Hamburgers???

So, this was the first proper day of work/school for me, and a real test on whether I could make my lunch given my morning time constraints.

 

So, forgive the image quality- I tried to use the "Instant" function button, which should be renamed, "Make a clear photo look washed out with a white border that you will never see on white paper".

Here in my awesome hamburger bento I have a Morrocan style carrot salad with 2 pieces of baked fritata on the bottom layer (first courgette of the season from my garden in said fritata.) Layer 2 has the "snacky things" - mini crackers with star shaped cheese slices, carrot sticks, and raw almonds.  More blueberry yogurt on the side.

Comments from my workmates ranged from- "Are you nuts?", to "Where did you get the star shaped cheese?" (cut out with cookie cutters).  It's all good.

Orange you interested in my lunch?

And I made my lunch in my Snoopy bento so that it would be all wonderful for work! Yippee. Basically I felt cool all day knowing what was coming for lunch.

 

This is me at my most Martha Stewart!

Lunch was some peanut butter sandwiches, in a tupperware sandwich keeper, cut with a lunch punch elephant sandwich cutter.  Then some homemade blueberry yogurt, topped with homemade toasted muesli.  Also, a Greek salad on the side, with a container of olive oil dressing.  Then an orange, to co-ordinate with my orange lunch!!!

Blueberries!

Well, with all the rain, most of my summer fruits have just rotted. But yippee! Since we moved in I have been waiting anxiously for the blueberries to ripen. The rain has made them juicey and tasty.

So I have pre-made blueberry yogurt in plastic tubs for lunch. Joy!

From Drop Box

Afternoon tea

As today was a 'lovely, lazy, sit in front of the computer screen and edit videos' day, it was a 'don't have to make lunch properly' day.

However, here is my afternoon tea, which I did endevour to make look more attractive than it really is.  However, my dinner set REALLY has to go.....

From Drop Box

What is not instantly clear is the Branston pickle in heart shape (awwww), shooting star cheese slices and mini vita-wheat crackers.

Tomorrow is a work day...... so lunch shall ensue.

My first proper Bento

Well, the concert was great!!!! But with a couple of hours of rehearsal followed by the show, I had to take lunch, and make it easy to eat.

Solution- new blue double layered bento. In the top tray we had 2 mini quiche's and some peanut butter sandwiches cut into cute little puzzle pieces.

Layer two was the treats, a selection of almonds, kiwifruit rounds (ran out of time to make them prettier) and some teeny tiny gingerbread men. On the side was a banana in a banana guard.

All in all, it was a great little lunch that was easy to eat.

Preparation

As far as I can ascertain, preparation is the key.  Being all prepared for what you are going to do, how to do it, and having the pieces ready.

One could assume this is all about life, as well as lunch.

Preparation has NEVER been a strong point of mine when associated with my lunch.  I have mastered the art of buying "snacky things" from the supermarket, and taking a wad of them to work.  Other forms of this was my falafel phase, where I cut up all the ingredients, and loaded the staff fridge with the stuff I needed to make a fresh wrap every day.  It was a tad inconsiderate of the rest of the staff though.

So... here is my idea of preparation.... making gingerbread men!

So, ignoring my poorly placed silicon cookie mats, which due to idiocy when shopping are larger than my cookie sheets, you should see my TINY cookies!!!!

Basically I figure that really small gingerbread men are a good snack.  I made like over 100 cookies, from a recipe that was meant to make 12 gingerbread people, so I was stoked.  And it gave me an excuse to use the teeny tiny cutters.  The feet are a tad creepy, but may make an excellent footsteps across my food.

I have also recieved my bento lunch boxes in the post (good on you ebay for stocking what I can't seem to find in NZ), so I will throw a picture of them up later (as they are adorable!).

I have also made the worlds smallest quiche's (in mini-muffin tins) and Spinach and Dhal stuffed chapattis in absolute minuature.  Tomorrow I will make a batch of raita for a dipping sauce.

I have a ukulele concert tomorrow, so will pack my lunch before I go, and it will be a good chance to test my abilities.

Attempts....

And here is my first attempt to shape food.... Kinda a bit creepy really.  And I could definitely take the opportunity to think smaller.....  Thick slices of kiwifruit were a bit of a challenge for my cookie cutters.

The Year of the Lunchbox

Well, welcome to 2010, and welcome to my new blog.  Basically I have decided that this year I will be a healthier eater (which it would be hard to be a worse eater after 2009).  After spending a whole lot of time reading and looking at other peoples lunches (call me an amature food stalker here), I have decided how I am going to do this.

BENTO!!!

Or more specifically, my interpretation of Bento, for the untalented, slightly obsessive, and generally short attention spanned workaholic, busy person.

In general, hmmm.... I am a vegetarian.  An ovo-lacto vegetarian if that helps (I eat eggs and dairy).  I have a sweet tooth.  I am a teacher.  I have beagles.  I am the 2nd to worst cook on the planet (I married the worst cook).

The plan is this.... I will attempt to make visually exciting bento-styled lunches this year.  And I will upload pictures of my lunch or bits related to my lunch, and see if:
A) I actually become a healthier person...
B) I can maintain focus on this task all year AND
C) Whether the untalented in the kitchen me, can gain my black belt in lunchbox awesomeness.