Number Ni

I have a confession, friends. I ate lunch at work on the 1st of January. I know I know! It hasn't even been a day, and I broke my resolution? What the hell is the matter with me?!

There are reasons; let me explain. At work we occasionally have a day that is going to be especially busy. On days like that the company gives us all a free lunch. So there... it was free. I figured: I could eat this free lunch of deli sandwiches and soup, save my wings for the 2nd, and have a new bento on the 3rd! It worked out even more perfectly since I closed on the 1st, and opened on the 2nd. Ah, blissful sleep would be mine!

One of the worst things about working in retail is that you end up closing one night, and opening the next morning. This isn't so bad since my work closes at a reasonable hour, but I love sleep. 8-9 hours a night is just about right for me. So what is a girl to do when you get home from work, then have to be back in 11 hours? You definately don't want to spend that 2 hours you're not sleeping cooking. So you cheat, and move all your planned lunches back a day. Ah, the beauty of bento.

Now, as I said earlier, I'm not afraid to stick all sorts of food into my little box. It doesn't have to be Japanese, no matter how blasphemous that may seem.

I wanted something easy, tasty, and something that wouldn't make too much food. Spaghetti was what made the cut.

Took about 25 minutes to whip together, and makes a lovely little lunch.

Sadly, this wasn't some homemade sauce. I admit, it came from a jar. However, I love to spruce this stuff up.

I start with some mild italian sausage, some onion, and garlic. Saute that until the onions are tender and the garlic/sausage aromatic. I then add the sauce and heat through. Delicious! Unfortnately, I was out of spaghetti noodles, and didn't have time to make them, so fettuccine noodles did fine.

Now, what do I have with this? I decided some mixed veggies, fruit and garlic rolls were a great idea.

Broccoli, raddish, and carrots for dipping.

Yummy, sweet, tangerines.

Once again, I ask: would this be something you'd like? What do you usually eat with spaghetti? Are you having a good day?

Let me know!

**Bonus**

Guess what time it is?! It's time to look at some more of my cute bento stuff. This is my Tomo Tomo box.
It says: Let's enjoy a time with me! Let's indeed, little box!

I love this things, it's perfect for holidng the little things that just won't fit when I stuff my box full. And, I love giraffes, even if I had to look up how to spell giraffe.

<3

The Facts of Life

Gather round, one and all. Since tomorrow is the first bento box I'll be sharing with you I figure it's time to give you some more information. I bet you're just bursting with curiosity, aren't you? You are, right?

Hello?


Here's a little bit of basic knowledge about what's going to be going on around this joint.

First off: The Who

No, I'm not talking about the rock band. I'm talking about me! I'm Birdy, and I'm the one running this show! I'll be picking out recipes to pack in my lunches, taking pictures, and sharing with you the recipes. This won't just be Asian influenced food either. I'm not afraid to put spaghetti or some pizza in my little lunch box. Anything is possible. I'll probably end up taking suggestions. So if you see something you think would be a great addition to my list, let me know!

The What

Bento lunches! Wikipedia of course, has an awesome amount of information on what these things are all about. Check it out. As you see, there are a couple different things that are considered bento. Most Japanese restaurants have a bento meal that include a number of small portioned foods. These lunches usually consist of rice, some fish, and veggies. However, I'm adding my own twist on this Japanese tradition and making use of all sorts of foods. Tradition won't be holding me back!

The Why

For one I have such a lovely box and so many little things to go with it that it seemed a waste not to use it. Secondly at work we have a surprisingly delicious cafeteria, and at $3 for an entree, side dish, salad/soup, and drink it's a really hard deal to beat. However, it's really easy for me to fill my plate (because I can) and then I eat way too much. And try as I might, it's really hard to portion control when you have a pile of delicious fries begging to be eaten. With these things in mind, this bento box is not only amazing for portion control, but it will also end up being cheaper. Cooking for two is actually pretty difficult and there are always leftovers. This way I not only stop us from wasting food, I also enjoy home cooked meals, prepared specifically to my tastes.

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Now, here is a look at a couple of things I have in my bento collection. Believe me when I tell you, this is a *small* collection. I've heard of people who have closets full of bento goodies. I only have a ziplock bag full of my stuff. While small, my collection is growing, and I'm always looking for fun things to add to it.


I really enjoy these silicon cups. It's perfect for holding small portions of foods or sauces and they are reusable. Also, totally adorable! These little pigs are one of my favorite things! They come with little eye and wing stickers that you can paste on all these little piggies. They are a little difficult to fill with sauce, but it's worth it for the kawaii factor.
And again, more silicon food/sauce cups. These guys are small, but useful.

My hubby found all these awesome goodies at J-List. Be aware, there are some NSFW pages on that website, so just be careful what you're clicking on. They have an amazing collection of Japanese goodies, and even thought they are exported from Japan the prices and shipping are reasonable. I definitely suggest this website if you don't have anywhere local to shop.

Well, friends. I hope you continue to be intrigued and stick around. The fun is just getting started.

It Begins

Friends, it will soon begin. On January 1st, 2011 I will start a year of documenting every bento box I pack for lunch. I may not eat a bento lunch every day, but any time I do I'll post a picture and what recipe(s) I used.

This blog will be a way to keep me accountable on this quest. Not only do I get to eat adorable lunches out of an adorable box; I eat a lot less. When I first started using this box I thought it wouldn't hold enough food. It seemed to hold too little. How wrong I was. Most of the time I can't even eat everything I pack. It's just too much! And so, this will be one small step towards eating healthier and eating less.

And of course, I should introduce the star of the show. My lovely bento box!


My husband bought this for me last Christmas at our local Asian super market. Uwajimaya. He also went crazy online and bought me a ton of cute little goodies to be used with it. But I'll save those for another time.

Later I'll show you more of the inside. But for now it's time to finish packing todays lunch and getting ready for work.

Can't wait to show you more!