Designing a Life One Day at a Time
Join me as I try new things and visit new places and make improvements in my life.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Dinosaur Bento Box
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Fruit How-to
I like naval oranges. These ones are pretty big, so I get more mileage out of them. I start by cutting off the two ends. Be sure to cut the navel end, and the end where the stem used to be. That makes it so you can see the center of each slice, and it is easier to eat. Next, I cut it in half going parallel with the previous cuts.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Bentos are great for weight loss!
Lately, I've had a really hard time knocking off my holiday weight, so I decided to use my bento boxes to help me slim down. I am the kind of person who cheats on diets. Alot. So I've stopped "dieting" and set up some personal guidelines for losing those pesky pounds.
First of all, I realized that I wasn't eating vegetables like I should have been. In fact, there were days that passed by without any vegetables at all! Vegetables are a powerful ally in weight loss. They are packed with vitamins, taste great raw or cooked, and don't pack alot of calories.
Metabolism is a tricky thing to outsmart, and if you feed your body veggies when you feel hungry between meals, you can help your body's metabolism stay on top of things. In my mind, if I eat more vegetables than anything else, I am right on track!
Second, I make sure to eat at least one serving of fruit each day. Fruit is a great little snack to have on hand when cravings get strong for something sweet.
Third, I took my meat portions and started to rethink how much I consume. Proper portion sizes are much smaller than what I normally would cook, so I made the decision to cut back the amount of meat I use for my family. I will use one full chicken breast and a tenderloin (there are three of us, one of whom is three years old) or about a cup and a half of shredded/chopped chicken/beef/pork.
I also have a few days where I add either vegan and/or vegetarian dishes. I don't do anything drastic, just a super tasty stir fry with rice. I also embrace shrimp and fish, and add a couple of dishes with that in them, too. Mmmm, tuna melts!
Fourth, I make sure to have two or three servings of dairy. I have skim milk in my cereal each morning, and eat some cheese and greek yogurt during the day, either in my bento meals or as a little snack.
Fifth, I stop eating three hours before bed. I have a friend who used to describe the feeling of slight hunger as her body eating her butt! Hahaha! So, her mantra "EAT MY BUTT!" runs through my head when I feel just a little uncomfortable. It makes me smile :)
Finally, I watch how many processed foods I eat. I try to stay with the outer isles at the grocery store while shopping, (with the exception of rice, pasta, bread, and cereal). I like sticky rice because it's easy to shape, it's filling, and I can use it with my stir fry. Plus, it freezes beautifully. Oh, and leftover rice is wonderful for easy rice cassoroles, as well as for fried rice.
When I make bentos for my husband, I fill a whole bottom tier full of rice, and the top tier with the vegetable stir fry. For me, I fill my top tier with stir fry, and my bottom tier I divide in half so I can fill half with rice, and the other half with raw veggies/fruit/cheese. My bento box is the one above. Isn't it cute?!
Oh, and I should mention that my milk is skim milk, my tortillas are wheat, and my bread is wheat. I can't give up my full fat cheese, though. No way!
Friday, February 25, 2011
The super cheap way to shape rice
Fill it with rice. Since it's sticky rice, sometimes it helps to slide the spoon off the inside of the cutter to make the rice stay inside, and not on the spoon. Pat it down to make it firm.
Once you've done that, you just add the stir-fry to the outsides of the dish and you are ready to go. With bento's, be sure that the food is flush with the top of the box (or simple tupperware works well, too). This prevents it from moving when it's moved. I had to add a thin layer of stir-fry to the bottom of the dish before I put the rice in so that it was flush.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
It's fun to play with your food!
Isn't this puppy adorable?! I made his face with some carrot bits and a little red pepper from the stir-fry in the lunch. Yum! I divided the sweet apples from the main dish with some curly lettuce. Not that I expect my daughter to eat the lettuce! Here's how I made the puppy rice:
First, prep the mold with a quick spray of nonstick spray on the inside of the container and under the face of the pup.