Bento #37: Tuna Wraps and Luminous Grapes

Yesterday We walked to school to go to the library and check out what, on the way home, felt like about 30 lbs. of books. 

After the library but before the walk home, We ate lunch on a picnic bench, and then hung up Our hiking hammock and read for about two hours before going home.  What a great time!

Lunch here is two tuna-salad roll-ups in whole wheat tortillas, a few carrot sticks, a bunch of grapes that are all luminously catching the light in a particularly lovely way, and one of those Sunsweet single-wrap prunes.  The Queen Mother sent them to our Cousin's Wife as part of a little gift box, and neither she nor cousin is gonna eat them.  We told them We would take care of it for them, since we love prunes in the Sneaky Kingdom.  That said, We rue the packaging every time We eat one.  So wasteful!  So We plan to mostly pack them in bentos, since the wrapping sort of nominally makes sense if they're transportable prunes?

Bento #36: Picnic!

Voila, Our huge picnic lunch bento!  As you can see, We really felt like making a cute and proper lunch today instead of just winging some crap in a random box.  We aren't bentoing every day now, because We aren't working at the moment--so We can eat lunch at home pretty much every day.  So when there was an opportunity for picnic bento, We went for it!

In the right (top) tier, there's a bell pepper cup with carrot and chickpea salad.  There are three rice balls with shrimp and egg furikake mixed in (We gave one away to one of our picnic companions).  To fill some gaps and up the protein ante, we tucked a hard boiled egg in between the rice balls.  Not that you can see it, but there was lettuce on the bottom to a) make it prettier and b) make the rice balls not stick to the metal tiffin.

In the left (bottom) tier, there's grapes and strawberries, with orange sections hiding underneath.  We gave a bunch of the grapes to Our other picnic companion.

If We must say so Ourself, this was a delicious lunch.  And a fun time--check out the lunch vista:

Napkin switch!

Bento #35: No "protein" tag for this lunch. Uh-oh.

We usually pride ourselves here at the sneaky kingdom on eating fairly balanced (nutritionally, that is) lunches.  We like to think there's some fruit and veggie, some carbs, and some protein in almost every lunch we pack.

That is obviously not the case here.  Macaroni and cheese (from a box--We hadn't eaten it in so long We had to spend ten minutes walking around the store trying to find it when We got a craving for it) and grapes.  And a cookie from a freezer cookie stash.

There were no good food options in the fridge.  We didn't want to eat out.  The mac 'n cheese, which was leftover from a "just got out of the car after driving home from a trip and now We are staaaarving" attack late the night before needed to be eaten up.  So We were embarrassed.  We thought about the blog--that this would have to go up there!  We decided to try to "pretty" it up with one lonely tomato and a cheese "A" for Asher. 

Alas, it did not work.  Ill-conceived from start to finish.  As it turns out, We no longer like eating like We are three years old.  Also, this carb-bomb of a lunch left Us dragging at first, followed by starving as soon as the simple carbs wore off.    Well, lesson learned--no more of this!

Snackbox: Pineapple!

During finals week, Our students had to turn in a paper in the evening.  After they turned in their work, We went to a yoga class.  We knew We would want a snack to fuel the yoga practice.  So We brought this to nom on while We collected papers: pineapple Greek yogurt and low-sugar dried pineapple rings.  So tasty!

Bento #34: Defense Lunch

So this is the sad little "lunch" We packed the day of Our defense.  We were thinking that maybe We would be too nervous to eat anything at all, so We threw the last of the tempeh in a bun and whipped some grapes alongside it.  Then We smashed it down into an old takeout container--hence the somewhat battered look of the sandwich.  What a crappy lunch! 

But We were really, really busy that AM.  We brought two kinds of homemade cookies and coffee to Our defense for Our committee, and We were way more caught up in all the other stuff than of thinking about a perfect lunch that We might not eat anyway.  So We think this shame lunch is OK.  And at least the bread is home-baked--so there's that, anyway.

(And did We eat it, you ask?  Of course We did.  Let's be honest, it takes a lot to put Us off Our feed here in the Sneaky Kingdom.)

Bento #33: Lentil Burrito Time!

This was a crazy delicious lunch.  This is taco-flavored lentils and sautéed green pepper and onion inside a tortilla, with tomato/spinach salad and oil and vinegar dressing.  Why don't We make this more often?  We now pledge to eat more lentil-taco devices in Our lunch!  The only pity was that the tortilla was tiny taco size, not monstrous burrito size.  Burrito size is for lunches packed.  Tiny Taco size is for suppers home.

There also seems to be a mug of tea of some sort in the background.

Lentil tacos are fantastically delicious and fantastically cheap (though check your packaged taco seasoning for animal broth, or make your own taco seasoning, if you don't want to be eating animal bits, as every now and then you get a seasoning package with animal bits). 

Here in the Sneaky Kingdom, We have a friend who assures us that lentils give her some weird, special sort of pep.  She claims it's the niacin.  We are not entirely sure how to process this phenomenon, which seems a little peculiar to Us.  We are refraining from drawing conclusions--We Ourselves do not experience a "lentil rush."  However, if you would like to experiment, please feel free.  If you wish to report your results to the Kingdom, We would be interested to hear about it; leave a comment below and Royal R&D will get back to you.

Bento #32: Noodle Stir Fry

We looove this lunch.  It is a veggie and noodle stir fry with chickpeas in the top tier, and grapes and carrots in the back tier.  We did not get to eat this lunch until quite late in the afternoon, as Our students were freaking out about their final projects, and would not leave Our office so We could cram lunch in the royal head.  Sad, because this is a delicious lunch.

It is also a delicious dinner.  Here in the Sneaky Kingdom, We like to mix up a huge pot of something and then eat it all week.  Most often we do this for supper, but sometimes such a thing makes its way into the lunch menu.  Here is how We made this stir fry, which We ate all week long.  NB: you can put whatever veggies you most like into this.  This is just what We had floating around.  For example, this is highly unusual in the kingdom because is doesn't have some form of cabbage in it.

• 1 large onion, sliced into moons
• 1 box mushrooms, any type you like
• 2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• About 1" piece of ginger, grated
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced or cut into chunks
• 1 bunch broccoli, washed, with the stems sliced into coins
• 1 package snap peas, pea pods, whatever's there
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1/2 lb. noodles--soba, spaghetti, rice, whatever you like
• Your favorite soy sauce
• optional: Something spicy, like red chili flakes, Sriracha, Tabasco, etc. or any other flavors you like.  Chopped nuts are great--cashews, peanuts, etc.  The various black bean pastes can be nice, as can something a little sweet like honey and saké to take the bitter edge off if you're not into bitter.  Miso at this point can be really good too, as can curry flavors.  Throw in some interesting herbs like basil or cilantro.  Play around.

Cook the noodles and set aside.  Meanwhile, heat up your biggest wok or dutch oven and throw a little oil in the pan.  We used just canola this time, but if you have some sesame oil (Kingdom's out), a splash of sesame in with the neutral oil is delicious.  When the oil is hot, throw in the onions.  Let those cook a bit, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for just a few seconds.  Next, chuck in the mushrooms.  When those have started to soften, add the broccoli stem coins and the bell pepper.  A minute or two later, add the broccoli florets.  When those have started to green up, chuck in the snap peas.  When the snap peas are nicely crisp-tender, add the chickpeas, the noodles, the soy sauce, and any other sort of spicy/flavoring components.

This is a great one-dish meal--the noodles are a carbohydrate, the chickpeas provide protein, and there's just tons of veggies in here to provide vitamins, fiber, and to fill you up.  We love a stir fry (as our mild obsession with fried rice might indicate).  We think you could do worse for dinner.

Bento 31: Tempeh Sandwich and Salad

Is this the first use of both tiers since We started recording our noms on this blog?  We believe it is! We had a huge evening workout planned, so We made sure to bring enough food to carry Us through.  But We did not want to bring, say, carbohydrates.  So We brought a ton of fruit and veggies!

In this top tier, We have a tempeh sandwich on a homemade bun.  You'll have to trust Us on this--We know you can't see the tempeh, but trust me, it's in there.  It's cut into chunks and then broiled in a Caribbean jerk sauce.  It's one of Our favorite ways to eat tempeh.  Then there's an apple, half a banana, and some grapes.

In the bottom tier, there's a salad of spinach, tomato, and carrot. The little green bird has oil and vinegar. 

As We recall, We ate the sandwich and salad for lunch, and kept the fruit for a midafternoon snack.  It was delicious.  We love to do this sometimes--pack a huge lunch so We have snacks all day long.  It feels self-indulgent and gratifying and tender.  This lunch was an excellent example of that.  Look how awesome We are to Our own self, this lunch says.  Hello, King Asher; King Asher thinks you're great! 

And We are.