Not a Green Thing In Sight

I got this new kitchen utensil that is supposed to make julienne. What I get is considerable smaller than a julienne, but makes a cute little nest out of vegetables. Since it was my first time working with it, I used carrots, but I think in the future I will use it on peeled broccoli stalks. I often pack broccoli, but it is hardly ever eaten.

As far as this meal goes, you will see that it is lacking greenery. I try to get some in, but sometimes you just have to let it go. Okay, a lot of the times. Still, there are vegetables in the dumplings and the carrots may actually get eaten. She isn't a big fan of carrots generally, but I keep trying since we always have them in abundance in this house.

There are a number of good bento sites out there, Just Bento being one of them. Just Bento focuses on the health benefits of bento, which is really good. The problem is, my daughter doesn't find most of the recipes appealing, even though I do. What I try to do is occasionally pack something that I know she won't like. Sure, she may not always try it, but sometimes she does and I have a new dish I can pack. I didn't do this today though, except for continuing to try carrots on her in a different form.

On the top are "julienned" carrots, two meat and vegetable dumplings, a soy sauce bottle and two "bunny" apples, which I botched. On the bottom is the rice with some decorative strands of pickled ginger. I swear I don't always use rice, but I do use it often, which is why I got myself a cheap rice maker a while back. Extras can either be frozen for future use, or kept in the fridge for up to 3 days to be used in fried rice.