Bento: Manly bentos and more

So the past two days I have packed bentos fit for a king--or at least a dude. I started out with just about the manliest thing I can think of: a big hunk of beef. Actually, it was a three-pound chuck roast from the quarter of freezer beef we bought late last summer. I cooked it up in the crock pot on Tuesday, then chopped it up and divided it in three. The first portion went to make beef and noodles (whole wheat egg noodles, since I'm on this health kick). This went into Nate's bento for today, layered over two mashed potatoes, and served with a side of corn. I gave him Rainbow Chips Deluxe for dessert.

For dinner tonight, we had more beef. I had a craving for French dip subs, but in my usual fashion, I didn't have all of the ingredients. I was missing crusty bread. Also characteristic of me, I thought, "No biggie! I'll just make some." I also had no yeast, so I Googled for "no yeast crusty bread" and ended up at this recipe for Irish Soda Bread. It seemed simple enough and I set to work. No sooner had I measured out four cups of flour than I realized that I also had no baking soda. Levi emptied the entire box last week thinking it was candy or something. Soda bread with no soda?! I decided to give it a go with baking powder (triple the amount). Somehow, the stuff turned out surprisingly well. It was dense and moist, with a nice, crispy crust. Now I can't wait to get started on Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day!

I made the bread in 2 loaves instead of a round so I could use it for sandwiches. I sliced the pieces in half and topped them with some of the roast and muenster cheese, then toasted them in the oven for about 5 minutes. I served it with bowls of leftover juices from the roast. The crispy bread absorbed the juices and om-nom-nom! Delicious is an understatement. It wasn't as bad as you'd think on the calories either. The bread has almost no fat in it, and the entire sandwich, including 1/3 pound of beef has only about 400 calories. Without the chips, this would have been fairly diet-friendly.

Nate really enjoyed his too, so I packed him another for tomorrow's lunch. I included the rest of the "jus" in one of Naomi's baby food cups. He also gets the familiar celery and carrots and some Rainbow Chips deluxe, and I threw in a bag of chips on the side. This lunch is so un-bento. It's full of processed, bad-for-you foods, but oh well. It's manly, it's tasty, and it won't embarrass my hubby.