Andrew was working from home but I still managed to knock out five full lunches so I’m feeling pretty good about myself right now. Maybe not the best food on Earth but any food is good food.

Creamy Crab Croquettes, tartar sauce, rice with vegetables, apple, mandarinChicken, mashed potato, garlic green beans, trail mix, apple Piroshky (cheddar and spinach), salad, carrots and hummus, apple Red curry shrimp coconut risotto, carrots and hummus, plum Pasta with turkey and vegetables, salad, mandarin

I think this was a pretty successful week actually. I might have actually made everything that was on my menu in the correct order actually which almost never happens. I think the results are that are great because it’s so colorful and nice.

Couscous with harrisa and vegetables, plum, kiwi, cashews, raisins, chocolate cupcake with cookie butter frosting

Biscuits with mushrooms ragu, apple, carrots and dip, salad

Chicken vindaloo, rice, salad, kiwi

Bubble and squeak with a fried egg, corn salad, kiwi and grapes

Homemade ravioli (crab and goat cheese) with brown butter sauce and peas, salad, cherry tomatoes

Turned out that making sushi rolls with the rice on the outside was much more difficult so next week I’m going back to some old standbys to get my confidence back up but this week was pretty neat and experimental at least.

Crab cream croquettes, rice pilaf, orange Tortellini soup, challah, salad 

Chicken pot pie, carrots and hummus, plums

Chicken and black bean burritos, orange

California rolls, salad, apple

This was a really great week for making food. Lots of different types of things and I managed to do all the things I actually wanted to do so I feel really great about these even if I overcooked the boiled eggs (!) which is something I almost never do but oh well, still delicious.

Pelmini, salad, apple Scotch eggs, carrots and hummus, grapes and brie Quesadillas, corn salad, kiwi Coconut Lentils, potato stuffed naan, salad, grapes Homemade sushi (cucumber and carrot maki), salad, mandarin

Deciding to move away from bento and a swing back to just regular ol’ lunch though I still will employ the same ideas about textures and colors and cooking styles and flavors.

Rice and bean bowl, cornbread, apple

Spaghettios with meatballs, bread, salad, boiled egg, grapes

Noodles with vegetables and shrimp, fruit mix (kiwi, apple, grape)

Bean burger, rice, salad, kiwi, salsa

An odd week because Andrew worked from home so I still made lunches but decided not to pack them and got a little unconventional with the whole thing. Hopefully you think this still counts (at least a little).

Minestrone soup, bread, grapes, salad Spinach and goat cheese quiche, apple, carrots and garlic dip Falafel with yogurt sauce, cucumbers, spiced vegetable couscous Jalapeño mac and cheese, apple Thai Style Red Chicken Curry over Rice

This week Andrew worked from home but I still packed lunch in boxes because that’s just how I am. Nothing revolutionary about these lunches with the exception of the noodle-less lasagna which looks ugly but was super delicious.

Stir fry noodles, salad, mandarin Pear chutney turnover, salad, grapes, apple Wild rice and mushroom soup, salad, bread, apple Chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes, green beans, apple Noodle less lasagna, salad, apple, boiled egg

This was a sort of uneven week but at least it’s still snowing outside so that’s got to count for something.

Black bean and cheese enchilada, salad, apple, peanut butter cookie

Chickpea and Vegetable Curry, rice, apple

Pretzel Rolls with fried egg and cheese, cherry tomatoes, salad, apple

Carrot soup with pesto, salad, pesto rolls

Sweet and sour chicken, rice, carrots and hummus, apple

This week it’s an attack of plums. Usually I pack a lot of apples but I was feeling like I wanted to pack plums instead but they look so dire in pictures? Hopefully it’ll be a mix next week.

miso ramen with boiled egg, salad, plum potato au gratin, salad, grapes, carrots and hummus vegetable pad thai, couscous salad, plums winter vegetable biscuit bake, couscous salad with golden raisins, plum chicken kerala, rice, grapes, carrots and hummus

A big round number of bento week posts! How nice. Not a lot to say but I’m working on this thing where 4 out of the 5 bentos are vegetarian or vegan and I don’t know how long I can  keep that up without Andrew noticing but this was a really successful week.

Arancini, dipping sauce, salad, mandarins Sweet potato and turkey meatballs and spaghetti, salad, apple Mushroom and wild rice soup, carrots and hummus, rye bread, grapes Latkes and sour cream dip, grapes, chili-vinegar roasted vegetables Chickpea tikka masala, rice, salad, apple