Skewers and Creamed Spinach - 230 calorie Bento

I love creamed spinach but I avoid it like the plague. It is usually high in calories, but I found a pre-made one that comes in the microwave steamer bags that is not too 'calorific'. The container I used is great for bentos that have something liquidy. It has a separate lid for the center part and another lid covering the whole thing. I'm guessing it was meant for dips and crudites, maybe? I'm not complaining, specially since I found it in the $1 store! Yay!

Bento Content:

• Grilled chicken patty & Black Olive skewers (167)


• Creamed Spinach (50)


• Shredded Lettuce & Shredded Carrot (13)

Total Bento: 230 calories

Chicken Shu Mai and Blistered Tomatoes - 230 calorie Bento

I love tiny food - hence my bento appreciation. I love all types of things in a different plate. I love color. Except for my clothing (I love black and all shades of it - hahaha), I don't live a monochromatic life. My artwork on my walls is very colorful. That usually applies to my food too. I remember that once I ended up cooking steamed cauliflower, chicken and mashed potatoes. I put it on my plate and was horrified! How on earth did I come up with an all-white dinner? Well, I ran for the kitchen and got some mustard and ketchup and some salad greens. There's color for ya! Thanks for putting up with my rambling! Kinda hyper today!!!

Bento Content:

• Chicken Shu Mai (173)
• Blistered Tomatoes with Herbs de Provence (42)
• Celery (15)

Total Bento: 230 calories

Balsamic Chicken - 252 Calorie Bento

I haven't been bento-ing much lately and when I have, I haven't been taking pics. And guess what...it shows! I truly believe that taking pics and keeping count definitely helps the battle of the bulge. I'm going to try my best to get back into the groove, eventhough it means getting up earlier than than regular 5:40am to do my thing. Fingers crossed, here I go!!!!

Bento Content:

• Balsamic chicken with Snow Peas and Red Peppers (200)
• Grape Tomatoes (42)
• Yellow Pepper Strips (10)

Total Bento: 252 calories

Chicken & Potatoes & Israeli Couscous - 231 calorie Bento

Another unposted bento....

Bento Content:

• Roasted Chicken Breast (110)
• Herbed Roasted Potato (43)
• Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes (10)
• Israeli Couscous w/Mixed Veggies (68)

Total Bento: 231 calories

Chicken w/Red Bell Pepper & Onion - 236 calorie Bento

I have been on a Batata & Butternut Squash kick lately. Making them all kinds of ways - but I'm loving the roasting of the two. Hubbie agrees!

Bento Content:

• Chicken with Red Bell Pepper & Onion Stirfry (120)
• Roasted Batata & Butternut Squash (55)
• Sweet Lime (61)

Total Bento: 236 calories

Chile Lime Chicken Sammie - 307 calorie Bento

I have a bunch of lunches that I took photos but did not post, so here we go....

Bento Content:

• Sandwich (Arnold's Multigrain Thins+Trader Joe's Chile Lime Chicken+Shredded Romaine+Red Bell Pepper+Cucumber) (261)
• Classic Mixed Veggies (22)
• Grapes & Blackberies (24)

Total Bento: 307 calories

Hot & Spicy Baked Chicken & Veggies-244 calorie Bento

Hello! I have been gone for a while - bentos, but no pictures! Bad Zetty! Well, I need to get back into the groove (resolutions and all...). So, here is the first of the year!

Bento Content:

• Steamed Tayota or Chayote (50)
• Steamed Carrots (18)
• Salad with a pinch of Bacos (16)
• Baked Hot & Spicy Chicken Breast (160)

Total Bento: 244 calories

Nuggets, Veggies & Fruit - 372 calorie Bento

My Doc tells me that I need to eat a bit more bananas - it seems that I am low in potassium. Groovy. Well, I bought a bunch of Baby Bananas, but appearances fooled me. They seemed ripe to me, I bit into one and my lips stuck together. Ha! Luckily, the one in this lunch was good to eat. This turned out to be a not very pretty bento, but it was pretty tasty!

Bento Content:

• Chicken Breast Nuggets (115)
• Spinach & Artichoke Veggie Bites (127)
• Carrots & Celery (10)
• Baby Banana (80)
• Clementine (40)

Total Bento: 372 calories

Chicken Roulade - Sundried Tomatoes - 238 calorie bento

I had pounded out a few chicken breasts and frozen them. I bumped into one of the packages in the freezer and roulades came to mind.

They are really easy to make: You'll need a chicken breast (which I cut in half lengthwise and pounded out); sundried tomatoes (the ones that come in oil - but you need to drain the oil!), any seasoning of your preference (I used Garlic & Herb Mrs. Dash), and a pinch of salt.

All you do is sprinkle the seasonings & salt on one side, lay sundried tomatoes on top of the seasonings, roll up and secure with toothpicks. Put in an oven-safe pan, sprinkle with a little bit of water, cover and stick in a 375 deg Fahrenheit oven for 20-25 minutes, turning over once. You do not need to add any oil - the oil in the sundried tomatoes is plenty!

Bento Content:

• Chopped Salad (cabbage, carrots, mini peppers, capers) (38)
• Chicken Roulade (186)
• Greens Beans (14)

Total Bento: 238 calories

Chili Lime Chicken & Tomato Skewers - 258 calorie Bento

The meat for this lunch came from Trader Joe's. One Chili Lime Chicken Burger sure went a long way for this bento! I basically cooked it and cut it up into squares, added grape tomatoes and skewered them all. For skewers I used food picks I found at The Cristmas Tree Store. This was one spicy meal!

Bento Content:

• Chili Lime Chicken Burger (150)
• Grape Tomatoes (21)
• Shredded Romaine Lettuce (4)
• Savory Thin Mini Crackers (53)
• Spicy Fat-Free Black Bean Dip (30)

Total Bento : 258 calories

Bento for 2 - Lime Chicken Sandwiches & Dolmas - 458 calorie per person

This was a bento for 2 people. It contained both lunch & snack. For the sandwiches I used Ciabatta rolls and Chile Lime Chicken Burgers from Trader Joe's. The cheese was Lite Mild Cheddar cheese sticks from TJ's cut up into squares. The dolmas were pre-made - I didn't do these from scratch!

Bento Content:

For Lunch:

• Sandwich (265)
• Tomatoes (8)
• Frozen Grapes (10)

For Snack:

• Dolmas - Stuffed Grape Leaves (105)
• Cheese Stick (70)

Total Lunch : 283 calories

Total Snack: 175 calories

Total Bento: 458 calories

Chicken Shu Mai & Veggies - 198 calorie Bento

You know how you see things in the supermarket and you never decide to pick it up? Well, I made a discovery in Trader Joe's - Chicken Shu Mai. I am very happy that I took a chance and bought some. Very yummy! One of these days I am going to try to make them from scratch, but for now... frozen ones!

Bento Content:

• Trader Joe's Chicken Shu Mai - without sauce (160)
• Classic Mixed Vegetables (30)
• Grape Tomatoes (8)

Total Bento : 198 calories

Chicken Roulade - 193 calorie Bento

I found an Asian supermarket that has chicken breast sliced paper thin. Perfect for Roulades! These are stuffed with carrots sliced thin and scallions. A sprinkle of Mrs. Dash, some Worcestershire sauce and trip to the oven until cooked. Very tasty!

Bento Content:

• Chicken Roulade (137)
• Mini Peppers (14)
• Corn on the Cob (42)

Total Bento : 193 calories

Another Bento for 2 - 299 calorie Bento

Summer weather approaches and it is time for cool-ish food! This is another bento for two - I decided to make the ultimate portable food - Summer Rolls!

Bento Content:

Summer Rolls filled with roasted chicken, shredded carrots, bean sprouts, lettuce and mint (125)

Blueberries (16)

Cherries (18)

Plum (30)

Banana - not shown (110)

Total Bento per person : 299 calories - including the banana!

Chicken Mix & Carrots & Mash - 209 calories Bento

I made the chicken out of a leftover roasted skinless & boneless chicken breast. I sliced up sweet onions, mini peppers and a few black olives. I added a teensy bit of red wine - just a tiny dash.

I steamed the carrots with granulated garlic, made some mashed potatoes and baked in the oven.

Very fast, very tasty!

Bento Content:

• Chicken with Veggies (70)
• Garlicky Carrots (14)
• Potato Mash (59)
• Strawberries (24)
• Fresh Mini Mandarin Segments (42)

Total Bento : 209 calories

Spicy Drumsticks & Cauliflower Bake - 329 calorie Bento

This is an easy meal to prepare. No stove - all oven!

For the Drumsticks: Mix equal parts of Teriyaki sauce with Prepared Horseradish sauce - about 2 tbsp each. Marinate chicken drumsticks in the sauce. Bake in oven until cooked through. Shouldn't take more than 20 minutes.

For the Cauliflower Bake: Cooked cauliflower florets - loosely mashed to produce crumbles. Mix with egg white (I used the ones in the container), sprinkle Bacos (I did this on a whim), chopped scallions, Mrs. Dash of your preference, dash of salt & pepper. Spray an oven-safe pan. Combine all ingredients well and pour into pan. Cook in oven until almost set. Sprinkle a little bit of bread crumbs on top and continue to bake until egg is completely set.

Bento Content:

• Spicy Drumsticks (194)
• Grape Tomatoes (25)
• Grapes (8)
• Cauliflower Bake (102)

Total Bento : 329 calories

Roasted Chicken plus Black Olive & Tomato Skewers - 180 calorie Bento

This was a very low calorie bento and partly a 'deconstructed' chicken soup.

Let me explain : the night before I had quickly roasted some skinless and boneless chicken breasts to make hubbie a quick chicken soup (he has a cold and is convinced chicken soup makes him better). I always have frozen homemade chicken broth for such an occasion - just add roasted chicken, celery, carrots, seasonings and at the vey end some spinach!

So, I put aside some of the roasted chicken for this bento - plus the carrots, celery and spinach.

Bento Content:

• Roasted Chicken (110)
• Black Olive & Grape Tomato skewers (25)
• Baby Spinach (7)
• Celery (10)
• Carrots (18)
• Lime Juice (4)
• Ken's Lite Italian Dressing Spray - 6 sprays (6)

Total Bento : 180 calories

Mini Penne with Italian Chicken Sausage, Zuchinni, Peppers & Sundried Tomatoes - 230 calorie Bento

This was an easy-throw-everything-together bento. We have been using the smaller pasta (to fool the eye!) and expanding the pasta meal with lean meat and veggies. We have been religiously just cooking 2 oz. of pasta per person - and usually we have left over for bentos the following day.

Bento Content:

• Mini Penne with Lite Italian Chicken Sausage, Peppers, Sundried Tomatoes and Zuchinni

Total Bento: 230 calories

Yucca Squares & Broiled Chicken Sausage - 234 calorie Bento

If you have never tasted yucca, run to the store and cook some, pronto!

Yucca is a root or tuber. It looks like a tree branch, but usually it has a thin bark. Beware, some yucca types are poisonous, but the ones you get at the store are edible (they should be, at least!). Makes a great substitute to mashed potatoes!

So, I basically boiled the peeled yucca with a bit of salt. Then I mashed it with butter spray, and added a little bit of the yucca boiling water to facilitate the mashing. I added anis seed, salt and black pepper. I waited for the mash to cool down a bit, then molded into squares. Yucca mash, once cold, easily sets and stays molded - great for bentos!

I molded the tiny squares by using the packaging of crushed garlic from the refrigerated section at Trader Joe's. Works like a charm! I'm going to try molding rice with it too - it might work!

Bento Content:

• Yucca Squares (123)
• Broiled Grape Tomatoes (21)
• Broiled Organic Mild Italian Chicken Sausage (90)

Total Bento : 234 calories

Balsamic Chicken Summer Rolls - 448 calorie Bento

This bento included a snack.

I had grilled balsamic chicken with snow peas and red peppers as leftovers. I cut it all into small pieces, shredded carrots, added bean sprouts and ...tada! Summer rolls galore. Very, very tasty.

Bento Content:

• Summer rolls (143)
• Laughing Cow Wedge Light (35)
• Dried Pineapple Rings (130)
• Trader Joe's Strawberry Bar - For Snack (140)

Total Bento : 448 calories