Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Easter Leftover Bento #7


Since there are only two of us this year for Easter, we decided to go with the theme of "What would Jesus have eaten before his death and resurrection..." I looked all throughout the bible and found that there were many things that are still available on the market and are usually eaten in my household because we go raw vegan in the summer. I made this bento from the leftovers of our Easter Feast of Two!

The ingredients and location in bible:
  • Garlic (Numbers 11:5)
  • Salt (Ezra 6:9; Job 6:6)
  • Almonds (Genesis 43:11; Numbers 17:8)
  • Dates (2 Samuel 6:19; 1 Chronicles 16:3)
  • Figs (Nehemiah 13:15; Jeremiah 24:1-3)
  • Grapes (Leviticus 19:10; Deuteronomy 23:24)
  • Olives (Isaiah 17:6; Micah 6:15)
  • Bread (Genesis 25:34; 2 Samuel 6:19; 16:1; Mark 8:14)
  • Unleavened Bread (Genesis 19:3; Exodus 12:20)
  • Fish: Matthew 15:3 & John 21:11-13
  • Cheese (2 Samuel 17:29; Job 10:10)
  • Olive Oil (Ezra 6:9; Deuteronomy 8:8)
  • Wine (Ezra 6:9; John 2:1-10)

Salad Egg Bento #6


The previous Easter bento was for my husband however mine is slightly different since I am trying to lose a few pounds. My bento is much smaller because I love cute designed bentos (love H.K. ones but hard to find in my area). It basically has a salad with feta cheese and a Mr. Egg.

Easter Bento #5


It was Easter so we thought what better way to celebrate the holiday but with another bento. Luckily Easter is on a Sunday each year so I got to make a cuter bento than what my husband allows me to make for him for work. I made the Easter bunny face with some red food dye that I had available however it came without a dropper. Therefore, the bunny is slightly more red than I had anticipated however he is still cute. I used nori (seaweed sheets) for his whiskers. In addition I made a Mr. Egg with leftover boiled eggs. His tongue is made from a strawberry slice (from the additional fruit bento not shown) and also blue cake decoration gel; again, this is what I had on hand.

Tofu Patty Bento #4


In my household I generally try to reduce the amount of red meat to once or twice a month. Therefore we are constantly trying new recipes that can be cooked with tofu or all natural. Since it is still winter, we stay away from raw vegan but tofu patties are a wonderful substitution for hamburgers. We had planned on making the tofu patties on the grill however when we got home from work, the weather had turned nasty and it started to flurry outside. Yes, it is April but we are still getting a little snow much to my chagrin.

Stuffed Salmon Bento #3


Trader Joe's has a wonderful selection of frozen fish. Although we live near a large lake, it is hard to find affordable fish in the grocery stores. We have found Trader Joe's to have a large selection and for reasonable prices. In this bento we tried the stuffed salmon; I molded it into a heart shape for my husband. Usually he frowns at character bentos but I slide this one in just for him. In addition I used the lovely Easter accessories that I purchase in Chicagoland.

Seitan Satay Bento #2



For a few years now I have been wanting to try out seitan (a wheat protein) but could not find it. Since that time we have moved to a city that now has Trader Joe's and also Whole Foods Market. I highly suggest these two stores for fresh, organic ingredients that are usually hard to find in other places of the country. Seitan is supposed to be from Japan, however I was never able to have the chance to eat it while I lived there a few times. So, it was a great surprise when I found seitan near the tofu at Whole Foods Market. Our brand was from Westsoy however it may come in other brands too around the nation or overseas. This bento was for my husband - we just bought him a new Mr. bento (pictured here) so we love trying out many new recipes to fit into it. He loves the Mr. Bento however I do find that it is slightly much more demanding for smaller foods than a traditional long bento.

Grilled Salmon Bento #1

This bento was made for my husband who has a large appetite. It was really nice the day before we made this bento so we decided to BBQ! Normally we try to make double the amount of food the night before we go to work so that we can make yummy bentos. This one was made just by doing that; by doing it this way we save money and time.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Tuesday Food Intake


kamil kantarcıoğlu


Tuesday Food:

Breakfast:
English Muffin w/ Vegemite and butter
Fried Egg

Snack:
English Muffin w/ butter

Lunch:
Homemade Greek Wedding Soup
Salad w/ feta cheese

Dinner:
Balsamic Sesame Chicken leg (1/4 of one)
Salad w/ feta cheese
Trader Joe's Omega Nut Mix
Part of a Baby Cucumber
Homemade Protein Bar

Calories: 1107 Total

Note: I feel like a pig today because I ate so many little things for dinner. The chicken legs were not good in my opinion (although Bob loved them) so I couldn't eat them. Normally I would eat some strawberries or grapes but we were all out; I already ate them this week - oops!

Tuesday Food Exercise Workout


Today was a good exercise day. I was feeling bad about Sunday and Monday's workouts so I decided to kick up my plan a little more to add yoga. I have always loved stretching and gymnastics however I have never done a full routine of yoga. It was strange that I got dizzy on some of the moods but I was able to be more flexible than the people in the video. Today is another day and I will try it again to see if I get dizzy again. Let's hope for the best! I'm looking to relax more... Namaste!

Circuit Training 40 minutes 339 calories (30 Day Shred Videos: 1 & 3)
Yoga 28 minutes 46 calories (Hastha Yoga)
Treadmill- 15/mile 33 minutes 157 calories

Monday, April 6, 2009

Food Intake

Today's food intake:

Usually I am much better with my food intake however today I am feeling a bit down due to the weather and from tiredness of yesterday's workout. I took in more calories than I usually prefer to take in but life still goes on and so will my exercise.

Breakfast: 242 calories
Fried Egg
English Muffin w/ 1/2 tbsp fake butter
2 cups of coffee

Snack: 43 calories
1 cup strawberries

Lunch: 466 calories
Homemade Greek Wedding Soup 1/2 serving
Caper Anchovy Tuna Salad over bowl of mixed greens
Trader Joe's Soy Nuggets (4 nuggets = 1 serving)

Dinner:
Seitan Satay with Peanut Butter Sauce
Brussels sprouts side dish

New Layout & Meaning

Today I have decided that I am going to start blogging again after a short period of being offline. I was getting tired of just translating recipes so I wanted to make something more meaningful to me. Most likely no one will visit this site however it is my quest to better myself through each and every daily blog. From this day onward I am going to be writing about my daily lifestyle change. Since January I have been working towards getting a healthier body and live a healthier lifestyle. Since the technology age is upon us, I felt that clearly expressing myself here might help in my quest for a better me.