Welcome!

I created this blog with the desire to make lunch simple, fun and healthy. I had turned to bento to make this possible.
I live with my husband and our adorable pets and we live a fairly busy life so, being able to have a fast fun lunch makes it easier to save money and eat healthy. Bento is for everyone, not just children, and I strive to inspire people to make lunch an exciting aspect of their day, instead of the same old monotonous task and boring foods which inevitably lead to spending too much money on cafeteria food or fast food, or skipping meals all together.
This blog really has grown to be so much more than I had originally invisioned! It really incorporates my love for local and fresh food and making meals fun and tasty, not just lunch! There is great potential for all meals and bento still really inspires me, but I also really enjoy being inspired by the local farmer's market, and different books and I think the blog has really taken off to so much more than just a bento blog. I hope you feel inspired and enjoy it as much as I do!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Dinner


I really wanted to make something special for Easter dinner. I had a few recipes that I found that I wanted to try. I made a beef roast and a ham. The ham I poured rum over from time to time while it was baking in the oven. I had never made a ham this way, and I was really hoping it would turn out well... and it did. :)



I also made a gravy from the drippings of the roast.


And served it with some roasted potatoes and carrots and some steamed asparagus.

For dessert, I made vanilla and chocolate pudding topped with chocolate covered matzah.



Everything was amazing!

Until next time, Happy Munching!


Monday, April 2, 2012

Meatballs & Couscous

You may remember from a previous post that I mentioned a cookbook that I had purchased called Lunch Box Revolution. This is the recipe which I first saw in it, and what really inspired me to buy it. I didn't follow the recipe that closely, but I did read it over. The thing is, I have my own way of doing some of these things (like making meatballs) and I wanted to stick with it!


This dish doesn't look super exciting in my picture, and I apologize, but it really is awesome, and is one of my favourite dishes now. Basically it is just meatballs, a tomato sauce and couscous. I added mushrooms to the sauce.

I really like to make my meatballs with a mixture of pork and beef and to use bread crumbs (preferably panko) along with a variety of other ingredients and variable steps (including anything from adding carrots and onions or garlic, etc). I like to brown them in a pan, and then finish them in the oven.

For the sauce, I just used some canned diced tomatoes and tomato paste, mushrooms, onions and spices.

I find this ratio & steps work great for making couscous, Basic Couscous Recipe, but I like to add butter or margarine (about a tablespoon or so) and use stock instead of plain water. Sometimes I like to add garlic or other spices, too.

This dish is really easy and can really be adjusted as you like. You could easily replace the meatballs with portobello mushrooms, or make them with turkey or chicken.  It's an easy, quick and simple recipe to have in your arsenal.

Until next time, Happy Munching!