Disguised Baked Rice AKA The Pseudo-Salad!

What looks like a really healthy, good-for-you salad... is NOT! XD

It's actually a multi-layered mix with a fried rice base, topped with chopped zucchini, baby carrots and a ring of cherry tomatoes. it was eventually eaten with an egg cracked over it, and piping hot mediterranean tomato soup (go Batchelor's Slim-a-Soup!) poured over! Topped with 2 pieces of tasty tsukune (um... barbecued chicken balls?)... I call it my Instant Baked Rice Surprise!

Surprise, because you will be surprised how ugly it looks when put together with sauce and all.

LOL!

Why do you think there isn't a final product photo?

So, anybody up for some red and yellow sludge? Don't look, just eat. ;p

(And no, I didn't eat the apple in the end. Why on earth did I pack it when I know I don't eat whole apples, only sliced? It got mooshed in the end =/ What a WASTE... used it for my morning oatmeal the next day... =\)

A Simple Lunch

Container: Leaf Snap-Lid Box

Contents: From left, Mini Hamburgers in blue partition, Cherry Tomatoes, Teriyaki Zucchini, raw Baby Carrots and a tiny portion of Fried Rice

Remarks: Another of those hurriedly tossed together, ugly ones! Sigh, wish I have the time to prepare lavish, pretty stuff... =\ At least I managed to meet my daily fibre consumption target! =S

Park Picnic Bento #1!

After making a big batch of fried rice and meatballs the night before, was inspired to prepare a lavish breakfast picnic bento for Ducky! He obligingly drove us to MacRitchie Reservior, and despite the chilly drizzle, it was good fun! His bento was definitely more lavish and pretty than mine... =p as i say, powered by rabu! lol! =D

seem to remember him scowling at my box, which was composed mainly of carrot, celery and cucumber sticks... hey, at least the peanut dippy sauce was nice, right? 0_o

Park Picnic Bento #2!

Top tier of Ducky's bento, the little round things are meatballs (which i modified from a recipe for dog snacks, oops... HEHE) on a stick, the flattish disks are cheese and pork patties which turned out quite good, better than the meatballs that were rather bland. thank goodness for the little bottle of tonkatsu sauce to liven things up! tiny obligatory "salad" in the green compartment... it's more to make myself feel better about Ducky eating "healthy" than anything, since it's nothing more than a slice of cucumber snipped into a palm frond, and half a cherry tomato, messily hacked to look like a mangled flower. 0_o and lots of kewpie mayo below it to help Ducky swallow it down... XD

Park Picnic Bento #3!

another close up showing the adorable usagi on dashi fried rice, and a heart on tomato fried rice! bunny made from sakura denbu, which is dried fish floss (usually cod), dyed the pink of japan's national flower! it's quite nice to eat, sort of sweetish... carefully used chopsticks to fill up the bunny-shaped cookie cutter i bought from Shinjuku's Tokyu Hands... i miss that place! ;_; the heart is actually furikake, but the seaweed shreds kind of messed up it's definition! =( we definitely liked the usagi better!

Gigantic OVERSIZED Bento o_O

Container: Navy Fish + Red Usagi Bento Box

Contents: In Blue Lunch Tier, Boiled Symfonia Potato Chunks, topped with Shredded Chicken Thigh in Thai Chilli Dressing, with steamed Broccoli down the middle decorated by a kewpie mayo squiggle. Small slices of Cherry Tomato as Garnish.
In Red Dessert/Snack Tier from left, Hard-boiled Egg (partially quartered with its "petals" spread by a cube of tomato for aesthetic reasons LOL), Baby Carrot and Japanese Cucumber Sticks, kewpie mayo and peanut butter dip.

Remarks: I waaaaaay overestimated my appetite when I fixed this lunch... >_> could barely even finish the Lunch Tier, much less get started on the vegetable sticks! I forgot that potatoes can be really filling... the mixture was nice though, delicious cold, which is an important thing for bento. Few things are worse than having to eat something that is tasty hot, but ghastly when cold! Thank goodness salads and most light food taste good cold, it's the greasy, crispy fried stuff that can't go in bento (which is good for me too, yay!).

Surprisingly Filling Bento!

Container: Leaf Bento Box

Contents: Sliced Fuji Apple, Cherry Tomatoes, Baby Carrots, Half a Japanese Cucumber (thinly sliced), Yakisoba (final portion)!

Remarks: I really love this Leaf Bento Box because it's the perfect size for a small serving of carbohydrate, topped up with lots of vegetables. It's snap-lock lid also helps prevent leakage if my veggies are not well-patted down before packing! =D And despite it's small size, I was pretty stuffed by the time I ate the last slice of apple... must be all the fibre bulking me up! PHEW! *burp*

Light Day Bento: Salad Main

Container: Snap-Lid Single Tier Bento Box AKA "The Leaf Box"

Contents: From left, very plain salad of fresh Tomato, Baby Carrots and blanched Broccoli, on side was a small portion of Tsuyu Fried Rice with Salmon Furikake.

Remarks: Supposed to be a lunch bento like all the rest, but because my boss took me out for a hefty lunch, I finally got down to munching it at dinner time. Thank goodness it was a light bento, the Thai lunch had really filled me to the brim! =p

Yakisoba and Meatballs!

Container: Navy Fish + Red Usagi Bento Box

Contents: In Blue Lunch Tier from left, Breaded Porky Meatballs, Mini Salad of Japanese cucumber (kyuri) and frozen mixed veggies in kewpie mayo and honey mustard, Yakisoba!! In Red Dessert/Snack Tier from left, Canteloupe Cubes, one Madeleine, one almond chocolate truffle.

Remarks: Yakisoba made up from leftover instant noodles, shredded cabbage and onions! SCRUMPTIOUS! =9~ The canteloupe tasted as pallid as it looked... crunchy, cold, tasteless cubes. =(

Hungry Day Bento: Kung-Pow Chicken + Fried Rice

Container: Navy Fish + Red Usagi Bento Box

Contents: In Red Lunch Tier from left, Kung-pow Chicken, Sliced fresh Tomatoes, Carrots and Cucumber with Honey Mustard (underneath veggie pile), Tuna Fried Rice with Salmon Furikake. In Blue Dessert/Snack Tier from left, sliced Fuji Apple, Chocolate Roll.

Remarks: So one weekend, I decided to cook up a big batch of low-fat food to freeze for the rest of the week, the result was a vat of Kung-pow Chicken (lean chicken breast, red and yellow capsicum, garlic and onion) and ten servings of Tuna Fried Rice (tuna canned in water, white rice, bulked up with lots of chopped bok choy, button mushrooms, mixed frozen vegetables, egg and sausage).

Once the fried rice was ready, I separated it into two batches, one which was flavoured with ketchup, and the other with Japanese tsuyu (that tasty seaweed + bonito dippy sauce that goes with cold soba or somen).

Broccoli Cream Stew

Container: Tupperware with wonky lid... >_<

Contents: Assorted chunks of Broccoli, Carrots, Potatoes, Sausage, Mixed Frozen Veggies, in Cream of Broccoli and Cauliflower!

Remarks: One of the easiest bento lunches ever, nuked the vegetables in some salted water, then mixed the soup (instant powdered mix) to a thick, sauce-like consistency, dumped it on veggies and nuked again in office microwave. Low calorie but sinful! =0

Try Batchelor's Slim-a-Soup! Less than 60kcal per sachet, tastes pretty good if you don't water it down too much. =)