Mononoke Hime Bento

On left: onigiri & nori maki rice crackers
On right: broccoli; daikon; romane lettace; and banana slices
Comments: Not sure if this was the best execution of a planned bento. Feels lacking... Didn't even eat it at school either due to...umm... a severe case of female issues, *cough* Though now that I don't feel so in pain I'm actually eating it while typing this up.
Prepare time: 30 min.

Yakisoba Bento

On left: yakisoba w/ carrots & broccoli
On right: spring roll; strawberry of soy sauce; shitake mushrooms; and edamame
Comments: Not too artsy I suppose though the yakisoba was to die for. Lol.
Prepare time: 25 min.

Pirates of the Bento

On top: white rice; daikon; nori
On bottom: daikon pirates; soy octodogs; apples; carrots; edamame; broccoli; nori
Comments: Arggggg ye matey! This here be me pirate bento. Though it be that last night I twas pondering on making me a Kingdom Hearts bento, with one of them there heartless, to be celebrating the game having it's second part released I found it mighty hard to be resisting a pirate theme. Though all tis not last as it be that in Kingdom Hearts 2 the movie Pirates of the Carribean be making a splash.
*cough* I can only type like that for so long. Pirates=luv to ta da!!! In the bottom one it might be hard to see but the carrots are cut into flames and part of an apple is a house behind the pirates... yep they be burning the house down. *cough again*
Prepare time: 40 min.

Starry Bento

On top: Daikon slices; carrot stars; broccilli(sp..)
On bottom: white rice; nori; carrot stars; furikake; green sprinkles
Comments: For a last minute bento, gotta stop waking up late!, this turned out pretty good.
Prepare time: 25 min.

White Cat Bento

On top: Nekonigiri(rice, nori, salt); nori maki rice crackers; romane lettace
On bottom: 2 gyoza; blood oranges; edamame; strawberry of soy sauce; and cucumber slices
Comments: Unoriginal... I know. Just wanted to try a different style kitty bento, *points* lookie what cute 'ittle paws! That was the first part I ate! lol. *cough* Gave the gyoza faces as well, and cut the tops to make them look like they have ears, though Evil Jeebus said they look like foxes more than anything. Delish either way.
Prepare time: 45 min.

Black Cat Bento

On top: nekonigiri(aka 'cat riceball': rice, nori, vegan cheese); white rice; and bits of nori
On bottom: fish shaped veggies(carrots, daikon, and cucumber); bean sprouts boiled w/ nori; and lemon slices
Comments: Okay in design I suppose though it was alittle rushed in the end leaving me frustrated with the final product. Also the vegan cheese was flattened by the top layer of the bento leaving it messed up so only I got to see it like this before it was eaten. Not the best meal so I'll work on that over the weekend. Oh and for the future I've decided to make pre-cut baggies of veggies for the future, some even being pre-cut as stars, ect... Would definately save me time in the morning!
Prepare time: 45 min.

Penguin Bento

On left: Penguinigiri(rice, carrots, nori); salad; edamame; and soy dog crab-thingie
On right: yakisoba(w/ bean sprouts); daikon(in egg form); strawberries; soy octodogs; edamame; carrot bites; and lemon slices(not to eat!)
Comments: Muhahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!! Everyone was in love with this bento and I, for one, am uber proud of it. So adorable in every way! I even made up a story about it when I noticed the penguin looks alittle sad.
It goes that the penguin army was being invaded by the 'things from the sea w/ legs' federation and in this, while the crab kept the penguin preoccupied, the octobrothers swiped the penguin's eggs! So sad. By time the penguin realised what happened it was too late! *sobs* I'm an uber dork, I know!!!
Prepare time: 45 min.

PETA Bento

On Top: white rice w/ furikake; carrot hearts; and nori
On Bottom: 2 spring rolls; a strawberry of soy sauce; banana slices; edamame; and carrot stars
Comments: Was planning on going to PETA today w/ Ena since we need volunteer hours for class thus the theme though she ended up having a tennis game so... no ride... no PETA.

Prepare time: 30 min.

No Bento Today But...

Today the bento box I ordered arrived! Here's the pic of it. Can't wait to pack tomorrow's bento now!
Also got some strawberry sauce containers. It's so great I almost can't wait to get more boxes! This one's two teired 5"x3" or so(guessing...) Perfect proportion sizing for me.

Curry Bento

On left: white rice
On right: curry(onions, carrots, potatoes, tofu)
Comments: YAY!!! Curry! I love making curry. No matter what you put in it tastes and smells fantastic. *drools* Not to mention it's super easy to make. Took too blocks to finish, again, and I had to force myself to polish it off though it was mainly due to wearing my corset today. Heh, when I removed it after school that stuffed content feeling went away and I was so hungry, lol. Corsets are so weird. Anywho, back to the curry, still got 2/5 left.
Prepare time: 25 min. (15 for just the curry, rice was being difficult today and I made too much *frown*)

St. Patrick's Day Bento

Contents: white rice w/ furikake; 2 brocoli(sp?); edamame; cucumber slices; grapes; and veggie flavored rice crackers.
Comments: Wheeee!!! So GREEN!!!! I showed it to sensei and she gasped and pointed "Midori!" Lol. Hee hee. Eating it though I realised that, without meaning to, I've become a veggie lover. All in one week I've gone from 'down with veggies!' to 'wheeee!!!! edamame! daikon! cucumbers! carrots! VEGGIES!!!'
Most people loved the appearance of this one even though my english teacher said it was too little food. Too little? Took two blocks to eat! Maybe it's just me...
Anywho... I also brought a bag of the Snaku to school to introduce to people. Very mixed reactions, some liked them others scowled. Others still grinned and agreed they were like a healthy version of Cheetos, delishness!
In other food related news the sushi place down the street, Inaka, finally opened!!!! YAY! I've definately got to stop in sometime this weekend, *grin*
Prepare time: 15 min.

Salad Man & Onigiri Bento

On left: 2 chicken-free nuggets; boiled carrots; half a tomatoe slice; edamame; and salad
On right: ONIGIRI!!! <3 <3 <3
Comments: So what if I've gone off the deep end? Muhahahahaha, Mr. Salad Man!!! Wheeeee!!! You can never be too old for food with a face made of food that never had a face.
Prepare time: 30 min.

Gyoza & Fun Colors Bento

On left: plain white rice
On right: 3 veggie gyoza(potstickers); 3 strawberries; boiled carrots; 2 packets soy sauce; sliced daikon & cucumber; and edamame.
Comments: Ha! I lied. No curry today. I went shopping last night, finally, and as a result vetoed curry for something more interesting. It was all so yummy! Though it took a mixture of eating it on and off over the course of two blocks(classes) and eating it after school to get down to just scraps left. Prepare time: 25 min.

'Woke-Up-Late-Again' Bento

Contents: white rice w/ furikake(nori, sugar, salt, and sesame seeds); wasabi rice crackers; banana bits; sliced daikon; doriyaki
Comments: I woke up with the intention of making onigiri yet as time progressed I found it to be 6:30am(leaving at 7am and getting ready after I make my bento in the morning) with the rice not finished!!! I freaked and threw this together.
Prepare time: 35 min.

Veggie Feast Bento

Contents: white rice w/ furikake(nori, salt, sugar, daikon, carrot, celery, ect...); two strips of celery; chopped carrots, daikon, and cucumber; and nori maki rice crackers
Comments: Time for me to be an adult and stop whining about eating my veggies, besides who ever heard of a vegan who loathed veggies? Anywho this is a mixture of that sentiment and being lazy this morning in putting it together. I almost resorted to ramen the lazy bum I am.
Prepare time: 25 min. (these times will go down once I get money for a rice cooker!!!)

New Home!

Well... I've determined I'm quite lazy and it's high time to move the Vegan Bento into a home where I don't have to bother with the layout, I'm just too busy to finish the template right now. Anywho since hardly anyone knows bento, I'll explain...

What is a bento?
A bento is a traditional japanese lunch meal typically portioned in 1/2 rice & 1/2 other(2/3 "meat"/main food & 1/3 veggies).

Why a vegan bento?
Cause I'm vegan... ;p What would be the point of me making a non-vegan bento? Though I must say it's frustrating keeping a traditional style bento vegan, most recipes containing eggs and/or fish, it's worth it.

Why blog the vegan bento?
Easy answer: I'm proud of my bentos and like to show them off.
Other answer: Ummm.... get people who love Japanese culture to see that veganism is possible while remaining with the goodies of a Asian foods. This also gives me a way to make sure I'm staying ontop of eating good meals.

All bentos from 2/1-3/10 will be located at the base site of http://geocities.com/veganbento. As of 3/12 all new ones will be posted up here... hopefully.