WW Bento

Lunch & A Snack for Monday

2010-06-07T12:23:00.005-04:00

I didn't have any leftovers yet this week, so I made some Crab-Stuffed Tomatoes (WW recipe) and some of Hungry Girl's Artichoke Hummus (which you will be seeing throughout the week). Today's lunch bento comes to a whopping 7.5 points:

This bento contains:
2 Crab-Stuffed Tomatoes (4.5 points...I used smaller tomatoes, so these don't come to the full 6 points of the original recipe)
1/4 cup Hungry Girl's Artichoke Hummus (1 point)
Cucumbers (0 points)
Celery (0 points)
Red Bell Pepper (0 points)
1 Tbsp. Smucker's Sugar-Free Strawberry Preserves

My snack for today comes to 4.5 points. I know, this is all a lot of points! I am breastfeeding, so I have a huge daily allowance, but honestly, I find myself unable to eat all of the points some days.

This bento contains:
15 baby carrots (.5 points)
1 hard-boiled egg (2 points)
1 cup edamame (1 point)
1 Babybel cheese (1 point)
1 small Apricot (0 points)

Monday's Breakfast

2010-06-07T09:00:00.001-04:00

The goal is to make it to the gym every morning these days, therefore I need a packed breakfast. My reasoning is sound: the only way to get ready in the morning is to take baby Ashni to daycare first, go to gym, workout, and have an unhurried shower. The only problem is that it is equidistant from daycare to my home as it is from daycare to the gym. So, because Ashni decided to sleep very badly last night, I took her in and promptly went home to sleep for another 45 minutes, shower, dress, and then went to work. So I still needed the pre-packed breakfast, just not for the same reason. :) It is very hard to workout on less than 5 hours of sleep.

Anyway, today's bento (and my breakfast bento for the rest of the week) comes to 5 points:

This bento contains:
2 'Oat'-nigiri (1 cup oatmeal, 1 tsp raisins, 1 tsp craisins) (2 points)
1 Morningstar Farms sausage patty (2 points)
1/2 cup of grapes (.5 points)
1 Tbsp. Lite syrup (.5 points)

I have returned!

2010-06-04T13:41:00.003-04:00

I know it's been a long long time since I have posted, or made a bento. I was pregnant and obviously didn't follow Weight Watchers during that time, and I have just recently returned to work after my maternity leave. So I am definitely ready to get back into bento and Weight Watchers! Since I'm breastfeeding, my points allowance is MUCH higher than what it was when I previously did WW (it's now 30 where it was 18 before!). And I've been finding it difficult to reach my points allowance...a completely opposite problem than before. So stay tuned for the return of the WW bento!

Wednesday's Bento

2009-04-15T12:00:00.001-04:00

Today's bento is dipping back into my freezer stash, which needs to be done more frequently. I always intend to, there are just usually so many dinner leftovers to be used that I forget about it. This bento comes to 4 Weight Watcher's points.

This bento contains:

1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese (1 point)
3 frozen falafel patties (2 points)
lettuce (0 points)
red bell pepper (0 points)
cucumber (0 points)
2 tbsp. chickpeas (.5 points)

not pictured:
1 tbsp. Newman's Own Lite Sesame Ginger Dressing (.5 points)

Fish & Salad Bento

2009-04-14T12:18:00.001-04:00

I'm making the best of dinner this week and made an extra fish filet last night for today's bento. Ah, the beauty of planning ahead. :) Today's bento comes to 4 Weight Watcher's points.

This bento contains:
1 fish filet (2.5 points)
1/2 tbsp Tartar Sauce (in the blue strawberry) (.5 points)
lettuce (0 points)
red bell pepper (0 points)
cherry tomatoes (0 points)
cucumber (0 points)
2 tbsp. chickpeas (.5 points)

not pictured:
1 tbsp. Newman's Own Lite Sesame Ginger Dressing (.5 points)

Monday's Bento

2009-04-13T12:00:00.000-04:00

I have been enjoying my top layer of veggies and cottage cheese, but I'm probably going to need to change it up soon just for the sake of visual and culinary interest. :) It's easy to get into patterns, and one of the nice things about posting on a blog is you notice these patterns and want to stay away from them for fear of everything looking alike. I have a few variations planned for this week, but otherwise it's going to be a pretty similar layout. I promise something new for next week. ;) Today's bento comes to 3.5 Weight Watcher points.

This bento contains:

1/2 serving Shrimp & Vegetable Lo Mein (2.5 points)
6 cherry tomatoes (0 points)
cucumbers (0 points)
sliced red bell pepper (0 points)
1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese (1 point)

Wednesday's Bento

2009-04-08T12:47:00.002-04:00

This will be my last bento for the week. I'll be eating out tomorrow and staying at home on Friday, so no more lunch bentos for the week. Today's bento is simple but quite filling and delicious and comes to only 4 points:

This bento contains:

4 Ravioli (from Costco) (2 points)
1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese (1 point)
1/2 serving Sesame Ginger Cabbage Salad (.5 points)

not pictured:
1/4 cup Classico Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce (.5 points)

Tuesday's (uneaten) Bento

2009-04-07T12:43:00.003-04:00

So I made a delicious bento last night filled with my favorite leftovers of Wasabi-Ginger Glazed Talapia, and guess what I did? Left it out on the counter all night! D'oh! So I don't get to eat it today, but luckily I had a Lean Cuisine in the freezer that I will have to make do with today. Oh well. Today's intended bento comes to 3.5 points.

This bento contains:

1/2 serving of Wasabi-Ginger Glazed Talapia (2 points)
1/2 serving of Sesame Ginger Cabbage Salad (.5 points)
1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese (1 point)
cucumber butterfly cutouts (0 points)
8 cherry tomatoes (0 points)

Good news, though, I did make it to the gym last night AND this morning. Wooo! Finally!

Monday's Bento

2009-04-06T15:00:00.000-04:00

Today's bento is simple, and helps use up the tortillas I have in the fridge. :) Unfortunately, it wasn't that filling...I think I should have thrown some cottage cheese in there. It was a little lacking in the protein department. Anyway, this bento comes to 4 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:
Cheese Quesadilla (1 wheat tortilla + 1/4 cup shredded 2% cheddar) (4 points)
1 tbsp. salsa (0 points)
cucumber flowers (0 points)
8 cherry tomatoes (0 points)

Breakfast Bento for the Week

2009-04-06T14:13:00.002-04:00

So this week's breakfast bento (meaning all breakfast bentos for the week are going to be exactly the same...not that this one bento will be my breakfast all week) ;) is very similar to last week's, except there is a different kind of muffin in it. I tried another Weight Watcher's muffin recipe, this time a Maple Bran muffin from thier Complete Cookbook. I was pleased with these results and I think this is a winner. This breakfast bento comes to 3 Weight Watcher's points:

This bento contains:
2 Maple Bran mini muffins (2 points)
1/2 cup grapes (.5 points)
1 Morningstar Breakfast Link (.5 points)
1/2 tbsp. reduced calorie syrup (0 points)

By the way, the whole reason I make breakfast bentos is because the idea is that I am supposed to be going to the gym before work and then I eat my breakfast at my desk in the morning. Yeah, that hasn't been happening. These last few pounds are a pain to lose, and exercise is crucial is helping that process along (it's crucial anyway, I've just been lazy). My goal was to get back on the gym-wagon this week, but when my alarm went off this morning, I just felt so tired. I will be going after work, but I do prefer to workout in the morning. Here's to getting up tomorrow morning!

Happy Friday!

2009-04-03T12:35:00.002-04:00

Yay Friday! I don't know about you, but I am very glad it's Friday. Today's bento is simple, but that doesn't mean it isn't delicious! In planning meals for next week, I really need to take my husband into consideration. He's been giving me puppy eyes in the evening as I make my bento, asking, "Don't I get a bento?". *Sigh* So pathetic. ;) So I'll need to make sure I either make enough food at dinner or get enough extras at the grocery for his bentos too.

Today's bento comes to 4 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:
1/2 serving of Penne w/ Olives & Sun-Dried Tomatoes (2.5 points)
1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese (1 point)
cucumber flowers (0 points)
6 cherry tomatoes (0 points)
1/4 cup edamame (.5 points)

Good ol' Staple - Veggie Burger Bento

2009-04-02T12:47:00.002-04:00

Some nights I don't have leftovers and I rely on a couple of staples to fill my bento for the next day. One reliable staple is the Veggie Burger: it's quick, I like the taste of it cold, it's protein, and it's low in points. I have actually been quite impressed with myself on how nutritionally balanced I've been keeping my bentos (at least I think I have...there's protein, dairy, and veggies...that's good, right?). Today's bento comes to 4.5 points:

This bento contains (clockwise from the top left):
1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese (1 point)
cucumber flowers (0 points)
Morningstar Mushroom Lover's Veggie Burger (3 points)
1/4 cup edamame (.5 points)
8 cherry tomatoes (0 points)
1/2 tbsp ketchup underneath the edamame (0 points)

Wednesday's Bento

2009-04-01T13:30:00.000-04:00

Today's bento is mostly leftovers, nothing terribly exciting -- but hey, it works! Remember how I said I hadn't been that hungry lately so I thought this 18 points a day thing would be pretty easy? Well, apparently I was wrong. I have been starving! But I don't think it's because of the amount of food I have been eating. And honestly, once I eat a snack or two I'm pretty much satisfied. So happily I haven't been using all my weekly points in a day or anything. I've actually been sticking to the usual going over my daily points allowance by about 2-4 points and still staying satisfied. So I guess it's actually not that big of a deal. I was just surprised at how hungry I've been feeling very suddenly. Having healthy snacks around is definitely important, otherwise bad things could happen. :)

Today's bento comes to 4 points:

This bento contains (clockwise from top left):
Cajun Spiced Shrimp (2 points)
1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese (1 point)
cucumber flowers (0 points)
1/4 serving Hungry Girl's Tamale Pie (1 point)

Wednesday's Breakfast Bento

2009-04-01T11:55:00.003-04:00

I tried a new recipe for my breakfast bento this week: Weight Watchers Glazed Pear Muffins. The results were okay, but I probably will look for another muffin recipe. This morning's breakfast comes to 2.5 points:

This bento contains:
2/3 serving Glazed Pear Muffins (w/o glaze) (1.5 points)
1 Morningstar Breakfast Link (.5 points)
1/2 tbsp. Reduced Calorie Syrup in the strawberry (0 points)
1/2 cup grapes (.5 points)

This is going to be my breakfast for the next few days, so I won't be posting the same thing everyday this week. But next week should have something different!

Yay! I'm back on the bento wagon!

2009-03-31T10:15:00.003-04:00

Hey there! It's been awhile, I know. But I'm back and ready to get in the bento swing of things once more. Because I have decided to continue to try and lose 5 to 10 more pounds, my points allowance is now down to 18, so my lunches are going to be kind of small. My husband, however, is starting back on a call month at the hospital, so you should be seeing some bentos for him pop up during the month. Today's bento comes to a low 3 points! I brought snacks of grapes and Babybel cheese, so we'll see how that gets me through the day. Although I have noticed that I have not been as hungry as I used to be, so I may be able to do this.

This bento contains:

1/2 serving of Hungry Girl's Tamale Pie (click for recipe) (2 points)
1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese (1 point)
cucumber flower cut-outs (0 points)
cherry tomatoes (0 points)
4 baby carrots (0 points)

If you are vegetarian, I highly recommend the Hungry Girl recipe (you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page I linked to above to find it). I usually find any recipe involving 'fake' meat very hit-or-miss, but this was very good, and extremely easy to make! Even my husband, who is not vegetarian, and frowns upon all fake meat really liked this.

Sorry, been away...

2009-02-26T09:49:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been awhile. I was sick last week, and I've had a sick animal that I've had to hand-feed the past two weeks, which takes up a lot of my time in the morning and evening. So I really haven't had any time to make bentos, nor have I been very good at even planning my meals for the last two weeks either.

The good news, is that I've made my goal Weight Watchers weight! Which is really exciting. When I did Weight Watchers a few years ago before my wedding I didn't come close to my goal weight, but I was happy to lose 15 pounds none-the-less. This time around, I therefore thought it would take a lot longer and be extremely difficult to get even withing five pounds of my goal weight. But that didn't turn out to be true. Mainly because of a few things I did differently:

1) I planned, planned, planned this time. I would sit down every Saturday or Sunday and plan out ALL my meals (snacks too) for the week. I would usually leave dinner on Friday open because my husband and I usually go out that night. But even then I would have an idea of a restaurant we would go to and look up points values of potential dishes I could get so I would be prepared.

2) I didn't try to obsessively stay within my allotted daily points value every day. I did that the first time around (I'm sure if I went to meetings they would have told me this, but I only do the online version). Instead, for the most part my daily points was usually 20, so I usually used about 21-23 points a day.

3) I paid attention to the Momentum plan's filling foods list (this wasn't available my first time around, but it really helped this time). The snacks I planned for the day were always filling foods instead of just any low points food. So instead of the Hershey's 100 calorie snack bars (2 points), I would have 10 baby carrots, 1 cup of edamame, and 1 Babybel cheese (3 points) which would fill me up for a much longer period of time.

4) I packed bento lunches almost everyday. Because I planned everything, it made it very easy to quickly pack bentos and to make sure I had a packed lunch available to me everyday to prevent eating out. The last time I did Weight Watchers I rarely packed my lunch and still ate out a lot. No matter how healthy I would try to eat out, I would still get tempted and cave into a sandwich special instead of a salad.

All of these things helped me lose 24 pounds in 4 months. Which is something I never thought I would be able to do. Of course, since I never thought I would get close to my goal weight, I set my goal weight a little high. I would like to actually lose another 5-10 pounds, so I will continue on my weight loss plan. I do need to figure out how to maintain the weight I have lost, though. Has anyone done this? Do you stay on plan? Or just stay observant of what you eat?

What has helped you lose weight? What have you learned from trial and error? :)

A Light Tuesday Lunch

2009-02-10T11:40:00.005-05:00

I was surprised when I added up the points for my bento today. I usually try to keep my lunches between 5 and 6 points, but then I realized that my daily points allowance just dropped to 19, so I guess a smaller points lunch is in order. We'll see how much it fills me up, though. My bento comes to 3.5 points.

This bento contains:
1 cup Ginger Sesame Cabbage Salad (1 point)
1/2 filet of Ginger-Wasabi Glazed Talapia (2 points)
1/4 serving of Beet & Orange Salad (.5 points)
1/2 cup green beans with garlic and soy sauce (0 points)

My husband's bento comes to points 6 points.

This bento contains:
1 cup Ginger Sesame Cabbage Salad (1 point)
1 oz hard salami (2 points)
1 slice Cheddar cheese (2 points)
10 baby carrots (.5 points)
1/2 cup edamame (.5 points)
1/4 of an apple with sugar and cinnamon (0 points)

While I have been very very good at planning out all of my bentos for the week, the fact that my husband now wants bentos has thrown me off. I find myself scrounging around for things to put in his bento, while trying make sure that it's well-balanced. Doing this adds about half and hour to my prep time, which is just way too much time. I usually make mine while I'm making dinner, and then finish it up in maybe 5 or 10 minutes after dinner. But last night, I was still in the kitchen half an hour after dinner trying to find things to put into his bento. Of course, looking at his bento, you probably wonder why it took me so long. :) I just need to find a better, and faster method for making both our bentos. Any tips or suggestions?

Mmmm, Veggie Corn Dog

2009-02-06T14:16:00.003-05:00

I had forgotten how much I love Morningstar's Veggie Corn Dogs. I have been happily reunited with them, and that is why they are in my bento for today. :) It is a very simple bento, but delicious none-the-less. Today's bento comes to 5.5 points.

This bento contains:
1 Morningstar Farms Veggie Corn Dog (4 points)
1 tbsp ketchup (.5 points)
1 cup Cabbage Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing (1 point)

No bento for my husband today. He had a 36 hour shift yesterday and last night, so he will be sleeping today away. :)

Thursday's Bentos

2009-02-05T12:00:00.003-05:00

I was sick yesterday, so today's bento was actually supposed to be for lunch yesterday. But everything should still taste fine. :) My bento comes to 5.5 points.

This bento contains:

1 cup of Cabbage Salad with Ginger and Sesame Dressing (1 point)
4 oz Tuna Steak with Wasabi-Ginger glaze (3.5 points)
1/2 cup asparagus sauteed with Sesame Oil & garlic (1 point)

My husband's bento comes to 8 points.

His bento contains:
1 oz ham (1 point)
1 slice of colby jack cheese (2 points)
2 tsp. Horseradish mustard in the strawberry (0 points)
1/2 serving of Alessi Rosemary Potatoes (1 point)
1 tbsp. Ketchup (.5 points)
10 baby carrots (.5 points)
1/8 cup Edamame Hummus (1 point)
1 1/2 cups Cabbage Salad with Ginger and Sesame Dressing (2 points)

Tuesday's Bentos

2009-02-03T12:44:00.002-05:00

My husband liked his bento so much last time that he now asks me when I'm making mine, 'So, what are you putting in mine?'. I actually wasn't planning on making him one for today, but luckily we had still had some leftovers from last week. So he was happy. I'm going to keep counting points for his bentos because: (1) he is trying to lose weight, though he's not doing Weight Watchers, and (2) that is the purpose of this blog. Does anyone know of any men doing Weight Watchers? I know they have a new program for them, but I have no idea what the target points for a man would be.

My bento for today comes to 4 points.

This bento contains:
4 Cheese & Spinach Ravioli (2 points)
1/8 cup edamame hummus (1 point)
3 small sweet peppers (0 points)
1/2 cup asparagus with garlic & sesame oil (1 point)
Not pictured:
1/2 cup Classico Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce (1 point)

My husband's bento comes to 8 points:

This bento contains:
1/2 serving of Soba Noodles with Garlic Tofu (2 points)
1 slice Colby Jack cheese (2 points)
2 oz lean ham (2 points)
Asparagus with garlic & sesame oil (1 point)
1/8 cup edamame hummus (1 point)
3 small sweet peppers (o points)

Making his bento was actually a pretty big deal for me. I'm vegetarian (well, pescetarian, because I eat fish), and I don't cook any meat for him. If he wants chicken or something, he makes it himself. So the fact that I actually handled the ham to make the roll-ups was a pretty big deal. I guess my compulsion to make it pretty outweighed my avoidance of touching meat.

Breakfast Bento for Tuesday

2009-02-03T12:35:00.002-05:00

Pretty much the same old, same old. I mixed it up with raspberries this time. I make breakfast bentos almost everyday, I just don't post them because they all look the same. :) This breakfast bento comes to 3.5 points.

This bento contains:
2 oat-nigiri [1 cup oatmeal, 1 tsp dried cranberries, & 1 tsp golden raisins] (2 points)
2 Morningstar Breakfast Links (1 point)
1 tbsp. Lite Syrup (.5 points)
1/2 cup raspberries (0 points)

My first multiple bento packing!

2009-01-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

So my husband followed up on his previous wish to have a bento lunch, and asked if I could make him one for today. Since we had a decent amount of leftovers, I thought it would be pretty easy to do. And happily, it was! :) I have no idea if this will be enough or too much food for him. I'm sure he'll let me know. I guess it isn't truly a wwBento because he isn't doing Weight Watchers and I didn't take any points values into account when making it. But, I can still add them all up for you!

So here's my bento for the day, which comes to 4.5 points.

This bento contains:
1/2 serving of Soba Noodles with garlic tofu (2 points)
1 small sweet peppers (0 points)
1/4 cup edamame hummus (2 points)
1/2 serving of Grilled Japanese Eggplant (.5 points)

My husbands bento comes to 7.5 points:

This bento contains:
1/2 serving of Soba Noodles with garlic tofu (2 points)
1 serving of Grilled Japanese Eggplant (2 points)
2 small fish cakes (2 points)
1/8 cup edamame hummus (1 point)
10 baby carrots (.5 points)

Leftover Madness!

2009-01-29T15:20:00.004-05:00

Today's bento has a veritable smorgasbord of this weeks leftovers. The shrimp was last night, the pasta was Tuesday night, and the fish cake and veggies was Sunday night! On the plus side this shows that I am cooking more dinners than I used to. I guess when those dinners factor into my bentos for the week, I'm more likely to cook instead of deciding I'm too tired in the evening. Otherwise I would have nothing for my bentos! Today's bento comes to 6.5 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:
1/2 serving of Penne w/ Olives (2.5 points)
1 small Fish Cake (1 point)
1/8 cup Edamame Hummus (1 point)
4 small sweet peppers (0 points)
1/2 serving of Spicy Shrimp (2 points)
1/2 cup veggies with ginger & sesame oil

Stuffed Peppers Galore!

2009-01-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

I tried another new Weight Watchers recipe last night: Edamame Hummus, and it turned out deliciously! I feel bad constantly raving about these recipes and then being unable to post them due to copyright concerns, so here is a comparable recipe of this hummus that I found on RecipeZaar. The recipe I used had mirin and toasted sesame seed oil in it, though, and I highly recommend using the sesame oil. I've decided that toasted sesame seed oil makes everything taste better!

Anyway, I decided to be fancy and stuff the hummus into little sweet peppers. I thought that this would give me 2 stuffed peppers...but I was wrong. Apparently 1/4 cup is a lot and the peppers really are small! Today's stuffed pepper-heavy bento comes to 4.5 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:
4 small sweet peppers (0 points)
1/4 cup Edamame hummus (2 points)
1 small Fish Cake (2 points)
1/2 cup veggies mixed with, yes, toasted sesame seed oil and ginger (.5 points)

Tuesday's Breakfast Bento

2009-01-27T11:16:00.001-05:00

I usually bring the Fruit-Filled Wontons for breakfast with a grapefruit. But, that isn't always filling, and I can't make a bento out of that. So, I made the wontons smaller this time so they would fit in a bento and threw in some veggie links. For more information about the wontons, see the bottom of this previous post. This morning's bento comes to 4 points.

This bento contains:
2 Fruit-Filled Breakfast Wontons (2 points)
2 Morningstar Farms Breakfast Links (1 point)
1/2 cup grapes (.5 points)
1 tbsp Lite Syrup in the birdy (.5 points)

Tasty Tuna Bento

2009-01-26T18:56:00.000-05:00

I made some tuna salad last night for my lunches this week. It's a Weight Watchers recipe, but I was still surprised at how many points it is for so little (only 1/2 cup per serving). I guess it's all that mayo. It tastes good and is very easy and quick to make, so I think it's a keeper. I've actually been pleasantly surprised lately with all of the flavorful Weight Watchers recipes I've been trying. In the past I had frequently avoided their recipes because they often had little flavor. I'm almost out of the little zucchini's, so you'll probably only see one more bento with them this week. (I get them at Trader Joe's and there isn't one near me, so I only get to go there once every few weeks). :(

Todays' bento comes to 5.5 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:

1/2 cup homemade light tuna salad (4 points)
1 cup zucchini (0 points)
1/4 serving Curry Couscous (1 point)
1/4 serving Wasabi peas (.5 points)
1/2 cup lettuce (0 points)

More Oat-nigiri!

2009-01-26T12:23:00.000-05:00

I made the 'oat'-nigiri again for breakfast today! And they were delicious! I bought a new can of oats, so they didn't taste funny this time. :) This morning's bento comes to 4 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:
1 cup oatmeal (2 points)
1 tsp golden raisins (0 points)
1 tsp dried cranberries (0 points)
2 Morningstar Farms Breakfast Links (1 point)
1 tbsp. Lite syrup in the birdy (.5 points)
1/2 cup grapes in the sidecar (.5 points)
(I didn't count the lettuce since it's just there for looks.)

Friday's Bento

2009-01-23T16:36:00.000-05:00

Today's bento is composed of leftovers from last night's dinner. This was my first time making the Asian Millet Salad (Weight Watchers recipe) and it turned out very nice. Even my husband, who is wary of Weight Watchers recipes, really liked it. And then we have Tilapia with a Wasabi Ginger Glaze. This is a Cooking Light recipe that is actually for tuna, but we use whatever white fish we have on hand. Today's bento comes to 5 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:

1/8 cup red pepper hummus (1 point)
1 cup zucchini (0 points)
1 cup spinach (0 points)
1/2 serving Asian Millet Salad (2 points)
1/2 serving Tilapia with Wasabi Ginger Glaze

Gosh, looking through this weeks bentos, they all look very similar. Oh well, they're still tasty!

Wednesday's Bento

2009-01-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

Today's bento looks suspiciously similar to yesterday's. Except today there are shrimp instead of falafel. :) My husband watched me put my bento together last night and asked "When are you going to make on of those for me? Everything looks so nice and pretty." I told him I'd be happy to, but he'd need a bigger bento. He thought the size of the bento shown below was fine as long as he brought something extra to eat. I told him he was welcome to use it as long as he didn't mind the Chococat on the lid. :) We'll see what happens.

This bento comes to 4.5 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:
1/2 serving Spicy Shrimp (2 points)
1/8 cup Red Pepper Hummus (1 point)
cherry tomato (0 points)
1/2 serving Curry Couscous (1.5 points)
1 cup zucchini (o points)
1/2 cup spinach (0 points)
1 baby bella mushroom (0 points)

The Spicy Shrimp is actually extra shrimp from a non-fried version of Shrimp Po'Boys.

Spicy Shrimp

Serves 4

1 cup chopped onions
1 1/4 lb shrimp
1 tsp. Creole seasoning (we use Emril's seasoning which you can buy, or make yourself)

Sprinkle the seasoning over the shrimp and set aside (if you're using frozen shrimp, just add the seasoning when you add the shrimp to the pan).

Heat oil over medium-high heat and add the onions. Saute about 4 minutes. Add the shrimp (and seasoning if you didn't before) and saute another 4 minutes or until shrimp are done.

4 WW points per serving

Middle Eastern-esque Bento

2009-01-20T11:27:00.001-05:00

I was at Whole Foods this weekend and couldn't resist buying some of their red pepper hummus. So, naturally, I had to construct the rest of this bento around that theme. ;) This bento comes to 5.5 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:

3 spicy frozen Falafel patties (2 points)
1/2 cup spinach (0 points)
1/4 cup red pepper hummus (2 points)
cherry tomato (0 points)
1 cup zucchini (0 points)
1/2 cup Fantastic Foods Curry Couscous (1.5 points)

First Attempt at a 'Real' Breakfast Bento

2009-01-20T11:04:00.000-05:00

While I bring my breakfast to work every day, I have never bothered to actually make it into a bento. I was inspired by mushmo over at Livejournal to attempt to make one. She said in her comments that she has made fake onigiri out of oatmeal for breakfast before, and I decided to give it a try. I think they turned out pretty well. I filled them with a couple of dried cranberries, and they held their shape even when I had to move them into a different box. I didn't try to hold them and eat them though...I just used a fork. :) They did taste a little funny and I'm not sure if it's because the oats are probably pretty old, or if they just took on a weird taste from the bento box. Either way, once I figure it out, these will definitely become a regular staple in my breakfast bentos! This bento comes to 4 Weight Watchers points.

This bento contains:
2 oatmeal onigiri = 1 cup of oatmeal (2 points)
1 tsp. dried cranberries (0 points)
2 Morningstar Breakfast Links (1 point)
1/4 cup grapes (.5 points)
1 tbsp. Lite Syrup in the blue strawberry (.5 points)

Brown & Green Bento and a Question

2009-01-16T10:24:00.000-05:00

This wasn't intentional...I didn't mean for the entire bento to come out brown and green, but these things happen. I am really looking forward to this bento today, although I am a little concerned that I won't be able to eat it all since there are a lot of noodles (that have shrimp in them) and a veggie patty. I am very excited that I have finally broken away from my bento 'rut' and have finally put some different items in here. This bento comes to 5.5 Weight Watchers points.

Contents of this bento:
Top Layer: 1/2 serving of Shrimp and Vegetable Lo Mein (2.5 points)
Bottom Layer: Morningstar Farms Mushroom Burger (3 points)
Spinach (0 points)
Broccoli (0 points)
Shiitake Mushrooms w/ Soy Sauce & Mirin (0 points)

This was my first time using dried Shiitake mushrooms, and I have to say I love them! I got the recipe from Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen by Elizabeth Andoh. It's a very nice book that gives a lot of background, history, and the mentality of Japanese cooking. If you are new to Japanese cooking (especially the ingredients), it is a very helpful book.

Question: I get many recipes from many different locations (books, internet, magazines) and I have trouble keeping them all in one place. I have the MacGourmet software for my home computer, but sometimes I want to access my recipes at work (so I know what to pick up on the way home). Is there an online place you keep all of your recipes? Weight Watchers does have the capacity to store recipes, but sometimes I forget they are there when I'm trying to decide what to cook for the week. I'm thinking of something like del.icio.us, but for recipes. Any ideas/tips?

Another Pasta Bento

2009-01-15T09:33:00.000-05:00

This is an extremely common bento in my repertoire. Amazingly, I haven't featured it much on my blog (probably to prevent anyone else from experiencing my bento boredom). We usually make pasta once a week for dinner and there are always leftovers, and a salad is quick and easy to throw together. But I am getting sick of the salad. I tend to keep putting salads in my bento because they are easy fillers and I don't have to spend too much time on them. However, I have decided to start finding more quick and easy recipes to make for my bento and concentrate on changing things up a bit. I have found a lot of possible winners on the Weight Watchers site, just looking up Japanese and Chinese cuisine. And there are a lot of good fillers mentioned on various bento sites. So hopefully I will have more variety in my bentos in the coming weeks. In the meantime, this bento comes in at 4.5 Weight Watchers points.

Contents of this bento:
1/2 a serving of Pasta with Olives (2.5 points)
1/8 cup part-skim mozzarella (1 point)
1/2 cup of spinach leaves (0 points)
1/4 cup broccoli (0 points)
1/4 cup bean sprouts (0 points)
1/4 cup red peppers (0 points)

Not pictured:
2 tablespoons Newman's Own Low Fat Ginger Dressing (1 point)

Shrimp Lo Mein Bento

2008-12-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

This bento was partially composed of leftovers from dinner the previous night. I made a Weight Watchers version of Shrimp Lo Mein because we had tons of veggies that we really needed to use. This was one of the few WW recipes that I have not had to excessively season because it was too bland. (Their Minestrone being the only other example I can think of that actually had enough seasoning). The recipe was a hit at home, is quite low in points, and will definitely go in my regular dinner rotation. I am hesitant to post the recipe here, because it is a Weight Watchers one and I don't want to violate any copyrights or rules. But it is really just soba noodles with shrimp, veggies of your choice, ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Pretty simple. This bento comes to a grand total of 6 points.

Contents of this bento:
1/2 serving Shrimp Lo Mein (2.5 points)
2 Seafood Gyoza Dumplings (2 points)
And my ever present bento salad (.5 points -- because of the chickpeas)

Not pictured:
2 tbsp Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger dressing (1 point)

Sorry about the crappiness of the picture...my camera seems to be acting up.

First Attempt Tamagoyaki Bento

2008-12-19T13:31:00.000-05:00

This was a bit of an experimental bento because this was my first time trying almost everything in it! Overall, I think it turned out pretty well, but I think I will use some green onions and maybe mushrooms in my next tamagoyaki. This was a nice 5 point bento:

Contents of this bento:
Top: 2 servings Priya brand Sambar Rice (2.5 points)
Bottom: 1-egg Tamagoyaki - recipe from Just Hungry (2 points)
3 Shrimp Dumplings (.5 points)
Cherry Tomatoes (0 points)
2 tsp. Trader Joe's Gyoza Dipping Sauce in the blue container (0 points)
Soy sauce in the chick (0 points)

Bento Backlog

2008-12-18T14:54:00.000-05:00

I have been making bentos everyday, I just haven't had time lately to post them. So over the next few days I will be posting them with recipes. There has been a somewhat major in Weight Watchers lately -- they introduced the Momentum plan. I guess a lot of people expressed confusion over some of the changes, but I personally like them. You can now track your hunger signals, before and after you eat. I appreciate this because by forcing me to pay attention to how full I'm feeling has helped me know when to stop eating.

I am also enjoying their 'filling foods' list. This is a list of foods that are more likely to fill you up and keep you full for awhile. Now, before I go shopping for the week, I plan my snacks around filling foods. This has kept me from eating things like the Hershey 100 calorie bars as snacks. There's nothing wrong with those bars, but I never really feel satisfied after eating them. The filling foods have really helped me stay on plan.

So, without further ado, here is the first in my bento backlog:

Contents of Breakfast Bento:

2 Fruit-Filled Breakfast Wontons (2 points)
1 cup grapes (1 point)

I am loving these breakfast wontons. They are so easy to make and very nice bento additions. The recipe is from Weight Watchers, but you can easily adapt it and put anything you want inside it. I don't want to post the recipe here because I'm sure there are some copyright issues with doing that. But if you know how to make wontons anyway, all you do is put a teaspoon or so of a couple ingredients (raisins & walnuts, cream cheese & cherry preserves, etc...). Seal up the wonton and boil it for about 1 minute. Then put them on a baking sheet, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon and bake at 400 F for 6-8 minutes until golden brown and crispy. They keep for about 3-4 days in the fridge. So I make about 8 or 10 on Sunday for my breakfasts during the week.

Recipes Galore!

2008-11-04T09:04:00.001-05:00

So, at the request of several people, I am posting recipes for the contents of my Diwali bento. Keep in mind that much of Indian cooking is based on personal tastes, so the exact amount of spice will vary depending on your personal preference.

Aloo Muttar (potatoes and peas)
This is a pretty standard recipe, and can vary depending on which ingredients we have on hand.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, diced
salt to taste
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
3 medium red potatoes (1 lb), peeled, cooked & diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup water
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
cilantro (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on med-high heat. Add the cumin seed and sizzle it 15 to 30 seconds.

Add the onion, cook until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes, salt, cayenne pepper, and turmeric. Stir fry until tomatoes are softened.

Stir in the remaining ingredients except the Garam Masala. Heat until it's boiling and reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer about 5 minutes. Uncover and simmer about 5 more minutes or until the sauce is slightly thickened. Stir in the Garam Masala.

Patta Gobi (cabbage)
Again, feel free to vary the spices based on your personal tastes.

Makes about 6-8 servings

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 head of cabbage, chopped
1-2 tsp mustard seeds (I really like mustard seed, so I always use a bit more)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
salt (to taste)

If you use a whole head of cabbage, you will need to use a pretty big pan. We use a large wok-style pan.

Heat the oil and mustard seeds over medium-high heat. Sizzle the mustard seeds 15-30 seconds. Add the cabbage. If your pan is overflowing with cabbage, reduce the heat to about medium, and just put the lid on until the bottom layer wilts a bit and you have more room to stir. Then add the remaining spices and stir in. Now just put the lid on and stir from time to time. It should take about 10-15 minutes until all of the cabbage has started to wilt. If it is taking longer, increase heat to medium-high. Some people prefer the cabbage a little crisp (shorter cook time), and some like it really wilted (longer cook time).

Sooji Halwa
For this we actually just use Cream of Wheat as the sooji.

Makes about 8-10 servings

1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp crushed cloves
1 tsp crushed cardamom
3/4 cup Cream of Wheat or sooji
1 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp slivered almonds

In a saucepan, heat the water and sugar over high heat. Bring it to a boil, and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved in the water (this makes a nice syrup which ensures that the sweetness will be even throughout the halwa).

While the water is boiling, melt the margarine in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add the Cream of Wheat and stir occasionally, until the Cream of Wheat begins to turn a reddish-brown. It doesn't have to be a uniform color, unless you really like it toasted.

When the sugar water is ready, pour it into the large saucepan containing the Cream of Wheat. Add the cloves, cardamom, and almonds. Let it cook until the water is completely absorbed. If it is still a little watery, just keep cooking and stirring, trying to let most of the water evaporate.

Once the water is absorbed, take off of the heat and transfer to a dish (like a glass pyrex dish). Pack the halwa into the pan, making about an inch-thick layer (it may not fill up the whole pan, that's okay). What you are doing here is getting the halwa to cool in a way that it will be easy to cut into little squares. Allow to cool about 20-30 minutes.

Diwali Puja Leftovers Bento

2008-11-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we did Diwali puja, which means lots of delicious leftovers! I put everything in one of my thermal jars because there is a lot of watery items in this one. This bento comes to 4 Weight Watchers points, and the snack comes to 2.5 points.

This Diwali bento contains:
1 serving Aloo Muttar (potatoes & peas) (3 points)
1 serving Patta Gobi (curried cabbage) (1 point)

Sidecar (my snack for later) contains:
2 servings Halwa (2.5 points)

Salmon Wraps Breakfast Bento

2008-11-03T11:50:00.000-05:00

Since I've begun going to the gym in the morning before work, I now need to pack a breakfast bento as well. I try to keep my breakfasts between 3 and 4 points, and this one comes to 3.5 points -- right on target! Every morning will probably be the same thing for awhile, so I won't post these every day. This week we have:

This bento contains:
1 cup red grapes (1 point)
1 piece of Italian Herb Flatbread (1 point)
1 tbsp Fat Free Cream Cheese (.5 points)
1 oz Applewood Smoked Lox (1 point)

Tuesday's Falafel Bento

2008-10-14T11:29:00.001-04:00

Today's bento has a bit of a middle-eastern theme with hummus and falafel patties, and comes to a total of 5.5 Weight Watchers points. These frozen falafel patties are wonderful! I found them at my local International Market and love their flavor and convenience.

Today's bento contains:
1/2 cup of mixed greens (0 points)
2 sliced shiitake mushrooms (0 points)
1/4 cup chickpeas (1 point)
2 tbsp. sliced beets (0 points)
3 cherry tomatoes (0 points)
3 falafel patties (2 points)
3 mini sweet peppers stuffed with red pepper hummus (.5 points)
Havarti cheese flower cut-outs (1 point)

Not pictured:
2 tbsp. Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing (1 point)

Monday's Bento

2008-10-13T12:02:00.000-04:00

Today's lunch bento comes to only 6 Weight Watchers points. I try to keep my lunches between 5-7 points, so this was perfect.

In the top layer is a salad composed of:
1/2 cup mixed greens (0 points)
4 cherry tomatoes (0 points)
2 sliced shiitake mushrooms (0 points)
2 tablespoons chickpeas (.5 points)
2 tablespoons beets (0 points)

The bottom layer has:
Half a serving of leftover Pasta with Olives (2.5 points)
1 slice (cut into leaf shapes) of Havarti cheese (2 points)

Not pictured:
2 tablespoons of Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing (1 point)

Recipe for Pasta with Olives

WW Points: 5 points per serving
Serves: 8

1 lb uncooked penne, bow-tie, or any other pasta of choice
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
10 large kalamata olives
1 tbsp. capers
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp oregano
1-2 tbsp thyme
1-2 tbsp basil

Boil pasta according to cooking time on package. Meanwhile, slice olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Once pasta is done boiling, strain, and return to pot.

Mix olive oil, olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, and spices.