Well, the prospect of making bento does get me up and, subsequently, out the door in the mornings. I think it’s just that I can have a relaxed breakfast on the ferry, rather than one rushed at home or something expensive and greasy in the ferry galley.
Also, never underestimate being able to eat a lunch both cheap and dry in the heart of Seattle.
Breakfast Bento: I found a way to make the cereal work!
Plus mandarin oranges and grapes. The rice milk is in an off-screen Lock&Lock. I did try some yogurt last night, but it didn’t work out for me taste-wise.
However, hummus is apparently also a complete protein, so I want to try that next week. And I know I like hummus.
By the way, this is one of my older bento kits, from Zojirushi, who also makes the Mr. Bento bentos. Its components looka little like the ones for either Mr. or Mrs. Bento, but they don’t stack in a single column.
A spoon (or chopsticks) fits across the top, and then I gather it and click the handle like so.
While this is compact, my eBags and Laptop Lunch combo are still thinner. However, it works on the ferry.
Lunch Bento:
Honey bread, peanut butter, strawberry fruit sandwich in the Extra Large container. Apple slices (sigh), goldfish crackers (yay!), and applesauce with cinnamon (didn’t work for me, but I think that was because the apple sauce brand sucked).
I really do like my Laptop Lunch box. But I need to vary the menu more (not that my eating out menu ever varied much…).
I’m thinking rice dishes next week. Maybe make a curry over the weekend for meals next week, since I picked up some Native Forest non-BPA-lined cans of coconut milk. I need to freeze the last of the veggie soup and bisque.
Bake some different bread… go home more, workaholic less… crazy times.
Spontaneous ∂erivation 
okay, to possibly make up for the bad yogurt recommendation-
if you’re bored with apples, would you eat Waldorf Salad?
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/waldorf_salad/
* 1/2 cup chopped, slightly toasted walnuts
* 1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup red seedless grapes, sliced (or a 1/4 cup of raisins)
* 1 sweet apple, cored and chopped
* 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
* 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
* Salt
* Pepper
* Lettuce
Method
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and the lemon juice. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Mix in the apple, celery, grapes, and walnuts. Serve on a bed of fresh lettuce.
I’ve found that homemade applesauce tastes a million times better than store-bought, and it’s really super easy to make (and freezes well). This is basically the recipe I use and if you can get your hands on Cortlands, they are really excellent for sauce. Honeycrisps, while a fantastic eating apple, are not such good sauce apples.
Rosa,
No worries about the yogurt rec :) with a lot of other people, it would have worked well. I’m just picky ;)
I’ve never had waldorf salad before, but it sounds good! I wonder if the mayo can be replaced with hummus…. Mayo is not usually my favorite thing :) but I’m able to make hummus of all tastes, from subtle to vampire killer. Thank you for the recommendation!
Natalie L.,
I’ll see if I can try making applesauce too over the weekend! I keep wondering why so much store-bought stuff tastes… Not so much weird as
maybe bland. Preservatives may do that, I suppose.
If I can’t find Cortlands, what’s the next best apple? (And mmmmm, honeycrisps. Must pick them up this weekend too.)
You really want a good cooking apple–I’ve also used Fuji, McIntosh, and Winesap and had good results. I am not an apple expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I think if you stay away from the blander eating varieties (Red Delicious, I am looking at you), you’ll be fine. The real magic of the recipe I linked is the lemon juice/peel, it really does make a huge difference. I generally omit the white sugar and dump in a bunch of ground cinnamon in in addition to the cinnamon stick.
I tend to mix my applesauce with 3/4 cup of yogurt and 1/4 cup of Bob’s Red Mill Old Style Muesli for an afternoon snack at work. Nom nom nom (although I know yogurt doesn’t work for you, but the muesli might! lots of yummy whole grains and dried fruit with no added sugar!)
Natalie,
That’s a great excuse to buy muesli at the local grocery store! :D
I think i’d use straight, sweetened tahini before hummus, but i’ve never tried either with raisins.
Waldorf Salad just seemed spiritually like egg salad :)
I’m not surprised the bento-making gets you to go to the office – it’s making me wish I had an office to go to, so i had an excuse to buy Bento containers.
Rosa,
True, but one can spend waaaaay too much on bento items. It’s kind of hard to stop…. I took like a year break from bentos. And even now I still spend a… trickle. Yeah. Trickle.