Pastrami 'Bacon' Sammie - 358 calorie bento

Today I was a little scatter-brained...I wanted to heat up some pastrami and I put a few slices into the microwave. A bit too long it seems, because instead of heating the pastrami, I made 'bacon' strips out of them! Surprisingly, they were quite good! Hah! I now have a bacon substitute! Gotta love when that happens! I think I will be repeating the 'mistake' often!

Bento Content:

• Pastrami 'Bacon' on Whole Wheat with Spicy Mustard and Shredded Romaine Lettuce (325)
• Carrot and Cubanelle Pepper Skewers (33)

Total Bento : 358 calories

Bento for 2: Roast Beef & Shaved Pastrami Sandwiches - 329 & 320 calorie bentos

Hubbie and I were working at the same client site today, so I made a combo bento for us. Regarding the celery - he likes his in sticks, I like mine sliced - go figure!

Bento Content for Hubbie:

• Roast Beef Sandwich on White w/Mayonnaise (243)
• Apple (81)
• Celery (5)

Total for Hubbie: 329 calories

Bento Content for me:

• Shaved Pastrami on White w/Hot Mustard (194)
• Pear (121)
• Celery (5)

Total for me: 320 calories

Grilled Salami & Roasted Potatoes - 233 calorie bento

I found the cutest Beef salami - only 4 ounces each and perfect for bento portions! One serving is 2 ounces and since the whole thing is so small, the slices seem like a whole lot! I grilled them and they were quite tasty! To the roasted potatoes I added Turmeric - hence the yellow hue on them. Those were leftovers from dinner.

Bento Content:

• Toasted Potatoes (71)
• Grilled Beef Salami rounds (110)
• Blistered Grape Tomatoes with Herbs de Provence (28)
• Raw Carrot rounds (17)
• Rommaine Lettuce (7)

Total Bento : 233 calories

Vaca Frita & Moro - 273 calorie Bento

So, I went Cuban for this one. I made the Vaca Frita - literally 'Fried Cow' - and accompanied by Moro de Habichuelas Negras (Rice with Black Beans).

I was kind of shocked when I looked at the calorie counts some websites have for Vaca Frita - most in the upper 700-range per serving. When I looked closely at their recipes, I noticed the amount of oil they are using. I have never used that amount of oil even when I was not trying to watch my fat intake. Needless to say, my version is WAY less in calories than those I found on the internet. Yay!

Bento Content:

• Moro de Habichuelas Negras (106)
• Vaca Frita (153)
• Cantaloupe (14)

Total Bento : 273 calories

Olive Stuffed Meatballs & Batata - 206 calorie Bento

I put a spin on meatballs - I stuffed each with a black olive. I didn't tell hubbie and when he cut into one, he smiled - he loves black olives! To make this a little less fattening, I used a simple tomato sauce. I also made the meatballs with a teensy bit of matzah meal and instead of whole eggs, I used a little bit of egg whites. That cut down on quite a bit of calories.

The sides were roasted (except for the grape tomatoes). The distorted little squares are Batatas. Some call them Yams, some Boniato. A batata is in the sweet potato family - it sort of looks like a sweet potato, but when you cut into them they are white. They are also have more consistency to them when cooked - a little bit more starchier. I love them and try to cook them as much as I can find them.

Bento Content:

• Beef Meatballs stuffed with Black Olives (110)
• Grape Tomatoes (21)
• Roasted Asparagus (8)
• Roasted Batata (67)

Total Bento : 206 calories

Roast Beef w/Horseradish & Roasted Flat Beans - 223 calorie Bento

Well, I find this to be a non-photogenic bento...but very, very tasty!

I can't get enough of roasted green beans. These beans happen to be flat beans. This recipe transforms green beans into carmelized pieces of heavenly veggie-ness (you know what I mean). It will not work with French Beans (Haricot Vert - the skinny ones). You will need a meatier veggie because the flavor really comes out once they start to shrivel a little and get a bit brown. If you use the skinny ones, there will be no substance to nibble on!

Bento Content:

• Roasted Flat Beans (15)
• Mushroom Barley (14)
• Roast Beef & Horseradish Sandwich (194)

Total Bento : 223 calories

Spicy Eggplant & Beef w/Scallion - 221 calorie Bento

This was a spicy bento indeed. Good thing I put in the plum to cool my tongue! The spicy/hotness came from the sriracha sauce and tons of crushed garlic on the eggplant.

Bento Content:

• Shredded Beef w/Scallion Stirfry (114)
• Spicy Japanese Eggplant (17)
• Mini Pitas (60)
• Plum (30)

Total Bento : 221 calories

Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef) - 231 calorie Bento

Today I decided to take out the Slow Cooker. My plan was to finally deal with a closet I have in the hallway - things lurking in there since who knows when. So, why not have the slow cooker do the cooking?

I decided to make Ropa Vieja, which is basically beef with lots of seasonings slow cooked until very soft - soft enough to shred with two forks. It took many hours, and in hindsight I should have made much more meat, but the result was very satisfying. Looking forward towards lunch tomorrow!

Bento Content :

• Ropa Vieja (100)
• Mini Zuchinni (5)
• Grape Tomatoes (21)
• Vegetable Radiatore from Trader Joe's (105)

Total Bento : 231 calories