Feisty Bento #321: Repeats

Basically a repeat of yesterday's - mini quiches (still have a whole giant box of them!) and edamame. 

Thanks for all the concern on yesterday's post!  I kind of ran out of here after posting and didn't really finish my thoughts.  I responded to most of the comments (within the comment section) in case you missed it.  I think I just have been pushing myself a little too hard in terms of exercise - last week, I logged more than 11 miles plus an aerobics class.  Not really a lot, per se, but more than my usual 5-7 miles per week, and probably an awful lot to take on in the first week that I stopped eating any animal flesh (cuz last week was the first week not eating fish as well).  I can't say I'm easing up on the exercise - last night, class was unexpectedly cancelled (after I already was waiting on campus almost an hour for it to start, argh!), so I rushed home and hit the gym, ran 2.52 miles then went home to relax a bit before sleeping - speaking of which, I thought it was just me, but looking over people's status messages on Facebook today, a LOT of people seemed to have had insomnia last night!  I kept waking up every 30 minutes literally and getting so frustrated.  I thought it was because I exercised too soon before sleeping, but seriously, 15-20 people or more on Facebook wrote about having trouble sleeping last night, and I received some oddly timed emails that included notes saying "I couldn't sleep so I decided to write to you," haha. 

One last thing: 9 more days until the Meat Hiatus ends.  Any ideas what to eat as my first meal back eating meat?  Bear in mind that it's breakfast, and directly afterwards, I will be getting on a flight to Vegas, so it can't be anything too crazy (ie, have to travel into Manhattan to get at a specific restaurant - my flight is at 8:30 or 9:30am out of JFK, so that's too much rushing around) and too ridiculous that I might get sick from meat overload in one shot.  I mean, I will be gorging myself on meat in Vegas, but I'll be okay getting sick there, at least I have the freedom to move around and not be stuck on an airplane for hours. 

Okay, I'm off!  And: http://twitter.com/feistyfoodie I joined like a month ago or something, and I just Tweeted for the first time.  I don't anticipate I'll be updating frequently, but if you like, you can add me.  :)

Think outside the lunchbox~!!!

Feisty Bento #320: Anemic

Double stacked!  Everything is two high. 

Mini quiches; edamame (soy bean pods); vegetarian/vegetable rolls; pack of soy sauce

So I whipped up some mini-quiches yesterday using my best approximation of how to do that.  I used wonton wrappers for the shells and pre-baked those, then added a mixture of egg, salt, pepper, three cheese blend and shredded broccoli/carrot stems.  I learned a few things - probably would make it easier had I cooked the broccoli/carrot mixture first, softened it up a bit, because it was a little hard spooning them into the shells without getting drops of egg everywhere as I tried to squish the strips into the shells, haha.  Also, it turns out, I don't like quiche all that much and I'm not sure why.  I love eggs, I love cheese, I love broccoli, so how could putting all of them together in little mini shells (which I was OK with) make them something I only find alright tasting?  I have a decent number left so those will wind up being lunch this week as I struggle from lack of planning.  I was unable to go grocery shopping this weekend and am staring at a fridge full of mishmash uncooked (I also had no time to cook what's in my fridge... mostly because of what prevented me from going grocery shopping.  Whee!). 

I don't have a lunch bento for today (that's dinner) because I decided to head to a cheap sport to check out their $3 sandwich.  Damn that thing was huge and I'm super full now :)

Oh... and I'm beginning to feel nauseous, light headed, dizzy, headachey, exhausted... I'm pretty sure I officially am anemic.  I'll try to go to the doctor this weekend to verify this, but I have been and continue to be really busy so that might not be an option.  Grrrrrrr.  What am I not eating that regular vegetarians eat to maintain their iron levels?  Besides iron supplements.  Seriously.  Enough vegetarians swear they can eat enough to be well balanced and nourished properly!  And please don't tell me spinach, although I have two big bundles in my fridge right now that will get the rinse treatment soon and will be devoured with some garlic and lemon juice.  Yummm! 

Think outside the lunchbox!

Feisty Bento #319: Random, again

Left - roasted broccoli with extra garlic goodness on top
Right - random spaghetti concoction

Small handful of spaghetti; shredded broccoli stems and carrots; dried dill, lemon juice; salt & pepper; teaspoon of mayo; sprinkle of cayenne pepper on top for extra flavor and color.  Yum.  It tasted pretty good and it was just a random moment of "What can I throw together right now?" 

:)

Think outside the lunchbox!

Feisty Bento #318: Haste

Top tier: red bell peppers and 'luscious lemon' hummus
Bottom tier: spinach tofu scramble mixed with rice; roasted broccoli

My English midterm is tonight and I haven't finished the reading.  Haha.  But I'm excited about eating my dinner above!

Also, there's a cool contest going on over here about healthy school lunches... I entered a story about my high school lunches, and will probably be entering some photos as well!  Go, enjoy, and good luck!

Think outside the lunchbox ;)

BTW - I realized I forgot to mention my English presentation.  It went alright I think (yes, we presented on Monday night).  I got to say "testicles" to the classroom and the professor actually liked that a lot (he said "Plus 10!" to me).  So.  I think it went alright.  We'll see.  Maybe I'll announce my grade.  Hahaha.  Maybe not... ;) 

Feisty Bento #317: Ready to Roll Out

Top: a few orange segments (I ate the rest of the orange after I cut it and it didn't fit)
Bottom: toasted high fiber whole grain bread schmeared with 'luscious lemon' hummus and red bell pepper slices; extra red bell pepper slices to fill the gaps

This was sort of meant to be a lunch bento since I've got my aerobics class tonight and normally only eat an apple before that, but I wound up going to lunch with my new lunch buddy, Spam, so I'll eat this before class tonight instead.  Mmm.  Lunch was good.  No review to come cuz it's my 'secret' spot.  Hahaha. 

When I was walking to the bus this morning, I saw this on the back of a car where normally your car maker's emblem is.  I thought it was cute so I took a photo.  Hahaha. 

Think outside the lunchbox !  :)

Feisty Bento #315 & 316: It's what's inside that counts

Today's lunch is so delicious!  So wonderful!  I know it doesn't look like much, but I assure you - uber delicious.

Top tier: portobello parmesan over a small bit of spaghetti
Bottom tier: roasted broccoli

Two things - though I link to a recipe for the portobello parmesan, I've tweaked it and am going to post the update soon.  So you may want to hold off before I tell you how to elevate it to new heights ;) 

And yes, I'm addicted to that roasted broccoli.  Three weeks in a row and I don't think I'm tired of it yet.  Wow.  That's gotta be a record of some sort for me. 

(BTW, I also have an orange that I will eat with this bento.)

Dinner tonight, before I hopefully get to present for my English class - another "What's so great about that?" picture - is portobello fajitas.  Recipe definitely to come soon.  But these are delicious!  (They are also all encompassing: vegetables, starch, cheese and sour cream for dairy, ... OK so there's no protein.  Whatever.) 

So I gave Keywee yet another new toy (remember her last one?).

Per usual, she does not like to share once she's got a new toy - after it's not new anymore, after it's lost its appeal, she will gladly throw toys into my lap to play with her.  Anyway, this is her hunkering down on my bed, all annoyed that I'm in her face.  She was starting to aggravate me because when I'd gone to move the toy earlier, she'd went to snap at the toy (to take it back) and wound up nailing my thumb good.  I spent a good 15 minutes with my face pressed to hers, growling at her. 

What?  You don't growl at your dog?  ;P 

So an hour or two later, she was still on my bed, chewing on that toy making it squeak (received from Judi via Swap-Bot in the "Let's Hear it for the Dogs!" swap - thanks, Judi!!!  She loves it! - and yes I am totally addicted to swapping), so I took a video.  (No squeaking because she was guarding the toy with her life.)

Yeah... I wound up hiding the toy from her later so I could get some sleep, haha.

Remember - think outside the lunchbox!  :)

Feisty Bento #314: Mmm random goodness

Top tier: roasted broccoli; cabbage boiled in butter
Bottom tier: maple glazed salmon; random rice

Mmm.... that's delicious. 

Crazed lately with work and stuff - oh and that presentation?  We were set to go last (the professor chose our order), out of 5 groups.  Only two groups managed to go last night.  So now I'm not sure if we'll even get to go on Monday!  What the heck!  We weren't completely ready to go but I wanted to just wing it, go for it and whatever. 

(The other two groups... one was really good, the other was... not so good.  So if we're graded comparatively, so far, I'm thinking we'll do OK.) 

Ahhh.  Tomorrow is Friday, and it can't come sooner. 

Think outside the lunchbox, y'all!  Probably no bento tomorrow because it's my gym day, but we'll see :)