Bento (Japanese style) packed, vegan meals

[Roxy]

Roxy, you know where this pic has to go, don't you?
What's this dessert tofu like? I've never heard of it, but sounds intriguing! And it looks so beautiful with the blueberries!

It's there now lol.

The dessert tofu is like a silken tofu, with different flavours. You can get it anything from berry flavour, to lime flavour to coconut flavour and so on. You usually buy it in individual packs. I just took mine out of the pack and cubed it up.

[cedarblue]

is it a chilled product or on the shelf roxy?

[Roxy]

it's chilled. At the grocery stores here, it's in with the other chilled tofu products and faux meat products. There are numerous different brands.

[vegcurry]

TOMORROW - Clockwise from top left:
[1] Pasta with spinach, mushroom, red pepper and cheatin' chicken in a tomato sauce.
[2] Patra, spicy roast brussel sprouts, roast potato, raw carrot sticks.
[3] Raspberries and soya creem.
[4] Green salad, beansprouts, olives, jalapeno chillies, radish, tomato, cucumber, red grapes.

[jamboxrock]

Vegcurry, yours look so gourmet! That mac & scheese looks really good right now.

Today's: lentil bulgur salad w/ lemon & mixed greens, cucumber tomato salad, strawberries, sushi, baked beans w/ slice tofurkey italian sausage

[jamboxrock]

Tomorrow: steamed broccoli w/ esme's sauce, stuffed shells, mini cucumber, strawberries, bran muffin

[Sluggie]

They all look lovely. I wish we could get the dessert tofu over here. It looks gorgeous.

[bryzee86]

they have dessert tofu in chinatown...but you don't live in london...

[Roxy]

I'd send you some Sluggie, but it needs to be refrigerated.

[applepie]

they have dessert tofu in chinatown...but you don't live in london...

Now that's an idea... I'll have to check out Birmingham's Chinese stores! Thanks for that!

[cedarblue]

I'd send you some Sluggie, but it needs to be refrigerated.

hahaha, that's what i was angling for roxy, a tasty parcel!!

i'll ask whenever i see an shop.

[vegcurry]

TOMORROW - Clockwise from top left:
[1] Samosas, Grilled Patra, Green Salad.
[2] Frys Golden Crumbed Cutlets, Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce (in green pot).
[3] Carrot Sticks, Red Grapes.
[4] Beansprouts, Rocket, Radish, Cucumber, Mushroom, Pickled Jalapeno Chillies, Olives.
& Dried Apricots with the fork.
& Soy Sauce flavoured Nori seaweed sheets in the lid.

[bryzee86]

& Soy Sauce flavoured Nori seaweed sheets in the lid.

woah.

[Sluggie]

Thanks for the thought, Roxy. I'll try to remember to pick some dessert tofu up next time I find myself in London. If I wasn't so lazy I'd try making some myself.

Tomorrow's lunch looks good Vegcurry. It also reminds me that I have some samosas in the fridge. I feel a midnight snack attack coming on.

[bryzee86]

It's not midnight,so you're allowed!

[jamboxrock]

woah.

My thoughts exactly. I need soy-flavored nori sheets.

Tomorrow: 2 pieces multigrain bread (cut to fit), green pepper & seedless mini-cucumber, roasted beets, hummus, applesauce

[missbettie]

As a result of me being an AWESOME girl friend...here is my boyfriends bento for tommarow, left overs from tonight.

[Roxy]

Looks like a nice lunch for him there MissBettie. Yours look great too Vegcurry and Jambox

Here's mine for tomorrow:

Butternut squash soup.
Crackers.
Baby Carrots & Hummus.
Raspberry Fig Bars.
Kiwi Slices.

[maikeru]

Not sure if they are a different flavour to vegcurry's ones, but you can get Clearspring's "Flavoured Toasted Nori Strips" in health stores and some supermarkets on this side of the Atlantic. They are sold in blue square-ish bags with a big white label, and contain ten packs each containing five strips. And they are lovely.

Before they rebranded with the snazzy name they were called "Nori Nippers" in red and black bags.

Michael.

[Aurore]

woah ! i packed my bento today for uni, but i didn't have time to take a pic, now i feel like my bento wouldn't stand the comparison.
i used my new little Hello Kitty mayonnaise cups, and all my friends were wondering what they were. such a cute addition.

[pavotrouge]

Don't be shy, Aurore!
Do you have the blueish mayo cups with pink kitty?

I bought a Laptop Lunchbox about half a year ago, but only used it once or twice. It holds far too much for me to eat (I don't have a lunch break at work, it's more a time than a tummy issue). A couple of weeks ago, the fork broke... I had hoped for a better quality for the price.

Monday's bento:


(hunan fried rice, hot sauce in the chick container, carrots, broccoli, tomato, a kiwi fruit and green tea)

[vegcurry]

MONDAY 7-4-2008. Clockwise from top left:
[1] Cheatin' Beef, Rosemary Roast Potato, Ginger & Garlic Roasted Butternut Squash, picked Red Jalapeno Chilli.
[2] Scheezly Mozarella, sliced Radish, Sweet Chilli Sauce (in the green pot).
[3] Hummous (topped with roasted paprika), Carrot sticks.
[4] Roast Aubergine, Cherry Tomatoes, Broccoli, Baby Leaf Salad, Olives, Pecan Nut, Red Grape.
& Dried Apricots in with the fork.

[cobweb]

rude question for vegcurry - do you have a huge food bill each week??
i am seriously envying your lunches!

[bryzee86]

i want a laptop lunch!

[vegcurry]

rude question for vegcurry - do you have a huge food bill each week??
i am seriously envying your lunches!

Not really, but then again I don't bother going out or anything social like that so my food bills don't really matter too much. Swings and roundabouts as they say.

[cobweb]

i want a laptop lunch!

so do i, but i want vegcurry to pack it every day

[cobweb]

Not really, but then again I don't bother going out or anything social like that so my food bills don't really matter too much. Swings and roundabouts as they say.

we're the same, and food is important to us, but i am trying to get my food bill down, it nears £100 per week at the moment for the 3 of us + 1 dog . I'd love a bento but am afraid it would lead me further astray.

[bryzee86]

we're the same, and food is important to us, but i am trying to get my food bill down, it nears £100 per week at the moment for the 3 of us + 1 dog . I'd love a bento but am afraid it would lead me further astray.

blimey! Do you eat gold?

[cobweb]

well that's our entire shopping bill, food, loo paper, washing-up stuff, etc but it does seem a lot, doesn't it?.
all 4 of us (including dog) do eat a lot.

[Animosity]

well that's our entire shopping bill, food, loo paper, washing-up stuff, etc but it does seem a lot, doesn't it?.
all 4 of us (including dog) do eat a lot.

That's not bad, It's $200 a week just from the health food markets for me. I have 4 canines that eat canned food from there (about $5 a day) and my Grandfather drinks about $10 of soy milk, My Grandmother goes through 2 gallons of orange juice , We always find some kind of uneeded pricey goody (coffee for me ) and of course the fruits and veggies for the guinea and I, Plus non animal tested products are pricey and "faux" products aren't cheap. Organics are trendy so they cost a bunch now. Groceries are just pricey all together nowadays. I mean unless you buy cheap artificial foods you're going to end up paying a good deal for a whole famliy.

[Roxy]

we're the same, and food is important to us, but i am trying to get my food bill down, it nears £100 per week at the moment for the 3 of us + 1 dog . I'd love a bento but am afraid it would lead me further astray.

You know cobweb, I find the bento helps me save money. Firstly I'm taking a yummy lunch every day and not buying lunches instead. Plus I'm using up leftovers or single pieces of fruit and stuff that would ordinarly be thrown out if I wasn't putting them into my laptop.

Anyway, just something for you to think about. A bento might actually work in the opposite way than you think it will

[vegcurry]

You know cobweb, I find the bento helps me save money. Firstly I'm taking a yummy lunch every day and not buying lunches instead. Plus I'm using up leftovers or single pieces of fruit and stuff that would ordinarly be thrown out if I wasn't putting them into my laptop.

That's what I do. I like my leftovers and salad bits

[scarlett]

I never have any leftovers living with my husband and dog !!!

cobweb - our food bill is about that each week also - 3 of us and a dog - I've tried and tried to get it down, but it doesn't work ! We don't have any luxuries or anything

Anyway, in my bento today:
Veggie tart, carrot sticks, plum tomato, green olives, few prunes.

[cobweb]

good, scarlett, it's not just us then!. We don't drink or have fancy stuff, just ice-cream sometimes and some 'fake meats'.

i obviously don't go out to work but i fancy a bento because i hate making lunch and thought i could just get this ready the day before and then not have to stop what i'm doing the next day. However, i will have to speak to the other half because unless he wants to have one himself, or make his own lunch then it'll be a bit pointless.

[cedarblue]

i fancy a bento because i hate making lunch and thought i could just get this ready the day before and then not have to stop what i'm doing the next day. However, i will have to speak to the other half because unless he wants to have one himself, or make his own lunch then it'll be a bit pointless.

couldn't you get yourself one and then 'conveniently take the dog for a walk at lunchtime' and picnic with your box on a hill somewhere?

[!!]

I'd so do that if I worked from home

[emmapresley]

all my bento goodies (new box and a stack of twee cutsie stuffs) i ordered for on 29th march haven't arrived yet
am i being impatient?!

[pavotrouge]

depends on where you ordered them from... stuff from the US can take loads of time to get to Europe. Whereas bento goods I order from Japan always arrive within a week. Strange, innit?

[missbettie]

sometimes if I call when an online order is taking to long they resend the order and I get a double shipment...like an extra pressie! I normally call and ask if they want me to ship it back, but most of the time its just cheaper for them if I keep it.

[emmapresley]

they're coming from hong kong. so..i'm thinking if they're not here by say, thursday then i'll start getting in touch.
this has happened with other stuff i've ordered over the net..i think there's a corrupt postie on the loose round here nabbing all my goodies?!

oh! they were shipped on the 2nd..so really it's only been 5 days? huh..maybe i am impatient

[pavotrouge]

did you choose priority mail? If you didn't, 10-18 days are pretty normal.

[emmapresley]

priority whaaaa' you say?!

10-18 days it is then

[vegcurry]

TUESDAY 8-4-2008 - clockwise from top left:
[1] Spinach [homegrown ] & chick pea & aubergine curry and basmati rice, with pickled jalapeno chillies.
[2] Two mini samosas with hummous.
[3] Banana with lemon juice, and mango chutney (in the green pot).
[4] Yellow pepper, dried apricot, marinated olives, radish, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, baby leaf lettuce.
& pancake (recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance) ... it's on the plate so as not to obscure all the other stuff.
& chilli powder as a condiment (in the sachet).

[Sluggie]

That is a work of art Vegcurry.

[vegcurry]

@ sluggie
thank you.

[cobweb]

couldn't you get yourself one and then 'conveniently take the dog for a walk at lunchtime' and picnic with your box on a hill somewhere?

ooh cedar you are naughty!
actually this might not be a great idea because the dog would probably eat all my food, she's awful greedy these days and goes mad for vegan snacks! .

I think i'm going to buy 2 bentos - a his 'n' hers set! .

[jamboxrock]

Today: Amy's non-dairy pot pie, broccoli florets w/ goddess dressing, baked beans, prunes & dried mango



Tomorrow: twice baked potatoes, carrot sticks, hummus, dried apples, cranberry almond dark chocolate

[Roxy]

Once again - beautiful looking lunch there Vegcurry!

Jambox - those potatoes look lovely!!

Here's what I had today:

Jasmine rice with organic veg (red chard, broccoli, celery) stir fried in garlic & lime juice. Organic carrots with hummus, Sheese pieces, crackers, dried fruit (banana, kiwi, papaya) and the lovely chocolately thing is a Whistler's Own Bakery Skookum Bar.

[emmapresley]

your rice looks really nice there roxy
everyones boxes look great!

after complaining impatiently yesterday my bento stuff came today. i bought a 3 tiered box, which is actually smaller than the other one i had (which i gave to anna).

it's like the size of a loo roll or something

[bryzee86]

wtf?! These bento people need to get their acts together and produce a decent sized bento!