Bento Challenge Week 1

Maki at Just Bento is hosting a 5 week Bento Challenge.

I must be feeling insane this week because I wanted to do all 3 assignments.  Whew!

Basic

• Make one bento. (Check)  Did Bentos for me and my boy all week.  Hubby got one Fri.  Little girl got one all days but Fri.  (She doesn’l like California rolls.)  One of the coolest things is that I’m learning a tiny bit about presentation as I go.  Didn’t anticipate this one.  Maybe I won’t be the unsophisticated American twit forever?
• Mise en Place. I usually make my son’s bento-ish lunch the night before and use leftovers in mine at lunch time.  Though Friday it was important to have room ready to make California rolls.  Should have prepped stuff Thu night, but I came home late.

Going deeper

• Pre-plan. Plan out your bentos for the week.  (Check. I do this on Wednesdays before as I plan my meals and grocery list for Shopping on Thu.)

(actuals in parens)

Weight Loss

• Figure out how many calories you really need.

Maintenance: 2458 cal/day
Fat Loss: 1967 cal/day
Extreme Fat Loss: 1475 cal/day

• Measure your bento box’s (or boxes’) capacity in mililiters (ml). My bento boxes are 620 and 670ml. Already done.
• ** I’ll add – track my calories more closely. I’ve had real trouble the last few weeks losing ANY weight and had gained instead.  So going back to tracking calories is the way to go for me.  Track with my movement log.
• Move.
  

• Daily Log
  • Exercise: wii fit free step to 130+ beats per min music, unless noted.
  • Monday – 30 min. Total cals: 1,708  Net cals (After exercise): 1,447
  • Tuesday – (woke at 4am – very tired during day. ) 10 min. Total cals: 2,021 Net cals: 1,891
  • Wednesday – 20 min. Total cals: 1,923 Net cals: 1,663
  • Thursday – none.  Knee hurts from lugging littlest one around on one hip.  Learning from my stupidity and will let her walk or on super cold days outside  keep her in the car.  Ate fewer calories today knowing I wouldn’t exercise.  It helped.  Total and Net cals:  1,766.
  • Friday – TBD
  • Total loss this week:  1.7 lost so far

Bentos for the week:

(Calorie breakdown with help from The Daily Plate. 2nd bento is for my daughter.)
Chicken Tsukune Mini Burgers recipe from JustBento.com   247
White Rice Cooked (.75 cup)  98
Pear, Small, Raw (1/2)  43
Edamame (1/4 cup)  60
Carrot, Raw (1/2)  15
Lettuce, Romaine (1/4 cup)  3

Total = 466

01/13/09

(I was WAY tired this day from waking too early.  Gotta love my cat.  :p  The crackers and cream cheese were nummy, despite not being as good for me.)
Hunt’s Classic Italian Spaghetti Sauce, Four Cheese flavor     25
Great Value 5-cheese Square Ravioli  (baked with the cheese and herbs)   310
Great Value Parmesan Grated Cheese     20
Gv Cantaloupe     28
Great Value Snack Crackers     150
Philadelphia Raspberry Cream Cheese     90

Total = 623

01/14/09

Moraccan Meatballs      294
Hardboiled Egg     80 (shaped by Hello Kitty veggie shaper – rest of egg under raisins)
Sun Maid Sun Maid Raisins     60
Healthy Choice 7-grain Bread (~2/3 slice)     53  (Fun to see what can do with the little veggie shapers)
Pink grapefruit half    55
Sugar (tsp)     15
Celery     6
Skippy’s Natural Peanut Butter     45   (Naughty pb. It attached itself to the side of the box and I couldn’t get it off with out messing upeverything!)

Total = 608

01/15/09

Moroccan Meatballs (4 =small) 350
White Rice 103
Suger Snap Peas 20
Small Pear (1/2) 38
Corn bread muffin (mini) 42
Reese’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures (3) 132 (not shown.  In weakness I opened them at lunch. <o.O;>)

Total = 685
(despite this lunch’s calories I ate fewer calories today.)

01/16/09

Sushi California Roll  (1 roll)    255
Carrot, Raw (1/2 of leftovers)    15
Cucumbers (1/2 of leftovers)    23
Soy Sauce (2 fish = ~tsp) 7
Avocado (2 leftover slices)    40
Great Value Dried Apricots (2)    34
Reese’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures (1 mini cup)    44
Great Value Cashew Halves And Pieces    80

Total = 498

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I only managed to get one of the boy’s lunches photographed.  I’m usually wisking them into the backpack so he doesn’t forget his lunch.

Boy's lunch Fri

Need to work on my presentation for his lunches. The biggest problem is I’m using too big a box for him.  Am looking for an appropriate sized bento-ish box that I won’t care if it gets lost and can be turned upside down with out mixing things.  He lost my tupperware one – which almost got him handcuffed to his lunch box.   I really want to get him a cute Totorro bento box, but we’ll see if I keep getting back my cheapies.

This lunch was at his request he’s been asking for sushi for weeks.  California roll, apricots and reses, with an ice container.  I don’t think he’ll get through it all – lunch time is short and if he talks he’ll be lucky to get through half the sushi and nothing else.