Glue and Glitter » Bento http://www.glueandglitter.com/main Eat! Drink! Craft! Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:00:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Simple Vegan Bento Idea + Trail Mix Recipe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/04/18/simple-vegan-bento-idea-trail-mix-recipe/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/04/18/simple-vegan-bento-idea-trail-mix-recipe/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 11:00:39 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5332

I know that not everyone loves cooking as much as I do, so I was delighted to run across this video from Kari Sullivan, showing off her simple, vegan bento lunch.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovemypit/3666452635/

Of course, I’m all about preparing things from scratch when you can, but when you’re rushed, there’s nothing wrong with [...]]]> vegan bento lunch

I know that not everyone loves cooking as much as I do, so I was delighted to run across this video from Kari Sullivan, showing off her simple, vegan bento lunch.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovemypit/3666452635/

Of course, I’m all about preparing things from scratch when you can, but when you’re rushed, there’s nothing wrong with throwing something together with prepared foods. Kari’s assembled a tasty, filling lunch with a combination of prepared foods and fresh produce:

  • Coconut yogurt with fresh berries
  • Pre-made hummus with veggies for dipping
  • Mandel bread
  • Trail mix – she didn’t mention if she bought of made this, but it’s super simple to make trail mix! Check my skeleton recipe below.

Home Made Trail Mix

The fun thing about trail mix is that you can do pretty much any combination of nuts, grains, dried fruits, and sweets that you like.

Ingredients

  • Your favorite sort of nuts or seeds
  • Granola, toasted oats, or dry cereal
  • Dried fruit
  • Toasted coconut, chocolate chips, candied nuts – get creative!

Cooking Directions

  • Toss your ingredients together in a glass jar or other container and store somewhere cool and dry. The trail mix will keep for as long as the ingredient that has the shortest shelf life.

Do you have a favorite trail mix combo? I’d love to hear what’s cooking!

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/04/18/simple-vegan-bento-idea-trail-mix-recipe/feed/ 0 5 Tips for Packing a Bento Lunch http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/04/06/5-tips-for-packing-a-bento-lunch/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/04/06/5-tips-for-packing-a-bento-lunch/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:00:46 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5307

As you can probably tell, I love bento! Back when I had a day job, packing cute bento lunches was one of the things that helped me power through the week, and it’s what inspired me to develop my Lunch Kits. The thing about bento, I think, is that people see photos [...]]]> cute vegan bento

As you can probably tell, I love bento! Back when I had a day job, packing cute bento lunches was one of the things that helped me power through the week, and it’s what inspired me to develop my Lunch Kits. The thing about bento, I think, is that people see photos of gorgeous, intricate bento lunches and think there’s no way they can make something that cute on their own. To that, I say boo! Anyone can create a cute, bento lunch. Here’s how.

1. Pick a theme.

Your theme can be vague or specific, as long as you have one. Maybe you really want to create a Hello Kitty bento or you’re just feeling inspired by the flowers in your spring garden. Whatever the inspiration, this is what you’ll use to guide the rest of your lunch-making!

2. Have the right supplies.

You don’t need a ton of supplies to pack a cute bento lunch, but a lunch box with dividers and some mini cookie cutters for fruits and veggies are both a big help. The food you have on hand also falls under supplies, here. Rice or noodles make a great base for creating scenes, and you can arrange fruits, veggies, tofu, nuts, seeds, and seaweed to get just the cute lunch you’re looking for. I’ve seen some folks cut shapes from seaweed with a knife or kitchen scissors or even using a hole punch!

3. Think cute!

This almost goes without saying, but, at least for me, a bento lunch is all about cute! Mini versions of things, hearts, flowers, kitties, and bunnies are all no-fail additions to most bento boxes.

4. Keep it delicious.

It’s easy to sacrifice tastiness in the name of art, but remember that your’e also packing a lunch. You want the finished product to be tasty and filling. That might mean sneaking a handful of cashews in there somewhere, including a small container of sauce alongside your lunch, or even packing a side dish to round things out. Cute goes a long way, but it doesn’t fill your hungry belly at lunchtime!

5. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect.

That first bento lunch might not come out looking exactly like your vision. Or maybe you’ll have a tough time coming up with a theme at first. Don’t fret! You’ll get better in time as you get used to looking at food as components in a tiny, edible art project. Just keep on packing those cute bento lunches!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by gamene

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/04/06/5-tips-for-packing-a-bento-lunch/feed/ 0 Inspiration Friday: More Cute Bento http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/03/25/inspiration-friday-more-cute-bento/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/03/25/inspiration-friday-more-cute-bento/#comments Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:00:25 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5267

The one thing I sort of miss about a corporate day job was packing my lunch. I know, it sounds crazy, but I love sorting out a hearty meal and making it as cute as possible! Bento lunches are all about the cute, and I’ve been running across some really adorable ones lately! Here [...]]]> vegan bento

The one thing I sort of miss about a corporate day job was packing my lunch. I know, it sounds crazy, but I love sorting out a hearty meal and making it as cute as possible! Bento lunches are all about the cute, and I’ve been running across some really adorable ones lately! Here are a few that have me nostalgic for packing lunch.

cute bento inspiration board

  1. Jessica Swift shared this awesome panda onigiri not too long ago, and I just think it’s the cutest lunch! Onigiri is a ball of sticky rice that you normally wrap in a bit of seaweed. You can also stuff onigiri with tasty fillings, like umeboshi plum or minced, stir fried veggies!
  2. This bird bento from Gamene is rocking my socks. Look at those cute little beaks!
  3. Another precious Gamene creation, don’t you love this rainbow bento? I want to eat my computer screen!
  4. Lucky Sundae‘s arodable ladybug bento that she packed for her son is rocking my socks.
  5. Of course, I had to include Esther’s awesome Glue and Glitter bento lunch, because it warms my heart every time I look at it!

Have you guys packed any cute bento lunches lately? I’d love to see photos and hear about them in the comments!

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/03/25/inspiration-friday-more-cute-bento/feed/ 0 Cute Bento: Spring Themed Lock and Lock Lunch http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/03/21/cute-bento-spring-themed-lock-and-lock-lunch/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/03/21/cute-bento-spring-themed-lock-and-lock-lunch/#comments Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:00:21 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5256

I love cute bento inspiration, so I was excited to run across this super cute bento packed in the same Lock and Lock lunchbox that comes with my Lunch Kits!

Flickr user gamene kept two of the inner dividers and left the other half of the box open to [...]]]> Cute Bento

I love cute bento inspiration, so I was excited to run across this super cute bento packed in the same Lock and Lock lunchbox that comes with my Lunch Kits!

Flickr user gamene kept two of the inner dividers and left the other half of the box open to create her garden-themed, cute bento lunch. How perfect is this for spring??

On the left, she has a beautiful summer roll cut into three pieces on a bed of lettuce and peppers alongside some tiny tomatoes with sprout-shaped toothpicks in them. The first quarter section has yummy edamame, yellow beans, and more peppers. That last section looks like it’s full of fried rice topped with veggies and deli meat cut with a miniature flower cookie cutter. You could easily make this cute bento lunch vegan by choosing an all veggie summer roll, vegan fried rice, and either subbing out the deli meat with vegan lunch meat or more veggies. Easy peasy, and so freaking cute!

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/03/21/cute-bento-spring-themed-lock-and-lock-lunch/feed/ 2 Lunch Kit in Action: Esther’s Adorable Bento http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/03/07/lunch-kit-in-action-esthers-adorable-bento/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/03/07/lunch-kit-in-action-esthers-adorable-bento/#comments Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:00:31 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5136 One of my favorite parts of running Glue and Glitter is when customers share photos of their Lunch Kits, Cup Gloves, aprons and so on. I pour so much love into everything I design, and it’s fun to see how folks end up using my products. It’s eleventy times more awesome when they’re super-enthusiastic, so [...]]]> Glue and Glitter Bento

How freaking cute is this bento lunch? I'm a little bit misty, to be honest.

One of my favorite parts of running Glue and Glitter is when customers share photos of their Lunch Kits, Cup Gloves, aprons and so on. I pour so much love into everything I design, and it’s fun to see how folks end up using my products. It’s eleventy times more awesome when they’re super-enthusiastic, so you can imagine my delight when I got the photo above in my inbox!

Last week, Esther Franklin, a customer and fellow vendor at the RAD Studio Cruise, sent me a few photos of bento lunches she packed in the Lunch Kit that she bought from me!

bento packed in a Glue and Glitter Lunch Kit

Esther is a bento fanatic, so she has a stash of cute bento boxes. You’ll notice her black bento box in a couple of the photos. I think these lunches are a great reminder that bento is about CUTE! The whole idea behind my Lunch Kits is to inspire folks to pack lunches instead of buying expensive, wasteful takeout meals, and when I see adorable evidence that it’s working like in Esther’s photos, it warms my heart right up!

Charaben bento lunch

I’m glad to know that this Lunch Kit is in good hands!

Do any of you guys have photos of Glue and Glitter products in action? I’d love to see them! It’s like running across photos of an old friend. Send me an email through the contact page, or at becky AT glueandglitter DOT com. <3

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/03/07/lunch-kit-in-action-esthers-adorable-bento/feed/ 0 Friday Roundup http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/04/03/friday-roundup/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/04/03/friday-roundup/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:05:57 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=1521
I had such a great time doing that roundup last Friday, I thought I’d do another one! Here are a few things from me and a few things that are totally rad that I ran across this week:

From Me: Let’s do some green spring cleaning! Here’s a method for Kitty Bento
I had such a great time doing that roundup last Friday, I thought I’d do another one! Here are a few things from me and a few things that are totally rad that I ran across this week:

This weekend, I’m planning to seriously hole up with my sewing machine. There are custom orders to finish and craft shows to get ready for!

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/04/03/friday-roundup/feed/ 1 Shepherd’s Pie http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/03/10/1337/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/03/10/1337/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:57:30 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=1337 This is another Striepe family favorite, though we haven’t made it in a while. As I inhaled two bowls on Sunday night, I wondered why I’d stopped making this every week. The recipe below makes enough for two hearty dinners and a little left over for lunch!

The lunch above features (clockwise [...]]]> This is another Striepe family favorite, though we haven’t made it in a while. As I inhaled two bowls on Sunday night, I wondered why I’d stopped making this every week. The recipe below makes enough for two hearty dinners and a little left over for lunch!
Shepherd's Pie
The lunch above features (clockwise from top left): broccoli slaw, sweet chile sauce for the slaw, lychees and shepherd’s pie.

Shepherd’s Pie
Mash up 4 cooked russet potatoes with 2T olive oil and 1/4c soy milk (more, if things are dry). Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

  • 2T margarine
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 scallions, diced
  • 3/4c mushroom broth
  • 4 bunches baby bok choy, chopped
  • 1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped
  • 1c broccoli slaw
  • 1t cornstarch
  • 1-2 handfuls french fried onions
  • 2T nutritional yeast

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a sauce pot, heat margarine over medium and fry the garlic, scallions and broccoli slaw for about 3 minutes. Add the broth, shrooms and bok choy and simmer until things start to wilt. Mix in the cornstarch to thicken and simmer, stirring, for a couple of minutes more.

In a greased 8X8″ pan, spread half of the mashed potatoes so that they cover the whole bottom of the pan. Spread the veggie mixture on top, and cover with the rest of the potatoes. Smooth the potatoes down, then sprinkle with nutritional yeast and the onions. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top gets a little browned.

Serve!

This came out really deliciously! Dave and I both had seconds.

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/03/10/1337/feed/ 0 Putting the BEN in BENto http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/03/02/putting-ben-bento/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/03/02/putting-ben-bento/#comments Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:00:07 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=1279 Pikko made a LOST-themed bento lunch!

That’s Ben Linus cut from a piece of seaweed right there, folks. You can see her whole assembly process right here on her blog. This one would be super duper easy to veganize. Just leave out the egg and sub in some sort of [...]]]> The amazing Pikko made a LOST-themed bento lunch!

LOST Bento by Pikka

That’s Ben Linus cut from a piece of seaweed right there, folks. You can see her whole assembly process right here on her blog. This one would be super duper easy to veganize. Just leave out the egg and sub in some sort of soysage for the meatballs. Voila!

This bento is so awesome, it even made it onto TV! Check out the segment after the jump:
(. . .)
Click here to read on!


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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/03/02/putting-ben-bento/feed/ 1 My Lunch Kits on Vegan Lunch Box http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/02/21/lunch-kits-vegan-lunch-box/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/02/21/lunch-kits-vegan-lunch-box/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:13:40 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=1224 AAAAAAAAAAH!!! The amazing Jennifer of Vegan Lunch Box fame featured my Lunch Kits on her blog this morning!!

She is the reason I coveted the Laptop Lunch sets and the reason I started making bento lunches. If it hadn’t been for that, I would never have made a Lunch Kit [...]]]> AAAAAAAAAAH!!! The amazing Jennifer of Vegan Lunch Box fame featured my Lunch Kits on her blog this morning!!
Lollipop Tree Lunch Kit

She is the reason I coveted the Laptop Lunch sets and the reason I started making bento lunches. If it hadn’t been for that, I would never have made a Lunch Kit in the first place!

*bounce*

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/02/21/lunch-kits-vegan-lunch-box/feed/ 2 A Grown Up Bento http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/02/19/grown-bento/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2009/02/19/grown-bento/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:57:02 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=1206 The fine folks over at JNC Lunch posted about my Lunch Kits! Hurrah! Not only am I totally taken with this new blog, but she managed to pick my very favorite kit to use for the picture:

I predict that this site is going to rekindle my obsession with packing cute [...]]]> The fine folks over at JNC Lunch posted about my Lunch Kits! Hurrah! Not only am I totally taken with this new blog, but she managed to pick my very favorite kit to use for the picture:
Banner Day Lunch Kit in the softest orange

I predict that this site is going to rekindle my obsession with packing cute bento lunches!

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