3 Bento #236 - Three's Company! (Teacher Lunches)

...aaand I'm spent.  Maybe this should be titled Bento #236-7-8? I happily volunteered to do our teacher appreciation lunch yesterday.  I wasn't initially going to do bento boxes, but I remembered I had recently picked up these two large snap-style boxes which are really cool.  I cracked them out of their packages and went to town.  I didn't want to make them too cutesy, but I also wanted them to be a little fun. :-)

First, Ella's lunch.  I gave her chicken teriyaki pineapple and jasmine rice leftover from dinner, as well as a jasmine flower onigiri.

Flower cucumber centers!  And grapes!

The teacher lunches were both the same, with jasmine rice, (and a flower onigiri each) sauteed spicy Italian chicken sausage, roasted mixed veggies in balsamic butter sauce, and fresh grapes.  The three savory ingredients were meant to be able to be mixed with any one of the other items, if desired.  I gave them each a couple of deco picks to keep if they wanted.  The boxes were also theirs to take home!

There was also lemon creme cake for dessert.  I was at a loss as to what to pack it in, so I channeled my inner [misfit] Martha Stewart and used some large cello bags, and tied them with ribbon.  I also added a pink fork to each bow, but I didn't get a pic of that (of course.)  Probably not the most practical way to eat cake...but it's cake!

All together now!

I LOVE the carrying handles on these!  I hope I can find more the next time I go back to Super H Mart.  Before anyone asks me where to buy them...I looked everywhere on Google and could not find anyone who sells this particular box.  It's a Korean brand called KumHo Chemistry/Komicomo Wellbeing Brand and the box is called Quarter Lock.  Do let me know if you come across it!

All packed up in an Easy Lunch Box cooler.  Fit both of them PERFECTLY!  I can't get over how roomy they are.

Anyway, I hand-delivered the boxes that morning.  Hope they enjoyed them!  Ella got a kick out of having almost the same lunch as her teachers. :-)

Bento #236 - [Ella] Aidell's teriyaki pineapple chicken meatballs, jasmine rice and caramelized onions, grapes, and cucumber flowers. Snack - Clemetine (not shown.) [Teachers] Spicy Italian chicken sausage, jasmine rice, grapes and roasted veggies in balsamic butter.  Dessert - Lemon creme cake.

1 Bento #183 - Earth Day Lunch

First, this lunch is in a Planet Box, and the pasta is Barilla PLUS with Omega 3s and a lot of other goodness.  I made a huge batch for the volunteers at school, and packed some for Ella as well.  It's tossed with roasted organic veggies in a balsamic butter sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Bento #183 - Vegetarian organic pasta salad, dried blueberries and cherries, pretzel sticks, roast turkey slices and vitamins.

Officially, Earth Day is today, but E's school had their Earth Day celebration on Wednesday, marked with a school-wide parade, awards, booths, activities and presentations.  It's such great fun, and so informative!  This year we had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Marcus Eriksen, co-founder of the 5 Gyres Institute.  He spoke about the pollution, specifically plastic, that is inundating the Pacific with huge floating garbage patches.  He and his colleagues built a raft out of thousands of empty water bottles and an airplane cockpit and floated on it for 3 months from California to Hawaii, braving the elements and studying water and sea life along the way. It was so interesting!  Certainly makes one think twice about using disposable plastics.  One tip he gave which I hadn't even thought about was to skip the plastic straws when you go out to eat.

Dr. Eriksen speaking in front of the Earth Balloon in the community center.

Showing some of the empty cigarette lighters he picked up on remote Pacific islands that wildlife is ingesting.

A sea turtle which grew around a plastic milk jug ring.

 Later I sat with E's class as they ate.  Her friend L also brought a PlanetBox lunch!