Bento Boxes - why didn't I think of this before!?

I loved lunchables as a kid. One of my favorite adult meals is to stack a plate with some crackers, slices of cheese, slices of meat and slices of veggies (usually cucumber) and sometimes a little pile of mustard to dip in. So yesterday I stumbled across bento, more specifically bento as a way to lose weight (because the food is portioned out). And my own interest piqued in bento as a way to exercise my creativity! I started a list of ideas to fill bento boxes on an index card (which I always keep handy for list making).

Japanese bento guidelines:
3 parts grain
2 parts veggies
1 part lean protein (meat/fish)

MAIN DISHES
Quesadilla
Moroccan chicken
Zucchini boat
Cucumber boat
Paleo Pad Thai
Paleo maki rolls
Tacos!
Zucchini or potato latkes
Frittata
Pasta salad
Salad rolls

PROTEIN
Hardboiled egg
Sliced grilled/roasted/baked chicken
Rolled deli meat
Paleo chicken nuggets
String cheese
Grilled kebabs
Peanut butter/almond butter
Egg or tuna or chicken salad
Black beans
Chili (meat or bean)
Meatballs
Salmon (poached, baked or grilled)

STARCH
Melba toast
Triscuits
Peas & Corn
Brown rice
Quinoa
Couscous
Roasted squash
Sweet potato
Jicama homefries

VEGGIES
Rolled slices of cucumber
Veggie puree
Roasted veggies
Baby carrots
Cherry tomatoes
Ratatouille (with goat cheese, pesto and baguette slices)
Zucchini noodles with pesto
Steamed broccoli


SIDE DISH/SNACKS
Celery with peanut butter and raisins
Gorp
Cherrios/ raisins/ chocolate chips (post-swim practice snack from childhood!)
Homemade protein bars/snacks


SAUCE/DIPS
Peanut sauce
Sunshine Sauce (from Well Fed)
Zucchini hummus
Hummus
Tzatziki
Salsa

DESSERT
Square of Lindt dark chocolate hint of sea salt
Watermelon
Grapes
Blueberries
Strawberries
Apple slice with honey and cinnamon
Mini york patties
Mini oreo cookies
Banana with peanut butter
Grilled pineapple

BONUS
Gummy vitamins
Personal note: Include an inspirational note in every lunch. Write a bunch, fold them, put them in a container and grab one at random. It'll be like a fortune but I'll make sure they are all inspiring to me. Maybe I could get Le Boyfriend to send me some...

REDUCING WASTE FROM MAKING CUTE FOOD:
Plans for waste. From the super adorable cut out veggies and sandwiches, a clear concern is waste. What happens to the square of bread with a big hole in the middle from the adorable mini sandwich!? This blog post gives some ideas. My thought is I can freeze veggie scraps for soup. I could also use the scrap in smoothies! I totally want tiny cookie cutters so I can make super adorable bentos. I think for now I'll start with what I have which is circles, and knives to cut shapes! I also like the quesadilla option, or perhaps mixed in with eggs on the weekend using a weeks' worth of scraps. This is a chance for me to get creative, with some restriction (which we all know breed more creativity!)


If a bento box is the Japanese mother's way of showing that she loves her child, I want my bento boxes to be my way of showing that I love me!