Vegan Bento

I have a really busy week ahead. I always fall back on making a big pot of  Barley Lentil soup to fill in the gaps for fast lunches or dinner when I get that way.  Then we can eat something homemade and I can just freeze the extra if I suddenly manage to find time to make something else during the week.

For my lunch tomorrow I packed it with whole wheat mini pitas  and a side of apple-celery salad with mustard dressing.

I had taken this night shot because I wasn’t sure if the dressing was acidic enough to keep the apples from turning brown.

Then I took this one in the morning. Apples are just fine! Yay!

ENTIRE BOWL  (71% carb | 15% protein | 14% fat)

Calories: 465
Fat: 8 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Carbohydate: 87 g
Fiber: 23 g
Protein: 20 g

 Julia’s baby bento version?

She’s got 2/3 cup of the same soup and 2 mini pitas torn into halves for easier eating.  But Julia’s side is a mix of broccoli, corn and red peppers. This is for her to eat after school when we go out to dinner and I don’t want mustard all over the place. The soup will be bad enough.

This soup was veganized from a recipe on the back of the packet of lentils ages ago. So long I don’t even remember what the original recipe had that was objectionable. This freezes well, and goes a long way.

• 28 oz can Muir Glen fire roasted crushed or diced tomato
• 3/4 cup pearl or hulled barley
• 3/4 cup lentils
• 1-1 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup celery
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 1 tbs dried rosemary
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 4 cup vegetable broth
• 2 cup water

Dump everything in pot. Simmer 40-60 min on low heat.

Sometimes I use other beans, or in this case, a mix of split peas and lentils since I ran out of lentils and didn’t have quite enough for 3/4 cup.

While the beans make it hearty, the key thing for me is either taking the time to chunk up/blender actual tomatoes or a good brand of canned crushed tomato. Muir Glen Fire Roasted is esp. good for me:

 Since I eat 2 cups of it at a time, the nutrition is for 2 cups.

 NUTRITION PER 2 CUPS

Calories: 265
Fat: 2 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Carbohydate: 53 g
Fiber: 18 g
Protein: 15 g

Veganized from Peter Berley’s Fresh Food Fast.

• 8 stalks medium celery, diced
• 2 apples, diced 
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts 
•  2 tbs lemon juice
• 2 tbs spicy brown Mustard (ex: Gulden’s)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• black pepper to taste

First chop up the celery, apple, and walnuts and place in a bowl.

In a blender, mix the remaining ingredients and pulse to make sure garlic is minced well. Pour dressing over produce and toss well with spatula.

 NUTRITION PER CUP

Calories: 130
Fat: 6 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Carbohydate: 19 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 3 g