#3 Basic Totoro and Makkuro

This box gave me some trouble. I used a smaller box, and found that it was too shallow, but continued to use it anyway. :( The Totoro was a pain in the butt to make, and the meatballs were too big. I still need a hole-punch to make pupils for the eyes.

I think it turned out ok. Totoro is so cute! Design is still rather simple, but I'll learn. haha

The rice used for Totoro's body is colored with (believe it or not) mocha powder! haha. Juan said he couldn't taste the chocolate, and I'm glad. I just didn't have anything else to color it with!

The makkuro are made with meatballs this time, but I made their eyes too big.

I LOVE how I end up filling so much of the space with greens. It looks so pretty and provides a good excuse to include a salad in a hungry man's lunch. I'm actually surprised he even likes the cutesy factor. He would never show his co-workers, I'm sure. They can just read my blog anyway. :P

#2 Mini Lunch

I usually eat a lot of food at meal time. I have come to find out that it is because I feel compelled to eat everything in front of me. A whole bag of chips, cookies, etc. When there is extra food, often times, we eat it without thinking.

The box I created was not for my husband, but for me. I tried to keep it balanced by filling much of the space with greens, but I still included some pasta, rice, berries and some protein.

I found that it was plenty of food, and I felt satisfied because I ate all of it. This is a 16 oz container, so imagine fitting your entire lunch into a grande cup from Starbucks. haha

There is no real theme to this, just a hodge-podge of items.

The Makkurokurosuke, a character from Ghibli's "My Neighbor Totoro," is a rice ball wrapped in nori. His eyes are made of white cheddar cheese and nori.

The little wanna-be octopus in the upper left corner is a miniature hot dog; sliced, and heated in a skillet.

I love eggs! The hardboiled egg here has a sliver removed to make a mouth. I need to get some black sesame seeds for small details like his eyes.

I put shells and cheese in a bento container, and skewered some berries for color(and desert!)

#1 Farm

So this is my first post under the new theme of bento-building. I have two to share with you, one of which was made on the 2nd, hence the title of the post. : ) So far, most of my inclusions have been inspired by other bento artists, but I hope to venture into completely original elements and design.

This is obviously inspired by farm animals. This box provides balanced servings of leafy greens(mostly spinach), white rice, and protein. I used organic ingredients wherever possible. The weird thing in the middle with the almonds on it is supposed to be a road with cobblestones. I made it really late at night, and had nothing else prepared already. haha

Sheep:
 - white rice
 - turkey (for their heads and ears)
 - nori for their eyes

Chicken:
 - hard boiled egg
 - carrot
 - nori (for its eyes)

Fields and road:
 - baby spinach and lettuce
 - onion
 - carrots
 - sticky white rice
 - raw almonds