Snackbox: Mr. T's Cookie

Friend of the Kingdom T, who when his full name is in usage gets called Mr. T___, which is funny now for Reporting Purposes here, makes these cookies.

Mr. T is a gluten-free kind of guy.  He also does not eat rice.  These cookies, which are huge and hugely caloric but very tasty, are therefore made up of all kinds of peculiar flours: tapioca, coconut, etc.  And oatmeal and chocolate chips.  Being caloric but sweet and delicious, they make an excellent snackbox for a day with a hard workout ahead, something endurance-y and calorie-torching, like the ashtanga series.  Your King hates nothing more than feeling as if she is going to faint dead away mid-vinyasa.

Snackbox, Toddler-Style

We woke up.  We put on Our cute "Yellow Submarine" dress.  We got ready for work.  And then, petulance set in.  We did not want to have to pack a lunch.  Besides which, We were not quite running on all Our cylinders that morning, and thinking about food was kind of a no-go.  So, We packed the only thing that seemed good to Us: Our Noodle Bear box full of grapes. 

We knew perfectly well that this is not a lunch, that We would have to go buy something else somewhere within walking distance of Our building.  We could not care enough to scare up something else back at the castle before leaving.

In Our defense, grapes are delicious, aren't they?

Snackbox: Trail Mix

We love a snackbox.  We often have a snackbox like this hidden somewhere in the depths of Our bag.  This is trail mix from Our local hippie grocery.  It's kind of chocolate-heavy.  Usually, We get a fruit-heavy one. 

This tiny little Tupperware container is a good snackbox to have tucked in the backpack.  It won't go bad if We don't eat it the day We pack it, it's a good hit of calories to keep Us from going crazy with hunger, and it's way tastier than most of the premade granola bars out there. 

So if We do not post many snackboxes, here is why: the majority of them look something like this. 

Snackbox: Egg 'n Crackerbiscuits

In this snackbox, which was consumed long ago and not quite reported here, We have a hard-boiled egg, two herbed crackerbiscuits, a carot cut into sticks, and a hideously overpackaged prune.  Okay, We're done mentioning it.  We're just saying.

On a more optimistic note, crackerbiscuits!  Once upon a long time ago, while making dinner, We rolled Our biscuit dough too thin.  We cut this thin dough into biscuit-type shapes and popped it in the nice hot oven.  When We checked on our biscuits fifteen minutes later, We thought, hm, this doesn't look right!  We gave it a few minutes more.  Eventually, we pulled the l'il guys out, lest they be burnt.

The result?  Delicious!  Crackerbiscuits are thinner and crisper than biscuits, but sturdy little devils and are soft inside.  If you stab one of the thin edges with a fork, they split nicely into the top and bottom halves, and can be made into little sandwiches or made to work more like a traditional cracker.  Otherwise, spread some soft cheese (or a slice of hard-boiled egg) right on top of the whole deal and have at 'er for a sort of rich toast-like effect.  Crackerbiscuits are excellent w/ soups, by the way; crisp like a cracker, yet they soak up liquid like bread.

Here's how We made these:

Basic Crackerbiscuits

• 2 c. flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 c. vegetable shortening (butter will work but will produce a more biscuity crackerbiscuit; We can only imagine the power of crackerbiscuits made with bacon fat)
• 3/4 c. milk (about--try adding not quite all the milk at first just to make sure)

Preheat the oven to 475.  An absolutely smokin' hot oven is key.  Stir or sift together the dry ingredients.  Rub in the fat.  Stir in the wet.  Knead a few times, just to bring it all together.  Roll to 3/8" or 1/4" thick on a floured board.  Thin is key!  Once they start to get to a half inch thick or more, you're looking at regular biscuit territory now.  Cut into desired shapes--We like squares, both for convenience and because it mentally suggests "cracker," but circles or hearts or whatever will work too.  Bake these for 8-10 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave them inside, door closed at all times, for 5-10 minutes more.  We think this process helps them crisp up somewhat.  This may be Our imagination.

You can put all sorts of good things in your crackerbiscuits.  As suggested before, alternate fats would be good.  We have yet to try olive oil, but We bet it would be good!  These particular crackerbiscuits have about half a teaspoon each of dried parsley, basil, and thyme.  A rich soft cheese rubbed in with the fat might be good.  Pepper is great.  Finely chopped olives and sun-dried tomatoes are really lovely here.  You could put sesame seeds or sea salt or egg wash or whatever you like on top of your crackerbiscuits before baking (butter, while delicious, will make the crust soft, remember!).  Enjoy!

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!

Snackbox: Egg and Tea

We packed this snackbox a few days before prelims, so We could go study somewhere without feeling all starving.  So here you see dried pineapple rings, a tiny cheese, and an Easter egg!  It looks like the egg is cracked, but We assure you it is not; the dye just ran in funny patterns on that side of the egg, making it look cracked.  We were amused.  And green tea, because it was mere days after the terrible Incident that made Us feel so bad.

P.S.  It is these huge bowl-cups that did the damage in the Incident.  Two--that's right, not one, but two--of these full of coffee.  And cupcakes after.  Good lord, what were We thinking?  Now you can see the scope of Our madness.

Snackbox: Prelims Day 3

The third day snackbox for Our prelims wasn't a snackbox at all, but a snackjar!  (You also get to see the inside of the Royal Fridge this way.) 

We decided that the apple and yogurt option, while delicious, was far too fiddly for prelims.  Too much messing about while trying to also type and think.  No good.  Time for a smoothie!  This one has soymilk, strawberries, orange/pineapple juice concentrate, and vanilla-flavored vegan protein powder.

It was, We think, the smartest of the options.  Not too sweet, but fruity, and it totally ended the midmorning snackish moment (normally We wind up eating lunch around 11:30 or so because of Our teaching schedule).

Hooray end of writing exams!  Now on to the last bit, the oral defense.  Be watching: We plan to pack a big group snackbox for that.  People with snacks are less prone to be stabby, and We will take all the anti-stab We can get.

Snackbox: Prelims Day 2 and a Bonus Bento

The snackbox for Prelims 2: Greek yogurt and apple slices to dip in it, with two charming little strawberries taking up the extra space.

The day 1 snackbox was excellent brain fuel.  But We found out that the dried fruit and the cookie was too sweet.  Meh.  That said, We are also way tired of things in tortillas. We have been eating burrito-y devices for dinner lately, and so two tortilla-based things in one day is too much!  Rather than change dinner (We still have refried beans left!), We will change Our snackbox.  We hope the yogurt is not too sweet.  We also have hopes that the yogurt will soothe Our still troubled tummy, send some backup to the front lines.  Perhaps Our tummy troubles will go away when the stress does.

In related news, We have been going on a yogurt quest lately, eating small quantities of various Greek yogurts before We buy a giant tub.  This has been a wise idea.  Most stores seem to stock mostly fat-free Greek-style yogurt, which We think is a shame and a farce.  We spent half a year in Greece, and let Us assure you, We did not find fat-free yogurt in that kingdom!  We prefer 2%.  Enough to make the yogurt tasty and give it some body; not so much that We feel saturated with fat.  2% Greek yogurt only really comes in tiny tubs.  We can find giant tubs of 0% yogurt, but We have not found a kind of 0% that We like yet.  (Lookin' at you, Chobani.  Bleaugh.  Your 2% was fine, but 2% only comes in pineapple.  How weird!) All of which is to say, We have high hopes for you, Stonyfield Farms.  Otherwise it's plain 2% (The Royal Choice) in lots of tiny, non-recyclable tubs (the Royal Sorrow).

Oh, and here's a bonus bento We made for a Friend of the Kingdom who has a night class:

We have officially decided that it is impossible to take a photograph in Our apartment in the afternoon.  The natural light throws off the artificial and makes it all funny-colored, and yet if We go with natural light only, it's all pseudo-dramatic and not-very-visible. 

Anyway.  Two Tofurkey, cheese, spinach, and carrot wraps on whole wheat tortillas with Vegenaise and mustard; apple slices, dried low-sugar pineapple rings, strawberries, and an oatmeal-nutmeg cookie.  Vegan 'til the cookie. We have hopes that it made our friend's class easier to handle.

Snackbox: Prelims Day 1

We interrupt your regular programming of bento lunches to bring you a very important series: The Prelims Exam Snackboxes!  Check out day 1:

Here you can see Our snackbox for Our first day of prelims.  We are not packing a proper lunch because We will be done by 12:30, so We will just come home and eat lunch (and decompress, and maybe weep a little, We'll see how it goes).  So We are just packing a snack to quickly be shoved in the Royal face.

That said, We are trying to maintain Optimum Nutrition! for Our exam.  So instead of some terrible power bar of some kind or some terrible Kwik-e-mart thing, We figured that a balanced mini-lunch style snack would give us the best energy.  Also, Our tummy has been distressed ever since the Explosive Incident, and We are finding out that it reacts well to not-so-processed, mostly-vegan foods.

So here is a mini-wrap made of Tofurkey, spinach, carrot, avocado, Vegenaise, and just a bit of mustard; some dried pineapple rings cut up into little snacky bites, some dried apricots, and a relatively-low-sugar oatmeal cookie.  Cookies are good because they are fast food in Our face, but We still can't stomach a lot of sugarbomb after the Incident.  So it's kind of a bready cookie (not that it doesn't have a bunch of fat in it, though); mostly tastes like nutmeg.  The cookie makes this whole thing not-vegan, b/c the cookie has butter in it. 

We have hopes that this will fuel Our stab towards victory!  As the "intention for the week" that We chose in Our yin yoga class this evening says, "I trust myself to do my best this week."  (Remember, We go pronounally incognito when out and about.)

Bento Extra: Snackbox!

Here's a snackbox We brought one day when We had a late workout class.  Nothing is worse than being hungry going into the workout.  So it's a tea egg in a little paper cup to keep it from leaking soy, and an apple which, despite being rolled in lemon, still browned a little bit.  A good choice, but the sweetness of the apple was kind of contradictory against the definitive savory of the egg.  Next time, We think We'd choose a vegetable to go in the snackbox--baby carrots, radishes, cucumber slices.