Bear part II! Norby has been good enough to get the eggs in the molds for me the past few days and I think he likes the bear. :) Also, some new fruits and veggies (I know, I know, technically tomatoes are a fruit but I still think of them as veggies). The bear egg is surrounded by grape tomatoes and kalamata olives. I went easy with the same grilled Wisconsin trout and cream sandwich bites I did yesterday in the other tier but added, yum, strawberries! I'm dying to eat the leftover strawberries but this gestational diabetes bit has me holding off on fruit until after lunch so I guess I'll just have to wait (I can do it, I can do it!).

I can always tell what groceries I have by looking at the Bentos I've made. So, I obviously bought oranges recently. Good thing Annie loves them sliced. These are the goopiest oranges I've ever bought and darn near impossible to peel. So one tier has the orange slices, the middle ones are pressed egg bears. Annie says they are honey eating bears. The final tier are grilled trout and cream cheese rolls with little bears trying to gobble them up. It's Wednesday which means the Kuchenmeisters come tomorrow to run the twin cities marathon this weekend! Love this new tradition!

I love the color orange, so playful! It's running through this bento, from the orange slices, to the orange soy decorations on the eggs (which have some kalamata olives tucked in around them), to the orange carrot hearts that are loving the orange carrot flower on top of the seasoned udon noodles. Because of my gestational diabetes diagnosis, I couldn't eat the udon right now so I'm just loving them from a distance. Maybe, if I get these blood numbers under control? Anyways, looks yummy to me!!

There seem to be almost as many rabbits running around the neighborhood as there are squirrels this year. As a gardner, I know I'm supposed to think of them as pests but as a person, I just love them. I blame the book Watership Down for that! :) On to the Bento! The apple bunnies are snacking on carrot and white cheddar cheese flowers. Somehow they missed the flowers adorning the Pad Thai noodles and mini pitas stuffed with vegetarian organic (actually everything in this is organic and mostly local - I'm not a big fan of pesticides, added hormones, preservatives, gmo's and the likes) refried beans (or as the girls call them, melted beans) and more cheddar cheese. Go ahead little rabbits, snack away!

There are colors in this one but they are a bit faded looking, like a memory just on the edge of disappearing. I finally have a sandwich of sorts in Annie's lunch, pita wedges with cream cheese, cheddar cheese and Canadian Bacon. Next to those is a container of sugar snap peas and multicolored carrots. Bottom tier is teddy bear apples and mounds of kiwis. I meant to organize them a little more but the pesky little bears kept playing with them! Oh well, can't mess with the bears!

Couldn't come up with a descriptive name so I went simple and to the point, Thursday Bento. I made shrimp fried rice for dinner but forgot the egg and used frozen shrimp and veggies (from frozen, I might add). They were pretty good but darn mushy so I've learned my lesson. Annie has shrimp fried rice with white cheddar cheese and nori decorations in the bottom tier. In the top, she has more mellon balls and organic strawberry fruit chews. Quite simple today but Annie still called it fancy. Gotta love her!

Last of the new boxes! It was cute but I was a bit uninspired this morning. Maybe it's the baby boy constantly moving in my baby belly but I'm just wiped lately. Or it could also be Nissa starting preschool and gymnastics, Annie continuing Tai Chi, and both girls adding ballet all in the same week. Oh and not to mention switching the girls to a new clinic and all the phone calls that entails and to top it off, having a visit from a fence company to give us a quote and try to sell us a fence (nice guy and actually, we called him) but I digress from Bentos. Turkey meatballs, white organic cheddar hearts and a couple of beets on the right side. On the left are some herbed cream cheese rolls and mellon balls. Annie asked if, after learning how to do a mellon ball if she could make some Bentos after the baby comes...like music to my ears!

Here is one of the new boxes I got yesterday plus the new silicone teddy bear cups and my new set of mini cutters! Nothing like supplies to get me going! Last chance for spaghetti in this bento and it's covered with a neighborhood picture of cheese. The top tier has teddy cups with multi colored carrots surrounded by dried blueberries and organic fruit chews. Annie was fine with a second day if spaghetti (phew) and excited about her new box! Nissa, who yesterday said she didn't want to leave preschool, this morning (due, I believe and hope, to tiredness) said she didn't want to go back! It's only for two days a week so let's hope it all works out!

Nissa started preschool yesterday when I did these lunches! I made Annies rushed bento and since I was at it, made a rushed one for Norby too. The morning was really more focused on Nissa and nerves (hers and ours). He got spaghetti and cheese with wine grapes and roasted root vegetables. Well, he had this bento but after we dropped off Nissa, it was a little harder for us than we thought. So instead of a half day, Norby took a whole day and we saved this bento for today. How did we spend the day keeping our minds off preschool and our aging daughter? Why shopping of course! We even made it to Tomadachi which meant more bento supplies for me, including two more boxes! Ah! But, in my defense, we had to throw some out so I'm just replacing them, right?

I got a new bento and a few new supplies!! But, I was lazy and did this bento in the morning which means very rushed. Spaghetti with a cheese pig, wine grapes, mini plums and some apple pigs in this rush of a bento. Annie loved the new box and the new carrying bag (oh, I need to get a picture of that too sometime, very pretty!).

It is so fall like here already and no matter how much the weather forecasters try to tell us it'll warm up in a day or two, it just isn't. I love it! Cold weather makes me happy. As I look at the garden, a few flowers are hanging on in the dirt so this bento is inspired by that. The bottom tier is fried rice with Kamaboko flowers decorated with nori centers. Surprise, Annie loved the wine grapes from yesterday so she gets more of them today in the middle tier along with some pear slices. And the top tier has a few of the leftover cherry tomatoes, the last of the sugar snap peas and, because she loves it so much, more kamaboko in the shape of flowers with nori dots. Just an aside, Norby couldn't help but comment on the lack of fairness when I sent Annie with her bento and him with a paper bag of Chinese containers of leftovers. Seriously, it doesn't mean I love you any less papa! :ox

You know, I forgot to warn Annie about the wine grapes in this bento. She has been asking and asking about them ever since they showed up at the coop so I finally got some to surprise her. I had Norby try them since I'm in the middle of a three hour glucose test that required I fast last night and he warned me of the seeds and slightly sour taste. I only put a few in but hopefully she'll survive. So that's the middle tier, local organic wine grapes and strawberries, "not crunchy". The top tier has Annie's Homegrown Sour Cream and Onion Bunnies and some Baked Snap Peas, "crunchy". The bottom tier has Kamaboko (pressed fish) slices, "not crunchy", with carrot and cucumber leaves, both "crunchy". I have to say, I really like these three tiered Bentos!

Annie would cringe a bit at me using her old nickname but I can't help myself, I'm a mom! So this has exactly the same herbs, contents and decorations as Norby's minus the sobas and chives. I like the mix of dark and light colors. Now that it's nearly freezing outside, I wonder how much longer my herbs will last.

Chives, dill and basil make this a very herby papa bento. Annie's is nearly identical minus the soba and chives. The top tier has strawberry slices, sugar snap peas, tomato roses with cheese hearts in fresh from the garden basil leaves. The bottom tier has some dilled new potatoes and two tomato roses on some more fresh basil leaves next to two pork dumplings adorned with basil flowers. In the insert are some soba noodles with the sesame oil and soy sauce dressing accompanied by chives and a cheesy heart. Such a lovey dovey bento but then again, I kinda love the big guy!

It turned fall like here almost overnight and I have to say, I'm loving it! Can't wait for fall colors and then the snow. Of course, I also can't wait for it all this year because the baby boys due date is in the fall, but that's another story. Leaves and mums are inspiring me today so tomato flowers and cheese hearts decorate everything. Top tier has leftover pork roast bites (with flowers and a leaf) accompanied by cucumber pieces (with flowers and leaves). The second tier has apple and pear wedges topped with strawberry slices (with leaves). Finally, the bottom tier has soba noodles dressed with sesame oil, soy sauce and scallions (with flowers and leaves). Bring on fall!

Apparently, only large eggs fill my egg presses completely so one half of the poor bunny has been silenced today. Each bunny half decorated with oyster sauce is lying on a bed of sugar snap peas and being encouraged by nori-ed cucumber hearts. The bottom tier has apple, peach and pear slices with muenster hearts. And it's the return of the now 100% Buckwheat (thank you United Noodles for stocking them) Soba Noodle Salad, also accompanied by three (because as everyone knows, three is THE lucky number) muenster hearts. As I'm looking at this bento, hearing Annie and papa take off on his motorcycle, I realize I forgot to put chopsticks in her lunch! D'oh!