Bento stuff

[badseed1980]

My mom got me a Laptop Lunch bento set for Christmas. It's the purple one, naturally. :) I packed my lunch for today in it, my first use. I had been wanting a new bento box, since I tend to have a hard time packing the banana one I have, due to the shape of it (long and skinny with rounded ends). Also, the plastic fork and one of the lids for that one have broken. My strawberry one broke as well, plus that one is really small for someone who tends to want to eat a lot of veggies with her lunch. If I fill up the big compartment with veggies, there's not enough room for the more filling foods. If I fill up the small compartment with veggies, it's not as much veggies as I'd like to have. Both are still useable, but I'm thinking I might use the LL more often now. Some thoughts about it:

1. Two of the main containers and the sauce container have lids in the 2.0 series. The other two containers don't. That's ok with me, since they pack pretty tightly in the box. If I keep wet stuff in the lidded containers, I should be fine.

2. The box is actually BIGGER than I really need. They mean for this to be for kids??? Sheesh! the only container I actually packed full was the one I filled with veggies. I was able to fit a load of stewed veg, three mini black bean burgers, a clementine, and a fortune cookie into the box with lots of room leftover, especially in the container where I put the black bean burgers.

3. On the plus side of comment #2, this means I can have less nutrient-dense foods when I want to. I can pack a snack of popcorn into my bento box if I choose. I can have a good-sized salad if I choose. I could make a big serving of tofu shirataki noodles if I choose.

4. On that note, I might get the alternate internal containers for the set. There's one that's pretty big, good for a meal-sized salad.

5. I might think about getting an insulated carrying case for the box, particularly for in the summer.

I'm actually very excited about today's lunch. I've made these burgers before, and they were awesome. The stewed veg, based loosely on a recipe I found online, is tasty. Clementines are pure love, and fortune cookies are always fun. My lunches had started to kind of suck. Putting in a little effort will make me happier.

Comments

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have one for the banana box. I only need it to get between home and work, since we have refrigerators at work.

[fabricdragon.livejournal.com]

you do recall that i sell them, and that i can get you insulated bags and other stuff

the 2.0 is LARGER than the original version. it is a good 1/4 to 1/2 inch deeper, which is why the 2.0 containers will not fit into the non 2.0 box.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's pretty darn big! Maybe twice the size of the Lube Sheep banana box.

How much do you charge for the insulated bags and the Bento Buddies set?

[fabricdragon.livejournal.com]

the insulated bag that is usually sold with the regular laptop lunchbox system. or the BIG bag that they call the "power lunch"?

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

The regular one. I don't really need it to fit anything but the box itself.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

that's really cute :)

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[tigira.livejournal.com]

I have a "Laptop Lunch" box for F. He loves it, but not for lunch, and it's good for more than one meal, but rather a meal and a snack.

Mine today is: Broccoli salad with canadian bacon, and mini frittatas (made in cupcake tins).

This should be good for much of the week, and then next week I try some other new recipes. I like the fact that it challenges me to find good low-point filling recipes that will fit in the box.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

This (http://www.justhungry.com/black-bean-vegan-miniburgers) is the recipe I used for the black bean mini-burgers, which are yummy. You could very easily leave off the sauce/glaze to avoid tomatoes, and skip the walnuts. You might want to add more mushrooms if you did that, for added bulk and moisture. I use whole wheat flour instead of rice flour.

The person who wrote the recipe says that half a recipe is 190 calories. Judging by that, a quarter of a recipe is 95 calories, and definitely more than 4 grams of fiber. The whole wheat flour has fewer calories and more fiber than rice flour does. I'm counting it as 2 points for 1/4 recipe, though frankly, it's probably 1 when I think about it. FWIW, I form the whole recipe into 12 burgers and bring 3 in my lunch.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I might try some mini-frittatas!