Starry Night

As I make one trip to the grocery store a week, Friday's meals are either leftovers or freezer finds.  To make today's lunch I had plenty to work with: the last bit of rice (packed flat to fill the extra space), purple cabbage coleslaw (Cabbage, celery, orange bell pepper and green onion dressed with honey mustard dressing - this was better than it was last night!), half a cucumber for cucumber stars, cubed pork tenderloin and some frozen fruit.  Add some black sesame seeds and flower picks and voila - a starry night lunch!

Two weeks into bento-ing and I have learned a lot:

• More is not more when it comes to dishes - I should try to focus on 1 vegetable, fruit and starch and 1-2 protein items.  
• Dedicating 5 minutes each morning to packing my lunch saves me at least $30 a week!  The above box cost at the most $1.50 - and I'll admit, some of the dishes may have gone in the garbage.  I was spending anywhere from $7-9 a day for a quick, semi healthy lunch.
• Variety is key, but overloading at the grocery store is not necessary - again more is not more!
• The square boxes from my tupperware collection were fine in a pinch, but they were incredibly hard to pack....more proper boxes are on their way!

And as a little happy Friday moment, can anyone spot my helper?  Annabelle is excellent at supervising, but I did not realize she was sneaking into the photo ;)

Spiced up Leftover Bento

Today's bento bears a vague resemblance of last night's dinner but I almost fooled myself.  Packed in this 3 cup Rubbermaid Lock-it are:

• Kicked up Cornbread Muffins - Green Chili Cornbread (recipe to follow) poured over leftover sautéed onions and grilled chicken.  Top with shredded cheese (I used Monterrey Jack and Cheddar) and baked to set
• Lazy Tuna Salad - Drained tuna mixed with gluten free thai peanut dressing and topped with a few diagonal stripes of Sriracha.
• A quick early morning stir fry of leftover steamed veggies - broccoli, red peppers, onions and snap peas - dressed with my go-to stir fry sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, rice wine vinegar, grated fresh ginger and a little sugar) and topped with a few sliced almonds.
• Sliced strawberries and a few cherry tomatoes completed the box.

Even though this box is labeled as a cup larger than yesterday, it was the perfect amount of food (the tunafish was my mid afternoon snack.)  I see purchasing more of these boxes in my future - aside from a crumpled foil muffin liner, this box traveled extremely well.  I especially love that I can purchase lock-its at my local grocery store.