisingly well. Heat & humidity even keeps kids quiet it seems.

I ate the quail eggs way before the rest of the bento as a snack; they really are perfect for bento's! The chips obv weren't part of the bento originally but the cafe was open & it seemed rude not to have something! Had some left over coconut fried chicken (http://clairesspecialkitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/coconut-fried-chicken.html?m=1) and sweetcorn rice, again leftover. Got the normal crunchy veg bits, some salted almonds & some watermelon and chocolate pudding.

Back to Work Bento 13/8/12

I say back to work but I haven't really done any today. I was organised & packed this the night before to maximise sleep & guarantee me something nice at lunchtime!

I've got some leftover turkey escalopes (griddled with lemon, garlic, parsley & thyme) and samphire (stir fried with garlic & lemon). I also have some hard boiled quail eggs (there's celery salt in the chick), all the usual crunchy bits, some salted almonds & some breadsticks (with aioli in the pig for dipping). For the sweet bit I have a peach (ready sliced to avoid mess) and a chocolate pudding. Good eats!

Bento on a plate 12/8/12

I'm back to work tommorrow so I didn't want to dirty my boxes, I'm planning to be a bit organised & put my bento together tonight to take the edge off Monday morning!

So a plate today but I think it holds to the bento principle! I had so teriyaki crackers (gluten free from m&s), made a tamagoyaki roll - still warm & a bit floppy! Cucumber, daikon & radish for my crunchy bits and a gorgeous peach from natoora. Last of the millionaires shortbread today :-(. 

Bento at home 11/8/12

Not sure about the oaty bakes; they're a bit cardboardy but for the rest I had some potato salad (well potatoes in mayonnaise, I'm not sure that quite counts as potato salad) and some olives in the top box and the last of the natoora fennel salami in the bottom box with some of my usual crunchy bits. Some cherries, millionaires shortbread & a little Probiotic choccy round off my lunch.

Bento at home 10/8/12

It's gonna be hard next week to get used to having to fit the lids on after a week of not needing to!

Today I have Swedish meatballs with a bit of dill pickle on my matryoshka picks - a tasty pairing. I've got some 'deli crackers' with them, I won't be getting them again; they're like blotting paper in flavour & absorbency.
In the other level I have some not quite ripe enough peach (ripen at home my arse), cucumber, daikon & radish and in the little side dish I have a piece of (gf&df) millionaires shortbread  and some Probiotic chocolate.

Bento di Italia 8/8/12

Bit of an Italian vibe to todays bento with antipasti style nibbles & some left over pasta.

It's also the first outing for my matryoshka picks - very cute & I'm a sucker for these kinda things!

From the bottom up I have some salted almonds, rosemary & black pepper olives and some fabulous fennel salami from natoora (http://www.natoora.co.uk/shop/)  via ocado. In the next dish I have cucumber, daikon & radishes along with watermelon which I had as dessert. Finally some pasta (heated) with a beef & ratatouille ragu. Molto bene!

Oh some chocolate buttons too!

Could actually have closed the lid on this one too apart from the watermelon! I'm off to yo sushi for lunch tomorrow so no more bento til Friday!

Bento at home 7/8/12

I don't feel I need to point out I had this at home really when I made no attempt to fit it in properly!

The big blue tub has chicken salad in; there's more in there than the chicken & gf croutons you can see, honest, pea shoots & baby leaves, cucumber, radishes & grated mooli with a lemon & mustard seed dressing (from righteous http://www.loverighteous.com/salad-dressings/). The panda has some very garlicky aioli in for dipping the breadsticks. Watermelon, chocolate pudding & popcorn (sweet & salty) are obvious. Not sure I'm gonna eat it all! 

Bento at home 6/8/12

A healthy bento today. Feel super virtuous (an gonna ruin that in a minute by eating the chocolate).

Prawns with sweet chilli dip, back sesame rice crackers, apple, daikon, radishes & pickles in the chick.

And the aforementioned chocolate of course.

Bento at home 5/8/12

You can tell its at home coz I blatantly couldn't shut the lids! (kinda) fitting it into the box limits the calories & gives me clearly much needed bento packing skills!

Top (l-r)
Breadsticks, tahiniyeh, salami, sausage roll,
Bottom (l-r)
Apple, pepper, daikon with some rosemary & pepper olives along the top.

Some chocolate on the side of course!

Cute bento things comp

Back to School Bento Lunch Supplies Giveaway | AllThingsForSale Bento USA

I am such a sucker for bento bits & bobs & a comp to get some free ones is way to good to be missed. And a comp including light sabers? Count me in!

Lunch Plate 4/8/12

It's on a plate rather than in a bento box but that's only because I was too lazy to fit it in!
I had a gf part baked baguette & one of those anti pasti meat selections all the supermarkets seem to do these days! I had a mushroom craving - my dad doesn't like them so they're not on the dinner menu - so I pan fried some in garlic oil with rosemary. They were very tasty. Some stuffed olives, radishes & pepper slices made up my plate & I had a bowl of cherries after.

Obviously I had some chocolate (in button form) later!

Lunch at home bento 3/8/12

Day 1/10 not at work but I still gotta eat so no reason why not a bento! I clearly wouldn't be able to close the lid on this but never mind!

I have a chicken salad sandwich, an apple, a sliced up baby pepper & a couple of radishes.

I'll prob go upstairs & get myself some chocolate in a minute. 

Lunch bento 2/8/12

I actually made my bento last night so it's actually arranged neatly for a change! It's a yummy one too!

I have some left over roast potatoes (which didn't brown very well but were still crispy), some Swedish meatballs (which may well be a regular - they come cooked & we had the rest heated for dinner yesterday). There's some mayo in the pig to dip them in. In my 'healthy layer' I've got cucumber, pepper, radishes, gherkin & olives and I also have some chilli tortilla curls. A couple of figs, a chocolate pudding & some cheeky wee chocs should finish off the meal nicely! 

It continues to amaze me that I can fit a meals worth of food in that wee box but more often than not I don't finish it.