Rainy Friday - Tips, Tricks and Inspiration!

Happy Friday!  I've missed a few of these installations lately because of hot dates with my hubby but on this rainy evening pre my Color Run 5k tomorrow, I am here to share some of the week's reading with you.

Here's a tip:  go for at least 5 days a week following health guidelines;  I was shocked to learn that most Americans have only 7 days a year where the meet the MyPlate guidelines.  So many of us are obese or overweight, and it is really sobering news to me.  Oh and did I mention that those who did manage to meet the guidelines usually ate more than 3 meals to get there? 

I think the big wake-up call is that MyPlate is a very simple concept and yet, people don't do it.  It is not enough to say "I'll eat moderately"; we need to put intention and action into it. 

 On a similar vein, let's not let ourselves be tricked by diet gimmicks.  Here 8 diet "rumors" are  unraveled.

Finally, for your weekend enjoyment, here is a little Bento inspiration - a cute piece from the BBC.


Now you should be all set for a fun and fit
weekend!

Beautiful Breakfast (or Lunch, if You Please)

I made Salade Niçoise for Pepper and Dear Hubby for lunch today and it looked so wonderful, I made it for myself for breakfast.  Yes, it was 8:00 a.m., however, I did get up at 4:30.  It was just what I was craving.

The base is salad greens.  We just restarted our CSA box so we got to enjoy some very fresh greens! On top of that is tuna dressed with a mustard vinegarette.  It is surrounded by boiled potatoes (toss them in a teaspoon of olive oil while they're warm), grape tomatoes and a boiled egg.  On the very top I have some pickled cucumber instead of olives which Pepper and Dear Hubby do not like. It's divine.

In the photo below is the deconstructed version for the bento boxes.  Tuna (with the cukes) on the right, potatoes, et al on the left.  This one is Pepper's.  Dear Hubby's has smoked salmon instead of tuna because he is not a fan of canned tuna.

It's simple, it's low calorie and it contains tons of good things for heart and brain health.  What more can you ask?  In case you keep track, nutritional information below:

Nutritional Info  (For Weight Watchers, 7 Points Plus. including your 2 healthy oils!)

• Servings Per Recipe: 1
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 263.0

• Total Fat: 14.3 g
• Cholesterol: 233.3 mg
• Sodium: 496.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 7.1 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g
• Protein: 26.4 g

Our Favorite Bento

It's been a crazy week.  Okay well it was actually a normal week but seemed crazy because I am not back in the mode of school and schedules yet.

That said, I did manage to produce a bento lunch for the family every day but one; here are a couple:

This is a mostly leftover bento.  Pepper had made a yummy Asian chicken salad in phyllo cups the night before; so here is the leftover with sauteed spinach, broccoli, tamagoyaki (omelet) and rice.

Next is our current favorite bento.  All the recipes for this one are from the Just Bento cookbook.  (I think she should be giving me royalties!).  This a Soboro bento.  I think soboro means "ground" so this one is egg, turkey and green bean (with a little carrot for color).  I think the reason they love this bento so much is that the texture is so lovely. All the food is soft; it's just a joy to eat. 

Here are the ingredients ready to go, except the beans and the rice.  I grind my own turkey because I'm a little paranoid.

This is half of Pepper's new bento from Christmas.  It's huge!  The pictures do not do this food justice; it photographs bland, but all the parts are delicately flavored.  It's just so tasty.  To eat it, you dig into the rice beneath so you get both in each bite.  I'm telling you, it's heaven!

 

I left a couple of green beans whole for the top of the box.

Isn't it beautiful?  It makes her want to eat all the healthy stuff inside.  We tie it up in a napkin so the box stays together.

PS - I am not reprinting the recipes here because I haven't asked for permission. But if you want to borrow my cookbook, just ask. Or better yet, buy yourself a copy, it's fantastic.

Bento Blitz

With the return to school and work, I returned to bento making.  I enjoyed my holiday respite from the early morning cooking but the truth is, I love to make lunch for the family.

I have been focusing on getting more color into the boxes, so you may see some unusual things in the next few weeks.  (Are you admiring my fine mesh strainer/steam basket at left?  Got it for Christmas!)

Here are a few bentos I made recently, with a little info about each.

 Pepper has been asking for a simple brown rice and veggie bento from time to time;  she has a very demanding athletic class 30 minutes after she eats, so we collaborate on what is going to sit well while she runs three miles or does 100 crunches. 

I sliced a sweet potato into 1/4" slices, simmered them in a bit of water for about 10 minutes and then used these adorable cutters to make cute designs (thanks Mom and Dad). The scraps at the top were cut small and hidden under the rice.

 Here is Pepper's bento box: broccoli, boiled egg, brown rice, sweet potato, grape tomatoes, and a little piggy of soy sauce.

This is one of my favorite containers for Pepper because it holds her chopsticks and silverware close at hand.(There's a little lid that goes over the flatware compartment.)  I thought dear hubby would not like this meal since he is a meat lover but he offered no complaint!

The next bento was a huge hit.  The spinach knobs with sesame sauce are always popular with the whole family.  In the past I have short-cut the sauce with tahini and it was wonderful, but this time I used the crushed sesame seeds and it was dynamite!  Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! Maki's recipe calls for mixing the sauce with the spinach but it's messy so if I'm in a hurry, I put it on the knobs instead.

There are a few sauteed bell peppers and carrots in between the spinach and the white rice.
Ginger Chicken  (serves 5)

Marinade:
2 Tbsp. crushed ginger
2 Tbsp. Mirin
2 Tbsp. Sake (you can use regular wine)
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce (I use Low Sodium)

Dice up 4 chicken breasts and put them in the marinade a few minutes.  Heat a frying pan over medium high heat with 1/2 tsp. sesame oil and 1 tsp. canola oil.  When the oil shimmers add half the chicken.   Set a timer for 3 minutes and then flip it all.  Cook 2 more minutes but make sure you don't overcook them.  Repeat with new oil and the rest of the chicken, reserving marinade.

There are no sauce bottles in the picture because I forgot to put them in the bentos and had to call Dear Hubby to come back to get them!  The sauce is simple:

Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup sake (or white wine) and add 1/4 cup water.  Add any remaining marinade.  Cook it a few minutes until it is nice and thick, then add 2 Tbsp. soy sauce.  Strain and bottle. 

Finally, today's bento.  Since only the Mr. had to take lunch today, I made a simple meal, partially leftover.  I do not cook a whole meal every day; I do use leftovers when I have them.  That said, 7 people eat a lot of food and we do not have a lot of leftovers.  The only thing I "cooked" for today was cabbage and crab slaw; this is a wonderful recipe from the Just Bento Cookbook that Dear Hubby really enjoys.  

It is actually quite simple, mostly instant cabbage pickles with the yummy crab and a super simple vinaigrette.  There is nothing to it, really, and all the calories are in the crab, of which there is only 1/4 cup per serving. 

I dressed it up a bit with these pretty grape tomatoes.

It looks better if you don't chop all the curls out of the cabbage so don't use a food processor.  The picture below shows the cabbage cut thinly by hand, before pickling.

 

I knew hubby would be fine with yesterday's fried rice as the main dish.  I make fried rice most weeks on Thursday to use up the excess rice accumulated through the week.  I just use whatever I have on hand; in this case it is brown and white rice, scrambled egg, cabbage, mushrooms and a tiny, tiny bit of bacon.

Here is the whole meal together.  I added some fresh blueberries to round it out.  It's all assembled in the neat-o tiffin I bought Dear Hubby last fall.  He loves this container.it holds a lot of food but also looks really cool.

That's the bento round up.  This week was super simple, although I have been behind on dishes all week.  After a conversation with my buddy Colleen, I realized -- duh -- I need some dishwasher safe boxes!  So I shopped them on J-List and found a couple for under $5 each.  They are on the way to me as we speak!

Woo-hoo Friday! Tips, Tricks and Inspiration

A new study shows what we already know -- people don't take their kids to McDonalds for healthy food.  So maybe it's an obvious tip but my advice is this: Skip the fast food lane altogether and pop in your nearest grocer for some cheese, hummus or deli meat, whole wheat crackers, grapes and milk or yogurt.  Go to a real playground for a picnic with fresh air and everything!  You'll be a hero and your kids will benefit! 

Is your warm-up more trick than necessity?  Here is an interview with the author of a fascinating new study.  The upshot for me is that if I am trying to increase performance, I will experiment with reducing my warm-up time. If I am simply exercising, I will likely continue my warm-ups since exercise is exercise and I prefer to err on the side of caution.

This week's inspiration is an (oldish) NY Times article on Bento boxes.  C'mon, already, time to stop thinking about it and build your own bentos!

Have a fun and fit weekend!

Mixed (Lunch) Bag

Fun with bento boxes continues.  Last week we had a trip around the world, including a fun Spanish Omelet and a lovely deconstructed Salade Nicoise.  A few photos for your viewing pleasure:

Friday's lunch  - a visit to the Mediterranean:

Beef koftsas (little meatballs seasoned with parsley and cilantro)

Baba Ganoush and hummus separated with a leaf.  It somehow looked better in person.

Cucumber, parsley and tomato salad.  Stuff it all in the pita and enjoy.

No pics of the food but today we enjoyed a visit to India with  chicken curry, whole-wheat cous-cous and cucumber raita.
Paul got his in his wonderful three tier Tiffin just purchased. 

The balance of this week will be Deconstructed Sandwich Week with all my own recipes.  Yippee! 

September's Last Friday! Tips Tricks and Inspiration

We are still rocking the bentos this week.  Next week, our bentos will feature a "trip around the world" with dishes inspired by India, the Mediterranean, Spain and France, as well as one Asian inspired meal.  This week's bentos all came from my daughter's birthday present, The Just Bento Cookbook. 

This has lead to renew my love with all things pickled, so today's trick is pickling.  If, like me, you get tired of salad, this is a good and low calorie way to change up those veggies.  I came across this yummy sounding Polish pickle recipe on Snack Girl.

Snack Girl's blog is my tip of the week.  She has lots of low-cal ideas for all we snack crazed calorie counters.

Now, for your weekly inspiration.  Yesterday I was tasked with journaling some non-scale related changes in my life since beginning my weight loss journey.  I'm sharing my short list with you, but this week, you are to inspire yourself by doing the same.  Remember, they are not about weight but about the other things.  Here are a couple of mine:

• My whole family eats more healthfully
• I feel happy about what I eat
• I feel strong and fit
• I feel younger in age and have tons more energy
• I have developed my sense of purpose
• I have learned that I am worth spending time and energy on

 Please share your list with me and let me celebrate with you!

Back to Bento - With Photos

The other day I made a beautiful pork loin -- the simple way.  Marinated it in soy sauce, Sprite, and garlic.  Browned all sides and roasted it until done.  It was just perfect.

The pork loin put me in the mood for bento boxes.  This week I was actually able to buy spinach in a bunch at the market;  I love it for the spinach knobs because the stems add a nice crunch and they make them look so interesting.  Here's what is in my boxes:

• Spinach knobs with sesame seeds
• Sesame sauce for the spinach
• Julienne, sauted carrots
• Julienne sauted zucchini
• Rice 
• Pork loin
• Soy sauce

I love the spinach knobs I learned to make from JustBento.  They are such a favorite that our family of 7 will eat three bunches of spinach in minutes.  I thinks the seasoned sauce is what makes the difference.

I have adapted Maki's sauce in the following way:
Firstly, I quadruple it because there are so many of us!  I sub in tahini for the sesame seeds, rice-wine vinegar for the mirin and I add a squirt of mustard to help emulsify it and because it takes great with spinach.  I know all the changes make it not very Japanese.  But I suppose that's perfect since I am Italian-Scotch-Irish American lady with a rainbow of a family! 

Here's my version of the Sesame Sauce for Spinach:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tblsp. Tahini
2 Tblsp. Sugar
Squirt mustard (maybe 1/2 tsp)
Roasted sesame seeds for sprinkling

Whisk all this together.  It keeps well in fridge a couple of weeks.  It will never last that long. 

This photo shows everything coming together on the stove.

All ready for assembly

Filled boxes.  These two get sauce bottles because they will leave the house.  For we homebodies I just keep the sauce in the fridge.  The carrots are hiding under the spinach knobs.

Here is what the boxes look like assembled.  I love the stacking ones like the green one -- they are so clever!   All of these are very inexpensive boxes (from the Chinese equivalent of dollar store) so I don't have to worry if one gets lost or damaged.

This super smart one was purchased by Pepper in San Francisco;  I love the way it keeps her utensils and chopsticks so handy. 

For five bento boxes, I use 3 bunches of spinach, four zuchinni (big ones) and 3 carrots.  That is a lot of veggie servings per person.  And the spinach knobs are so delicious and fun, my kids actually fight over them.

Is it quick to make bento lunches?  Sometimes.  This time it was not, it took about an hour counting numerous interventions by my preschoolers.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely.  I spent an hour making lunches for my entire family that are not only appetizing, they are healthy, colorful and fun to eat! .

Chicken Bites Three ways

I am always looking for yummy low-fat food.  My favorite bento blogger published a recipe for some beautiful cabbage rolls.  I decided to use her technique with my favorite chicken recipe.  I make a huge recipe of the chicken filling and then use it to create 3 kinds of meals.  Any form freezes great!

Yes they talk a long time, but since you are getting 24 servings, it's worth it!.

The cabbage wrapped ones are definitely the stars but I am too lazy to do more than one head of the cabbage!

The nutritional info and Weight Watchers Points (Plus) are at the end.

Ingredients:

• Sesame Oil, 1/2 tsp
• Canola Oil, 1 tbsp 
• Chicken Breast, no skin, 72 ounces 
• Chicken Broth, 2 cup (8 fl oz) 
• Garlic, 3 cloves
• Ginger Root, 2 tsp 
• Cabbage, napa, 1 head
• Quaker Oats 100% Natural Whole Grain oatmeal, 1.50 cup 
• Kikkoman Lite Soy Sauce, 3 tbsp  

First Way:
Cover the leaves with water and bring it to a boil.  Turn it off, drain and let them cool. 

Meanwhile, mix the filling.  I grind my own chicken breast but it isn't required.  Add all the remaining ingredients except the chicken broth.   You can use a spoon but it's easier with your hands.

Prepare the cabbage leaves by cutting out the stem in a V-shape.  Refer to the JustBento blog instructions for complete details.

Using a melon baller or small scoop, place a ball near the broad end of each leaf.  Tuck the top over, fold in the sides and roll like a burrito.  Refer to the JUST BENTO blog for a fine explanation and lovely photos.

Place these chicken balls in the bottom of a large pan, resting on the "tail" end.  Pour in enough chicken stock to cover the bottom by about 1/2 inch.  Heat to boiling and reduce to simmer.  Cover pan and cook 15 minutes.  Double-check with a meat thermometer (should be 160 degrees.)

Lift them out gently and reserve the yummy broth.  Serve with Chinese dipping sauce for dumplings.
This way makes about  6 servings.  I will use them for bento boxes with  carrot kinpira and fruit.

Second Way:
Using a small scoop, about golf ball size, and form all the remaining filling into balls.  This is easier with wet hands.

Heat about  1 tbsp. of cooking oil and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil in non-stick skillet.   Flatten 18 balls in your hands to make patties about 1/2" thick.  Divide into two batches; cook until 160 degrees inside;  about 3-4 minutes on each side.  Reserve oil in skillet..   (Serve 3 patties to each with fried rice and carrots).

Third way:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil to skillet. 

Working in batches, quickly brown meatballs.  Place in large roasting pan, coated with cooing spray.

When all meatballs are added, pour in the reserved broth from the cabbage balls.  Place in oven for 25-30 minutes or until the meatballs reach 160 degrees. 

Serve these with plum sauce or orange sauce.
I am going to put them in lunches with edema-me and molded rice. 

Nutritional Info:
3 Weight Watchers points per serving

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 24
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 122.8

• Total Fat: 2.3 g
• Cholesterol: 49.4 mg
• Sodium: 207.5 mg
• Total Carbs: 4.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.5 g
• Protein: 20.5 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Chicken Bites - 3 ways calories by ingredient on Spark People.

Bento Boxes

A few years ago, I saw a Weight Watchers Online thread on bento boxes.  It raised my curiosity so (as ususal) I did some research and the Tischler love of all things bento was born.  We love them so much, one year we gave empty boxes, rice molds, egg molds and other fun things to Pepper's teachers for Christmas.  (Thought train derailed -- we have all new teachers now so maybe will re-run that idea!)  We love them so much, Pepper is considering training in Japan when she finishes culinary school!

I love Korean veggies so have adapted several recipes for them; they also go well in the bento boxes.  I am going to make Pepper and Dear Hubby bentos for lunch this week, so I will take some pictures and post them with recipes through the week.

I have a favorite bento blog, Just Bento.

The cool thing about bento is that it spurs creativity.  It raises the bar on bag lunch.  How can I make this beautiful as well as palatable?  What can I have for lunch that is not a sandwich?   Bentos do not have to be Asian inspired though must of ours are;  we love the Japanese, Chinese and Korean flavor palettes.

In case I've raised your curiosity, here are two articles on Japanese eating and lifestyle:

This one is from is from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and talks about the possibilities for slimming your waistline while enjoying Japanese cuisine.

I was inspired by this National Geographic article too. We have a lot to learn from the Japanese population's approach to eating.

If you get inspired to do your own bentos too, please send me some pics!