Boxed lunches

Nothing for a while, and then two updates in a day! That's a good sign, I think. XD

Anyway. *cough* I've had a few curious questions about my boxed lunches, since I almost never bring food that needs to be heated. All of you who make bento boxes know what I mean - boxes with small portions of various different things, that look cute. :)
The thing is, my boxed lunches aren't random. I don't just pick some stuff and put it together, and then just eat small portions. I suppose you could call it "iso food" if you want a name for it, but really, they're mainly inspired by Japanese bento.

So what's really in there? Do you just make some onigiri and decorate it cute? Well...no. What these boxes are, is packed with nutrition. A little bit of a lot of things. In my bento boxes I first of all have either rice, noodles or rice- or flourbased things (like fish pancakes - they have flour or riceflour in them). Then I have some kind of meat - usually fish of some kind or chicken. Most often the fish is whitefish since I like crabsticks (they are crab-flavoured whitefish).
Then I have some kind of diary product, like cottage cheese for example. And vegetables (most often it's a mix of various things, from leeks and cucumber to radish and carrots). And then fruit. I also usually have eggs of some kind - either boiled or omelet or something like that.

A lot of ingredients, isn't it? :) Yes, it is, but in small amounts, all of them. Here's a suggestion of a lunched box:

Noodle omelet

- A thin omelet (like a pancake) made from eggs, seasoned with Japanese soy sauce, mirin, fish broth and lemon juice.
- Fill it with noodles that you first boil until soft, then fry with leeks cut in tiny pieces (the noodles need to be cut as well), seasoned with your favourite seasoning. I prefer chow mein for this.
- Put some noodles on the omelet, and roll it tightly. "Glue" it together with some egg.
- Put 1/4 or 1/3 of it in your boxed lunch, put it on a bed of thinly cut salad.

Cottage cheese salad

- A little cottage cheese mixed with a piece of apple cut it tiny pieces, some regular, grated cheese and - if you feel adventurous - a little bit of either smoked ham or smoked sausage. You can also add a little boiled egg (just the white) if you like.
- Take just a large tablespoon in your lunch.

Cucumber

- Cut cucumber in thin slices and put it in an empty jar.
- Mix a little water and vinegar essence in a bowl, a pinch of salt, a little bit of white pepper. Pour into the jar and shake it. Let it sit for a little while (at least ten minutes), and then add a few slices of it on top of your salad.

Well that's one lunch. :) Easy, isn't it?