First Bento of 2013

For Christmas, my friend Grace got us adorable little bento lunch boxes - kitty for me (actually, the Lucky Cat - googling "kitty bento" will vomit Hello Kitty on your screen), the geisha for Beth, and the ninja for herself (which i'm not finding anywhere.  phooey).  she brought them to us packed with food, and we had our first bento lunch together.  there was lots of squee-ing and talk of future lunches.  

the three of us, along with some other ladies, used to always eat lunch together on Mondays, and play games, sequestered in a conference room.  Over time, people moved on, got busy, and our Monday lunch date was forgotten.  After the success of a few game days, and a few people seeing us playing No Thanks! in the cafeteria, we decided to resurrect Monday Lunch and Games.  We've also declared Monday our default bento lunch day.  

I'm excited about this for several reasons.  First, playing games at lunch is a nice mental break.  We play quick and fluffy stuff, not the hours-long brain-busters.  We might be able to fit in a game of Citadels if we play while we eat and there aren't too many of us, but mostly it's No Thanks.  A couple times we had to split into two groups, but that actually works better, as it's hard to socialize with everyone when there's 8 people in a room.  Second, I like having a private lunch.  away from people.  away from the traffic and the phones and out where everyone and their mother can pester me.  it was MUCH worse in my old position, but even on my new assignment i've got people tracking me down.  third, it encourages everyone to pack their lunch, or run out and get something to bring back.  I cannot afford to go out for lunch every day.  having a day when i know others will be packing their lunch, too, gives me something to look forward to.  

so in the midst of my Pantry Challenge, I'm trying to come up with bento lunches.  Here is my first attempt:

Bento! 

I call this one "Flowers in the Snow."  In the bottom container on the left, we have turkey, ham and swiss on a flour tortilla, cut with a 1" flower cookie cutter, and stacked on toothpicks cut in half.  The middle container, in front, has flower carrots (cut using the smallest flower cutter from that set) sprinkled on cauliflower "snow."  The cut-aways from the carrots are in the bottom.  The red thing is a mini-babybel cheese.  I got fancy and cut the wax with the cookie cutter too, then realized it might make the cheese soggy, so it's now wrapped in plastic.  The top bowl, on the right, contains a homemade chicken-veg-couscous soup (1 tsp chicken broth powder, 1 tsp dehydrated veg, 3 tbsp couscous) that i'll mix with hot water from the coffee bar when it's time to eat.  In back is a fruit cup (peaches).  I have chips and stuff at my desk at work for snacky stuff, and i have oatmeal for breakfast, and a yogurt with granola for a snack as well. 

I really think this bento is made for small children, as we've all commented that it really doesn't hold enough food for an adult.  I find that the soup helps fill me up, and eating a bit less at lunch isn't really a bad thing.   I've got a protein (lunchmeat and cheese), carb (tortilla and couscous), fruit (peaches) and veg (carrots and cauliflower).  It's not as colorful as it could be, but for working with what i have, it's not too shabby.  

I can't wait to see what the other two come up with!