Terriyaki Pork Noodle Bento

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Pork terriyaki stirfry bento

Works are being executed in the kitchen since last week and I think that at least for the rest of the week or so, I will be without a cooker. I only have the microwave, the oven and (lucky me) an electric wok to prepare dinner right now. As these works weren't really planned (gas leak), last week was a bit of a balancing act in the gourmet department and preparing bentos wasn't high on the priority list. Nevertheless eating sandwiches for lunch is becoming a bit boring, so I tried to make myself again a bento for the first day of the week.

As usual my two tier bento has a savoury and a sweet compartment. The savoury tier consists of a noodle terriyaki pork stirfry with snowpeas, yellow bellpepper, mushrooms and a bit of green cabbage with a cheese sakura for decoration. The fruity vitamins for Monday are white grapes, orange, pear and kiwi slices and a piece of apple with a sakura cutout.

So no special pink bento or hearts galore, but nonetheless I wish everybody out there a

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Coconut Lemon Chicken Stirfry

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Coconut Lemon Chicken Stirfry - 07.02.2011

I didn't spend a lot of time preparing my bento last night as I was too caught up in following the progression of the bushfires in Roleystone, Western Australia. A very close and dear friend of mine is living in that area and being on the other side of the world, there wasn't a lot I could do except watch and pray that he and his loved ones would stay safe from harm. Meanwhile, we did manage to make contact today and I am so relieved that they're all doing OK and that he managed to save his home after battling the fires all through the night.

Back to the bento. As I didn't want to spent a lot of time in the kitchen away from the news updates, I stirfried some strips of chicken thights with a mixed assortment of veggies (carrots, bell peppers, zucchini, sugarsnaps, ...) all seasoned with a ready made coconut & lime spice mix. And that's what I had for lunch today. Because I didn't add any noodles, rice or potatoes, this is a low points value bento, only 6 points for the chicken and the oil. Decorations are cucumber slices topped with black & regular sesame seeds.

Smakelijk.

Chicken Chipolata & Oyster Mushroom Bento

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Oyster Mushroom Bento - 03.02.2011

I wanted to call today's lunch Oyster Mushroom bento but considering that they are hardly visible on the picture, I opted to add the chipolata in the title as well, at least the meat part is clearly visible :o). So today's bento features, mini chicken chipolatas, baby oster mushrooms sauteed with apples and a bit of goat cheese, steamed brocoli and cauliflower rosets, baby potatoes and some carrot slices as baran. The WW total for today is 8 propoints.

For dessert I am having roughly the same as the previous days : white grapes, apple and blood orange slices and more pomegranate seeds.

Bon appetit !

Ginger Pork Bento

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Ginger Pork Bento - 02.02.2011

Because I still had ginger to use before it went stale, I decided to make some ginger pork for my bento last night. It's an recipe I already used for bento (and which you can find here).  This time I did as Maki suggested in her book and coated some new potatoes with the ginger sauce, to accompany the meat.  It smelled divine and I am sure the taste will be equally satisfying.  In between the gingery elements, I added green beans, green asparagus tips, some broccoli rosets, radish, a mini cauliflower, a cherry tomato and a few olives (inspired by Ohayobento's post from yesterday).  The WW total for today is 7 propoints.

As I am still battling the nasty germs, I stocked up on as many fruit vitamins as possible : white grapes, blueberries, blackberries, apple bunnies, blood orange slices, pomegranate seeds and some dried fruits (pineapple, papya, cranberries, banana).

Wishing everybody a healthy bento lunch today !

Bon appetit

Chicken Burger Bento

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Chicken Burger Bento - 31.01.2011

I spent the whole weekend being sick and feeling miserable, so I was not really in the mood to make an elaborate bento last night.  The savoury part only has some steamed potatoes, mini chicken burgers and braised mini endives (witloof). Considering that the only ingredients to be counted are the cooking oil, potatoes and chicken burgers, this bento is very low on points, only 5 WW propoints.

As I need as much vitamins as I can get at the moment, I packed the second tier full of fruits : white grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, apple, clementine wedges and some pomegranate seeds.  With all this healthy stuff, I should be back to good health in no time.

No bento post tomorrow as I am having a business lunch then and I can't really show up at the restaurant with my bento and furoshiki :o)  But I'll be back on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, bon appetit !

Salade Liegeoise Bento

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Salade liegeoise bento - 27.01.2011

As I was feeling a bit under the weather last night (and unfortunately not any better today), I didn't feel like whipping up something extra special for my bento.  Quick and tasty were my only objectives.  So I opted for another typical Belgian dish to add to my bento : Salade Liegeoise, although in a slightly less calorific version.
Salade Liegeoise, is a one pan dish that is usually eaten hot, but which you can eat at room temperature too so perfect for bento.  It is a mix of green beans, potatoes, onions and bacon although I substituted the bacon by diced ham.  I didn't know it was "popular" outside my little country's frontiers, but apparently the recipe even made it to the New York Times at one point :o)

So, for lunch today I have : some salade Liegeoise, more ramiro pepper/beansprouts stirfy, carrot kinpira, a few green asparagus tips, a few radishes for decoration and some zucchini slices as a baran. Like the previous days, the fruity vitamins consist of strawberries, white grapes, blackberries, blueberries, apple, half a banana and a few clementine wedges.

As the only ingredients to be counted are the oil, potatoes and ham, this bento is very low on points, only 6 WW propoints.

This also happens to be my last bento for this work week, as we are having or corporate New Year's Lunch tomorrow at noon and I don't have to pack anything.

See you all next week and I hope you'll have a great weekend!

Vegetarian bento

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Vegetarian bento - 26.01.2011

I'm having a vegetarian bento for my midweek lunchbreak, as I still had some vegetarian "meatballs" in the fridge that had to be consumed by today. Even though I couldn't possibly do without meat or fish, I appreciate the vegetarian alternative every now and then.

My sakura bento has some of these "meatballs", white rice topped with green asparagus and a cheese sakura, a beansprouts/ramiro pepper stirfry, carrot kinpira (recipe here) and more steamed veggies (romanesco, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini).  The fruit section has like most days, strawberries, white grapes, blackberries, blueberries and a few clementine wedges.

And like yesterday's bento, this one also totals a value of  9,5 WW propoints.

Smakelijk !