back to school blahasasdjf;O#*$u3
August 29, 2008
yup. the title says it all. i just finished my first week of classes for this semester and i realized that 8:30-11:30am classes combined with little to no sleep and little to no food or drink= cranky mccrankum chelsea. josh works every day from 10am-6pm and unless i’m able to come bring him a sandwich for lunch he usually goes all day without eating anything. it’s such a bad routine to get stuck in and i’m sure there are thousands of people who understand the feeling.
when i was growing up my dad always nagged reminded me to eat breakfast every morning. he’s always believed that when you start the day with a good breakfast you’re able to concentrate better and all of that…and i have always agreed with him. i think the only thing that’s been stopping me from eating a good breakfast before class is a) i don’t give myself enough time in the morning and most importantly b) the fact that we have absolutely no breakfast food in the house. nada. zip.
so first thing’s first..buy some breakfast food. but since i doubt i’ll ever drag myself out of bed at 7am to fix some breakfast before my class at 8:30am, i’ll have to be able to bring my breakfast with me. so i’m thinking bagel and cream cheese, granola bar, that type of deal. once i have have that, i should be able to pack it up and bring it with me to class. so now that i have an idea of what to bring, i decided i should get one of these:
bento lunch boxes. in case you haven’t heard of a bento before it’s a style of japanese meals where each portion has it’s own separate container. you may have seen them on the vegan lunch box blog. these lunch boxes kick so much ass because first of all everything is reusable, so there’s nothing to throw away (like ziplock sandwich bags, etc). plus it separates each different food item so that flavors don’t mess with one another AND it all fits so perfectly into it’s cozy little box! yay for food organization! josh is reallllly into japanese culture so he jumped all over this one 
another thing that i want to try doing is having prepared meals in the fridge so i can pack it with me when i need to bring a lunch. this summer i babysat for a little boy named emerson and his mom was awesome about having ramekins of pre-cooked green beans, soups, and other veggies and lunch items all wrapped up the fridge ready to be heated up for lunch or dinner. i thought this was such a great idea because sometimes the worst part about making yourself something to eat is, well, making it. so i think i might start doing that..maybe i’ll roast up a bunch of veggies and store it for easy lunches for josh and i.
josh and i really need to start eating more leftovers. we’re horrible about leftovers. anyone else have this same problem? i can’t tell you how much gets wasted sometimes because we just don’t ever get around to eating leftovers. ah i hate it. i will say that our veggie florentine is AWESOME as leftovers.
my grandma doubles and sometimes triples this recipe for big family dinners because we all love it so much. it’s such a yummy casserole with veggies like carrots, celery, spinach, tomatoes, and some veggie burger crumbles. it’s a really mouth-watering and tummy-pleasing dinner. i actually ate the entire container of leftovers by myself over the course of 2 days. i guess some things are just better the next day than others.
so does anyone else have any ideas for packing good lunches? we can take all the help we can get!
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: bento lunch box, leftovers, veggie florentine.
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1.
Nicole | August 29, 2008 at 8:44 pm
I just ordered a bento box to bring my lunch/dinner to school! I can’t wait to get it. The ones you posted are really cool looking.
2.
Wei | August 30, 2008 at 9:58 am
Hi. I just stumbled to this blog awhile ago, and I dig some of the recipes!
About bentos… There is this blog I stumbled to awhile ago, too, called justbento.com. There is a lot of bento basics and instructions on how to organize a bento, with many helpful tips. Some of the author’s recipes are vegan/vegetarian friendly, although she also includes meat dishes. I usually just ignore the meat recipes, and just read about the veggie recipes and how exactly to put bentos together. Hope that helps some!
3.
Chelsea | August 30, 2008 at 12:20 pm
nicole- i’m excited too! i haven’t ordered one yet but i’m already getting some ideas for meals
wei- i’m glad you found us! i just checked out the site justbento.com and it’s great! thanks for passing it along!
4.
jessy | September 2, 2008 at 9:26 pm
mmmmmmmmmmm! the veggie florentine looks soooo tasty! i’m gonna have to try that! wow!
as far as leftovers – we’re really good about eating them up – but we never used to be – just kinda fell into the habit, i guess! we take our leftovers for lunches the next day. making a bunch ‘o beans and prepping veggies ahead of time is a great idea! we usually make hummus, pita bread, a bunch o’ beans, and cut up peppers and onions and such on sunday afternoons (when we get a few free moments) – makes creating something yummy much easier – and makes for fast snacks, lunches, etc! planning ahead like that will save you time + money – what’s not to love?!
5.
Lily | September 4, 2008 at 6:36 am
Hi, I don’t remember if I’ve commented before, but I read your blog regularly and love it!
We almost always eat all our leftovers because I always pack them as lunches (in fact, I almost always intentionally make enough so that we have enough leftover for at least a day or two of lunch). We also prep all our fruits and veggies that need to be cut/portioned, like celery, carrots, grapes, etc. on the weekend so it’s just grab and go during the week. If you don’t have access to a stove or microwave try to find things you like to eat cold or room temperature. I like roasted veggies such as green beans, broccoli, and sweet potatoes just fine at room temperature. Obviously raw fruits and veggies are portable and good for you. Making a couple kinds of dips on the weekend that you can take will keep veggies from being boring if you’re prone to that (I know I am!). I also keep frozen, cooked edamame in the freezer and take out a serving in the morning. It thaws out just in time for lunch. Pre-portioning out small servings of raw nuts and dried fruit so you can grab them in the morning are great for school. You can eat them in class without making a lot of noise or smelling up the classroom. I also always carry a big jug of water with me.
These are just some of the things I do to make my life easier, hope they are helpful to you!
6.
Chelsea | September 4, 2008 at 11:19 am
jessy- i think doing prep work on the weekends is a great idea..because mornings is definitely not an option with 8:30 classes. thanks for all the great tips! and you should go make the florentine, you’ll love it!
lily- wow..thsoe are all such great ideas! i’ll definitely be getting some nuts and dried fruit to bring to class..and you made a good point about it not smelling up the classroom or making a lot of noise. thats the WORST! i’ll also have to start making bigger batches of dinners and try to put the leftovers into portioned containers. thanks so much for the suggestions!