Yesterday I made a bento for my husband, but none for me. Here's what I put in his:
In the lower tier, he had 3 Onigiri (2 stars and one bear). I tried to make eyes, a nose and a mouth with cucumber pieces on the bear shaped Onigiri, See it? That's my cutsy curse move of the day ! I put the Onigiri on thin slices of cucumber, and put red bell pepper sticks to stabilize the whole thing.In the top tier, I put the rest of the beef stir fry, cucumber slices, and a little container of Cilantro pesto (we both love that stuff!).
Today I made two bentos. I decided it was time to put aside my laziness.
Here's my box:
I used my 1 tier little box that I usually use as a snack bento. I wanted to see if I could fit a whole meal in there. I can! There's the same stuff in mine as there is in my husband's 2 tier box!Top left corner I have red bell pepper and cucumber sticks; to the right of that I have a container of cilantro pesto; in the top right corner I have steamed broccoli and shredded carrots; in the lower right corner I have ground turkey cooked with vegetables and black beans; and finally in the lower left corner I have lentil curry.
I put two little butterflies made out of red bell pepper slices using my little cookie cutters to "cutefy" the whole thing.
Here's my husband's box:
He has the exact same lunch. Veggie sticks, lentil curry, steamed veggies, and ground turkey and veggies. Instead of butterflies, I put a dog bone shaped piece of pepper. I thought it would be more "manly". He thought it was hysterical! heheheI love to play with the color of foods, the orange/yellow curry and the bright green cucumbers. I love food, what can I say? I think that it's more a tool for creativity than just "fuel". Make it pretty people, it'll taste better!
Happy Bento Everybody!
Hi, Willow (at least, I assume that's your name)! I found the link to your blog on the WW messageboards. I've been living in Japan for about 10 months now, but it was your blog (combined with my desire to drop the weight I've gained here) that inspired to me to start making my own bento! I raided Daiso (which is only $1 for everything here) and got a lot of the same supplies you have (I chose the blue box like the one your husband uses, but it was a tough decision) and it has been really fun! For the first time in a long time, I actually look forward to my lunch! And the bento makes for great portion control! Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for the inspiration! Oh, and I was wondering, when you talk about the "cutsy curse," do you mean your desire to cut foods into shapes like butterflies or do you mean cutesy, as in making it cute? The concept of cute is a big thing in Japan, which is one of my favorite things about living here! Keep it up!!!
ReplyDelete-Lindsay
Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh This is so neat!!
ReplyDeleteThe "cutsy curse" means only that I'm making an effort to make my box cute. Either by being mindful of how I mix the food colors (like a bright orange curry in a red silicone cup, beside bright green cucumber), or by using cut shapes, cute little skewers and containers.
It is my belief that cute, visually attractive food taste better, and that if it look good, taste good, you don't need as much to be satisfied!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
But doesn't cutesy have an e in it?! (Sorry, it's the English teacher in me coming out - that's what I'm doing here in Japan!) :) In any case, you are very good at making things cute! My husband talked me into getting McDonald's for lunch today and, even though I got lower-point items, I am still wishing I'd packed a bento instead. So much more satisfying and I wouldn't be feeling so gross right now! Well, I have to get back to work (it's 1 p.m. here), but I'll try to post some pictures of my own bento attempts sometime soon! Maybe I can even sneak a picture of my boss's bento - he always has one of the sections full of white rice with a pickled plum in the middle, so it looks like the Japanese flag! Pretty cute for a 45-year-old man...
ReplyDeleteI sort of made up the word for the fun of it..
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should have looked it up...
Haha, well, if you made it up, then it can't be wrong! My boss is actually eating his bento beside me right now and I am staring at it enviously, even though I can't tell what half of the stuff in it is!
ReplyDelete