Vegan Bento

This morning is overcast. Ugh. Hope it clears up because I don’t want to deal with preschoolers and rain.

My turn to take in lunch for work. One person is out so I only had to make two lunches besides my own. I decided to pack them in my Tupperware rectangle box this time. So from left to right…

• Tomato and cucumber slices doused with seasoned rice vinegar.
• 2 cups curried potato with peas and raisins.
• 3/4 cup kiwi slices
• 3/4 cup fruited couscous

A lot of food! I had mine in the usual Tupperware round bowl and skipped the extra fruit but added some mesclun mix to my salad.

NUTRITION FOR ENTIRE BOWL

(69% carb | 9 % protein | 19% fat) 

Calories: 528
Fat: 12 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Carbohydrate: 100 g
Fiber: 13 g
Protein: 13 g

Another one from Nava Atlas’s The Vegetarian Family Cookbook that hardly needed tweaking for seasonings. It makes a lot though, so unless I’m having people over I’d probably half it or freeze half for some other time.

• 6 cups diced Yukon Gold potatoes (I used organic Russet just fine)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno chile, minced
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1.5 cups frozen peas and carrots 
• 1/3 cup dark raisins
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup minced cilantro
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup cashews, crushed for garnish

Peel and diced potatoes. Steam or boil until fork tender. Set aside.

Dice onion and jalapeno. Sautee in 1 tbs oilive oil until onions are golden. Add peas and carrots toward the end so they thaw out and cook a little bit, but not too much.

Stir spices in about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of the potato water to dissolve.  

Dump everything except the cashews into a LARGE sald bowl and mix ingredients together gently to mix. Add more water if it seems too dry.

Top with crushed cashews for garnish.

NUTRITION PER CUP

Calories: 172
Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Carbohydate: 31 g
Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 4 g

Sometimes it takes a few tries to get it right. And I think I’ve finally got a recipe so I can enjoy eating couscous. Previous attempts left me flat.

This is adapted from Nava Atlas’ "Fruited Couscous" recipe in The Vegetarian Family Cookbook.

Fruited Couscous (6 fluffy cups) 

• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 cup raisins and minced apricots (or 1 cup Del Monte Fruit bits and skip the chopping)

•  1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup whole grain couscous (ex: fantastic Foods Organic Whole Wheat Couscous)
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 large apple, peeled, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1) Dump the fruit bits, curry powder, cinnamon, and apple juice in a bowl to soak.

2)Put the couscous and water into a microwavable bowl and nuke covered on high for 2 minutes,

3)Diced the onion and apple. Heat oil in skillet and sautee onions until onions are clear. Add apples and sautee a few minutes more.

4) Fluff couscous with a fork. Mix everything up together and garnish with walnuts. Serve. Makes approx. 6 fluffy cups or 5 1/2 packed cups. 

NUTRITION PER CUP

Calories: 327
Fat: 7 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Carbohydate: 62 g
Fiber: 8 g
Protein: 7 g