SOFOBOMO Day Fifteen: Noodle Soup Bento

So when I pack noodles for a bento they always end up kind of hard and a sticky mass. But yesterday I had a brilliant idea! Okay, maybe not brilliant or original, but good none the less. I reserved the broth from making ramen and put it in my thermos. Now granted I did eat this bento shortly after taking the picture, but if you have a good thermos it should keep you broth nice and hot.

In with the noodles are just some leftovers: hamburger, grilled purple onions, green onions, and stir-fried mushrooms and red peppers. Very tasty and very easy to make.

I used all glass dishes today to show bentos don't just have to be plastic. These two bowls have nice sealing lids, so I thought they'd make good bentos. But, I do think the large one would have been enough; I just wanted to make sure I was getting enough veggies. I'd love to get a more traditional shaped glass bento, but I haven't been able to find any available in the US yet.

Ramen Noodle Soup Bento Recipe

1 package ramen noodles (beef or chicken would be good)

1/2 red pepper (cut to bit size pieces)

5 or 6 baby bella mushrooms (Cut thick mushrooms in half)

1/4 to 1/2 purple onion (one or 2 large chunks)

1 green onion (thinly sliced)

Protein (pre-cooked ground beef, chicken, tofu, etc.)

Water

1. Cook raman al dente with enough water to make broth.
2. Stir fry or broil red pepper, purple onion, and mushrooms.
3. Drain noodles and reserve broth. Be sure to put broth in a thermal container imediately to keep it hot.
4. Allow noodles and vegetables to cool. Place noodles in bento first, then arrange vegetables on top. Be sure the bento you use can handle hot liquids - no cheap plastics.
5. When you are ready to eat just pour broth over noodles and enjoy! :D

The bento obession hit hard when I was shopping the other day. :D With the exception of the Ramune soda, all of this stuff will be featured in upcoming bentos. The food came from my favorite Japanese grocery store :D I can't wait until I move closer so I can shop there on a weekly basis instead of monthly.

*Update: Sorry I forgot to post the information on this picture! Okay from the upper right clockwise: Shiso (perilla) leaves, orange flavored ramune, pickled daikon radish, clickety click bento, udon noodles, kompeito candy (as seen on Spirited Away - one of my all time favorite animes), and scrapbook papers for photo backgrounds.

With the exception of the ramune and bento, all of these items will be featured in upcoming bentos, so be on the look out! :D I'll explain each item then.

Friday's zoo trip. I tried taking "non-typical" pictures, if that make sense. The kids really enjoyed their bentos and even though there was a little rain, it was a great day.

I love gardening, but I needed different shoes :D

This expression is my son's way of saying, "I love you." Does it get any sweeter? :')

Fried Chicken Recipe

4 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 slices of fresh whole wheat bread
2 eggs - beaten
Flour
Seasoning Salt
Olive oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove excess fat from chicken and cut into bit size pieces.
2. Place bread in oven until golden and crispy - turning half way through. Tear bread into smaller piece and pulse in food processor.
3. In three separate bowls, place eggs, flour, and bread crumbs.
4. Dip chicken in flour, eggs, and then bread crumbs. Mix seasoning salt with the bread crumbs. Be sure to shake of excess flour and eggs. I use chopsticks for this part so my hands don't get so dirty. I wipe the breading off the chopsticks after each piece.
5. Pour approximately 1" oil into small pan - enough to cover half of the chicken pieces.When oil is hot place chicken in and fry until golden, turning once. You need to make sure your oil in hot enough so that your chicken isn't just sitting in oil, but not so hot that the inside doesn't fully cook. Try cooking one piece at a time until you find the right temperature.
6. Enjoy!

I've been busy!

Sweet Reward...

For losing 5 lbs. in one week, I rewarded myself with a "treat day" I didn't worry too much about what I ate - I can get back to healthy tomorrow. Today, I'm going to enjoy the sweet taste of success. ;)

Weigh-In

Drum roll please.....

291 pounds - that's 5 pounds in one week!!

A Typical Breakfast

So much better than cereal! ;D

Bento Thief!

My mom tried to steal my bento while I was taking pictures! I think my family is starting to get use to my photography my food. Maybe... LOL

The bowl in the background is homemade french onion soup - so good! (Recipe here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/french_onion_soup/)

Today was probably my best day eating wise since I started the SOFOBOMO project and I exercised as well :D

My Bento Diet: Mother's Day Bento

Happy Mother's Day!

Today I will...

• Not check out, but stay grounded in reality.
• Eat three healthy meals and only one snack.
• Celebrate motherhood.
• Keep up with my responsiblities.
• Not take things so seriously.
• Take care of myself.
• Enjoy nature.
• Exercise.
• Have fun :D

I checked out today...

...I just read an amazing post on Escape from Obesity. I am clearly the type of person who checks out to avoid reality. That's exactly what I did all day today. I didn't think about eating healthy, I didn't do any housework, I didn't do any schoolwork - I did absolutely nothing. It wasn't until after supper that remembered, "Hey, I'm suppose to be taking a bento picture everyday." So I had ice cream, but at least it was in a bento right?

What I've learned from this project though is that I can be strong enough to stay in reality and fight my way through the hard times. Instead of checking out until the storm is gone.

But, I am going to finish the night right - I'm going to use my Wii Personal Fitness Coach for the first time. *Update* 30 minutes of cardio!

SOFOBOMO Day Five: Alfresco Bento

No I didn't forget

My bento for the day :D

I was naughty...

Yesterday was a really good day! I had so much energy, got a lot done, and followed my diet - sort of. For whatever reason I've been craving Taco Bell like crazy lately. Well, after I put my kids to bed, my sister-in-law called saying she wanted me to come over to see her new living room furniture. While I was at her house she mentioned wanting something to eat and I half-jokingly suggested TB. She actually agreed. Well there went my diet for the day LOL

The funniest part about the whole thing was we got to TB and it was closed! But the desire to eat junk was still calling, so we went to the grocery store next. Yet, nothing looked good. My sister-in-law suggest TB in the next town over; we knew it was open late. So what if it's 20 minute drive one way. This was important! ;)

So, on the downside, I blew my diet, but on the upside, I got out of the house without the kids and had some Chalupas.



On a side note: Is there anything worse then dead camera batteries on a gorgeous day? :P

SOFOBOMO Day Three: Breakfast

I just had to take a picture of my breakfast bento. Anyone who knows me, knows I RARELY eat cereal. In fact, I usually hate it; the though of eating it for breakfast turns my stomach. But, once or twice a year I'll walk into the pantry and can't resist. Yes, the raisin bran called to me this morning :p


In the background you can see my daughter plants for the year: 2 Strawberry plants, 1 Chevril, 1 Basil, 1 Sorrel, 1 Cilantro, 1 Alyssum, and 1 Petunia.

SOFOBOMO Day Two!

I followed my plan fairly well today, although I think I may have ate too much for lunch. On the plus side though, I started getting that full feeling and stopped so that is an improvement.

I am having so much fun with this project so far! Of course it's only day two, but I feel so energetic and ready. I think working out tonight has something to do with that though as well.

I have to do some more work on my self portraits though. I really don't like the way my camera takes pictures at night. These two pictures are from right before I went to the gym tonight. I ended up doing 20 minutes of Turbo Jam (cardio kickboxing) and some tanning :D I really don't know why I don't workout more often, I love it once I start and I feel so awesome afterwards.

Now for the part I don't like. I said I was going to post my icky measurements so here they are:

Bust: 47"

Chest: 45"

Waist: 42"

Hips: 58 1/2"

Thighs: 33"

Calves: 19"

Upper Arm: 21"

Also, my starting weight (yesterday) is 296 pounds.

But things can only get better from here, right? ;)

Bento Supplies

I talked to someone today that was interested in bentos and wanted to know where I buy them. I'm posting this link for everyone. :D

http://www.ichibankanusa.com

SOFOBOMO... huh?!?!?!

SOFOBOMO a.k.a. Solo Photo Book Month is a project I signed up for. Basically, you take one month to develop and write a photo book containing at least 35 pictures.

My project (I'm doing two actually, more on that later) is going to focus on bento dieting for one month. Every meal starting today, until June 3rd, will be pack in a bento. I plan on posting pictures of a least one bento everyday, so expect frequent updates here. I'll also be tracking my weekly progress/goals, weight loss, measurements (yikes!), and exercise. I think I'll be more then able to do 35 pictures ;)

My other project is going to be a photographic, child's book, but I really haven't developed this idea yet. I still have a few more days before I have to official start that one though.

(here are the links to my bento book and my kid's book)

Anyway, here is the picture for day one!