17 Bento #240 - Dr. Seuss Bento Blog Hop The Lorax & Oh The Places You'll Go

As I mentioned in yesterday's Green Eggs & Ham post, this is Dr. Seuss week!  Some of my fellow bento-making-mamas have decided to do a Dr. Seuss-themed blog hop, so mosey on over to Nina's Mamabelly's Lunches With Love blog and see her Seuss bento too!

First of all, I want to thank my husband for making these most adorable humming-fish drawings on my pink-dyed gyoza.  I tried my hand at some, and they were atrocious.  I freely admit to stashing those rejects in another container which is also going to school, but in less fancy packaging.  I will have more on the blue rice "water" and my other natural coloring tomorrow, but suffice to say, I am HOOKED!

As you may imagine, this bento is inspired by The Lorax, and this being Dr. Seuss week AND the debut of the new movie with the same name.

I made two different types of Truffula trees, one being of mandarin orange and the other of a crazily-carved Baby Bel cheese.  The trunks are pretzel sticks.  Everything is laying in a pond of blue "water."

I also have a bunch of cherry "balloons."

I also made an after-school snack of naturally colored farfalle pasta tossed with olive oil and a side of basil pesto.  This one was inspired by "Oh, The Places You'll Go"

Bento #240 - Cherries, mandarin orange, pretzel sticks, jasmine rice, Baby Bel, and chicken gyoza.  Snack - Farfalle in olive oil and basil pesto.

Now don't forget to check out Nina's Mamabelly's Lunches With Love blog and see her Dr. Seuss bento too!

4 Bento #239 - Green Eggs & Ham

That's a green egg!  This is Dr. Seuss week, and also the debut of the new movie The Lorax (which we can't wait to see!)  I made these eggs very simply with some prepared basil pesto. Delicious!  I couldn't bear to color the "ham" green, (it's actually pastrami) so it appears here au naturale.

Bento #239 - Basil pesto deviled eggs, pastrami, carrot coins, and grape skewers.  Snack - organic peanut butter pretzel bites and mandarin orange.

0 Bento #199 - Chicken-Cilantro Wontons & Grape Pyramid

Oh my lawd, #199?  That's a lot of lunches.  Next week for #200 I'm planning to do a giveaway to celebrate, so be on the lookout!  It'll also be the first school lunch of the year, so it'll definitely be in a bento box.

I am just in love with this Cath Kidston food tray!  I'm so glad I popped into the shop and got it before they closed. It's so sweet.  The Pororo chopsticks are also super cute.  I piled the grapes into a 3-D pyramid with a fun little flag pick.

Bento # 199 - All natural chicken-cilantro wontons, organic celery spears, homemade pesto, and organic red grapes.

0 Bento #184 - Tropical Mauli Ola Bento

This bento is inspired by the new video posted by my cousin James' foundation for people with genetic diseases.  The Mauli Ola Foundation has been focusing on taking kids with cystic fibrosis out surfing, which happens to be a natural (and super fun!) treatment for people suffering from this disease.  Not only that, but the Mauli Ola Foundation is going to be featured during National CF Awareness Month on the CBS show Hawaii Five-O on May 2nd (10/9 C)

The Mauli Ola Foundation exists to introduce surfing as a natural treatment to people with genetic disorders. Since 2007 we have concentrated on the amazing connection between Surfing and Cystic Fibrosis. We have taken nearly 400 CF Patients Surfing at over 40 MOF Surf Experience Days. In 2011 we look to expand our program to help patients affected with Cancer and Alpha 1 Antitypsin. We appreciate your interest and would love for you to join the Mauli Ola Foundation Ohana by becoming a member and help us with our mission to help people with genetic disorders through Surfing. 

Aloha, James Dunlop

As for the lunch, I made homemade basil pesto "sand", and set up carrots "surf boards" around it, and "palm tree" PBJ sandwiches surrounding a pool of fish.  The flowers are orchids picked up by Ella at the Atlanta Botanical Garden the other day (she picked them up off the ground after they'd already fallen off.)  We also have some cute flamingos hanging out with the other elements.

Bento #184 - Carrots, basil pesto, peanut butter, banana & honey sandwich on whole grain bread and Goldfish crackers. 

This year's events are planned from California to Hawaii, from New York to Florida, so if you live in any of these areas, check them out! Please visit mauliola.org to learn more about this great cause and see how you can help.  Click here to make a secure donation.

8 Bento #127 - Steak & Ham Pocket

I made these little melty pastry pockets out of some leftover steak and ham, which I sauteed in a little butter, Italian herbs and a pinch of garlic powder.  Then I encased spoonfuls of the meat in some refrigerated dough rectangles along with some shredded cheese and baked for about 11 minutes.  Ella declared them to be delicious (she called them "pants pockets"!), and the rest we have here in her bento, along with a fresh batch of basil pesto, which is happily pine nut-less this time.  I used walnuts.  I also ensured that there were plenty of celery sticks.  A few days ago she complained that she only had four.

Bento #127 - Steak, ham & cheese pastry pocket, celery sticks, basil pesto, macadamia nuts, yogurt stars and fresh strawberries.

0 Bento #119 - Pesto Tortelloni

These are fresh pesto filled tortelloni from TJ's, except I was really disappointed in them!  They smelled divine, but they tasted like...nothing.  It was like someone forgot the salt.  I made some fresh marinara sauce and that kicked up the flavor (and also added some veg.)

Bento #118 - Pesto tortelloni with homemade marinara, sugar snap peas and fruit salad.

1 Low-Carb Vegetarian Lasagne

This is a very non-traditional lasagne, but I need to be creative when it comes to making low-carb and low-fat meals for myself when I'm on my diet.  (Here is an eggplant lasagne recipe for another low-carb twist.) This recipe may sound totally weird, but it is really, really good.  Best part, each serving only has about 8 grams of processed carbs in the melba toast, as opposed to about 18 for traditional lasagne.  Use your favorite marinara sauce.  I've included a basic recipe, but you can also do variations by using prepared bruschetta (I made some the other day) instead of diced tomatoes, adding some more herbs and spices, and some tomato paste to thicken it up.  


Marinara Sauce

1 can Diced Tomatoes (sugar/salt free)
1 can Tomato Paste (sugar/salt free)
1 can Tomato sauce (small one, again salt and sugar free)
Garlic cloves, as many as you like
1 1/2 T dried Basil (more if fresh)
1 1/2 T dried Oregano (more if fresh)
2 T minced onion
Red chili flakes to taste
Salt/Braggs Aminos to taste
Pepper to taste

Put it all together and cook down for about 30 mins (See?  I'm using my new Le Creuset pieces!  So in love with these things, it's not even funny.)

The lasagne filling is made with cottage cheese instead of ricotta, which is lower in fat, but has great protein.

Preheat oven to 400 (to save energy, I use my table top convection oven instead of my big oven)


1 cup cottage cheese ( 1% or 2 %, all natural, no sugar, no salt), squeezed in cheese cloth
2-3 tbls basil pesto (opt)
1 tbls dried parsley
1 Egg & 3 egg whites
Garlic powder to taste
Pepper to taste
10 Whole Wheat Melba toast
Marinara sauce


First, you want to squeeze as much liquid as you can from the cottage cheese.  You don't want this to be watery, which it can be if you don't do this step.

Squeeeeeeeze (I do this in two batches.)

The drier result

In a larger bowl, combine the cottage cheese, eggs and the rest of your ingredients together.

Mix well.

Now, grab a non-stick bread loaf pan - it's the perfect size and shape for this application.  Ladle a bit of the marinara on the bottom of the pan (btw, I don't use cooking spray.)  Give it a gentle shake to coat.

Next layer on 5 pieces of melba toast, they should fit exactly.

Next comes the cheese filling

Repeat with the next layer - marinara, melba, cheese, then another layer of marinara.  Voila!  Ready for the oven!

Bake for about 50 minutes, and it should look like this

Let it cool for about 10 minutes before slicing - my serving calculations for carbs are for 5 servings (2 melba pieces each.)  As you can see, it stays together really well, not falling apart.  


Yum!

0 Basil Pesto

Is there anything better on crusty Italian bread than fresh pesto?  I can't think of much else...bruschetta, maybe.  But pesto is WAY up there.


Ingredients


2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (1 one tray of frozen cubes of basil - I like Dorot brand from TJ's)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts and/or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Rinse the basil, and measure out your nuts.

 As you can see, I used both pine nuts and walnuts.

If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil. 

Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor.  

Or, you can use this nifty frozen basil.

Now, a note about the frozen basil.  I didn't actually have fresh leaf basil in the house when I decided to make pesto, but I had just picked up a tray of fresh frozen cubes of basil.  I get it from Trader Joe's, and the brand is Dorot.  I was hesitant to try it, but decided to go for it.  

Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.

Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

I needn't have worried about using the frozen basil.  I took this to a party and everyone raved, and my husband scarfed the rest of it down later.  It is delicious!

1 Chicken with Mushroom Pesto Cream Sauce

What you need:

thin chicken breast cutlets

olive oil

2 cups sliced baby portabella mushrooms

4 cloves minced garlic

3 tbs butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbs prepared basil pesto

1 tbs dijon mustard

splash of dry white wine

Salt and pepper your chicken, then sear in a hot pan for a 2-3 minutes each side in a little olive oil.  Remove from pan and add butter, garlic and mushrooms, and cook until mushrooms are golden browned.  

Whisk in all the rest of the ingredients,   

cook for another 5 minutes over medium heat until it thickens a bit.

Taste test and adjust salt and pepper to taste, serve over chicken cutlets and garnish with parsley.