Bento Weekly - Round 1

This is the start of the week of my Bento Weekly Meals.
As stated on my weekly calendar, I have prepared as planned.
Hoping I'd go on till the last days of the school-year.

This is Week 1 for Oct 17-21.

Oct 17 (Monday): Japanese Bento

Seafood sushi rolls, breaded pork nuggets

with ketchup, carrot slices with bacon ranch.

Everything home-made except for the  ranch dressing and ketchup.  I sealed it with press and seal since the lids that came with my smidgets are so tight that even I find it so difficult to pop it open.  If you need help to make sushi rolls, click here.  Other questions, simply jot me a message.

Oct 18 (Tuesday): By Special Request

Chili topped with Quail Eggs served with

steamed rice.

I'm glad I was able to store some of our Chili leftovers in the freezer.  I knew he would ask for it anytime.  And he just did today.  He was supposed to bring a new dish, but opted for his favorite Chili.  This is actually one of my regular bento items.  I added a few quail eggs for a new look and I hope he'd consume it as well.

Oct 19 (Wednesday): Korean Bento

Korean Beef Bulgogi served over steamed rice,

Oyster Broccoli on the side,

Nectarine & Kiwi as dessert.

It's another change of menu.  I could tell my son has becoming more accepting of oriental dishes for school. This is one of his favorites but when it comes to packing for school, forget it!  This was our leftover last night and he suggested that he'd have this for  school the following day.  Nice!!

Oct 20 (Thursday): High Protein Bento

Cheese Pizza Bagels, Baby corn on a cob, roasted edamame

This is an example of mix & match bento items.  When you're running out of inventories,  just try to put together whatever's left.  This day the whole bunch of edamame came back because he couldn't take off the shell.  What shell, sweetie?  It's been shelled already.  Obviously, he wasn't familiar of these veggie and was still exploring with me.  So he was still a bit hungry and took a hamburger from the school's cafeteria.

Oct 21 (Friday): Shrimp & Sushi Galore

Shrimp with Mayo, sushi rice, kiwi and pears

He loved the shrimp and mayo idea last night at the dinner table.  He said he wanted another round for his school lunch today.  So I packed it with some of his favorites.  Hope he'd have a hearty lunch today.

See you next week!

c",)

Project Lunch Box - Week 4

Week 4 would be more like rice lunches for us.  

It's time to train the palate with rice meals this time.  

I'd like him to be more flexible with the foods we have at home.  

Just so I wouldn't be stressing much about low pantry inventories.

With the exception of Monday, all else are healthy rice meals.

Grilled Cheese Wraps for a Green Monday

Grilled Deli and Cheese Melt Wrap, Kiwi, Edamame

Packed with his favorite Fruit Punch and Frozen
Crushed Cup Strawberry-Banana Yogurt.

My son went home with some leftovers today. First time. Why? I think I packed so much for him.  He used to have some friends to share with at lunchtime.  You know little boys who's always so curious about his lunches.  And, my boy was so stressed about that.  He hears all kinds of comments and requests.  For instance, "Yucky green beans", "I'm allergic to shrimps", "I hate broccoli!", "let's trade lunches", and goes on.  There were also times he would just want to hide till he was all done, just so nobody would bother him.  I told him to either just ignore and eat or share a little to them.  

Steamed Chinese Sausages for Red & Yellow Tuesday

Steamed Chinese Sausages over steamed rice,
with corn kernels and red grapes.

I pack my lunches in such a way he has fruits and veggies on the side.  I make sure they vary each day, unless I get a huge supply at home.  So far, he's very happy and less picky lately.  The secret is I just let him know what he's having for lunch the night before.  I never give him choices.

No School Wednesday

My kids were off from school today.
It's PTC Conference Week, and Wednesday is off for a full day conference
 for parents who can't make it on their scheduled days.

My preschooler is off as well due to teachers' workshop set on the same day.

So consider this day be a rest day for us as well.

See you on Thursday!

Chili Thursday

Chili con Carne packed with corn, soy beans, edamame
and green bell peppers served with steamed rice
and grapes on the side. 

Not sure what to pack this Thursday.  Honestly, I'm running out of ideas.  I wanted to create a varied meal for at least a month to repeat over the school year.  Glad I have leftover chili last night which my children devour hot or cold.  Today was his first time to pack this for school.  And, guess what?  I had an empty lunchbox after school.  He said it was yummy and would love to have it again.  That painted a big smile on my face of course.  He also said that the boys in school asked how come he always have yummy lunches.  He simply replied with a smile, "My mom made them for me."  

Adobo Rice Friday

Adobo Rice, Shredded Chicken, Broccoli,
Kiwi & Chocolate Crinkles

It's Jog-A-Thon Day!  Each class jogged in the school's field for 30 minutes.  The classes took turns.  Not a race but the goal was to jog as many lapses as they could.  This was a fundraiser event for their fieldtrip.  Always fun to be a volunteer parent of course.  Because you get to join in the fun.  Orange slices and water bottles were donated by families per class.  Parent volunteers help tally their lapses as they jogged.  Their tally charts were attached and secured with a safety pin behind them.

So today I packed as much food as I could.  I know it would be an exhausting event, especially under the heat of the sun.  And I'd like him to regain his stamina as fast as he could. So he could better focus in school works.

My adobo rice is actually a garlic rice stir-fried with olive oil and added a bit of adobo sauce for added flavoring.  I fried the rice so it wouldn't be soggy by lunch time.  The sauce over the rice is usually the culprit.  I shredded the chicken too for easier eating, and added some broccoli and kiwi on the side for more nutrients. I also packed some chocolate crinkles for his snack.

Need Adobo Recipe?  Click here.

Day 3: Lunchable Xtra Cheese Pizza, Chili & a Cool Dessert

My son's lunch

Chili

Today we woke up late so there's not much time to prepare better than Lunchables Extra Cheese Pizza.  He requested for it, so I gladly packed it for him.  But I gave him Danimals Crush Cup Yougurt and a peach to fill him up.  My husband had the same thing that I had at home....Chili and Rice with a fruit of his choice for dessert.  I got Chocolate Fudge Swirl on French Vanilla ice cream for dessert.  YUM!!  That's to cheer me up since I'm home alone for a couple of hours.  And I need to stuff myself a bit since I'm volunteering in my son's class this afternoon for an hour and 15 minutes.  For that I deserve a treat! I am trying to add tabs to my site, where I could compile recipes I have used for making our meals.  Once I've figured that out, I will slowly add it in for your reference if you find anything interesting to try.  Alrighty, see you tomorrow.

*Click on Chilli for recipe ideas.  I made a few modifications on this recipe though.  I made use of black soy beans instead of red kidney beans, and added green bellpeppers.

We're teaming up with fellow food bloggers to host a Brown-Bag Challenge, a month-long initiative to eat consciously and save money by packing a lunch each weekday instead of eating out. Join us here and share what you're eating on Facebook andTwitter with the hashtag #brownbag.