How To Make Cheese Characters (Tutorial) The Lorax



Cutout drawing, cheese, knife, toasted nori, whole puncher and tweezers are needed.



Lie your picture onto main cheese color and slowly "chop" around the picture.

Cut mustache and eyebrows off from picture and trace onto white cheese then cut out eyes, nose and mouth with straw. Use tweezers to place them onto the character and then punch out three circles, snip one in half and put them in their respective places.

You can do this with any character - but just remember that you need to toast your own nori over the stove (no matter what it says) and it should be placed on later so that it won't become soggy. Using your cheese as a base is what keeps this all together - but feel free to experiment and enjoy!





Making A Better Bento (Part One)

This is assuming that you've either read my guest post on Bento Anarchy or know about some of the bento basics. The first step in improving your bento is to draw it out - its kind of like a great movie scene. What is your bento going to be based on, what will be in it and when are you going to eat it are great factors to consider. Other factors are the healthiness and balance of the bentos - for example my first bentos were total messes with just about everything being made out of either bread, rice or both as well as a lot of processed foods. Not only will you save time when keeping everything basic such as fruits and vegetables as bulk with a small serving of carbs, your choice of protein and whatever you're using to make it special (is it kyara/charaben? Will it use anything that can melt?)



Bad bento example.

My favorite way of making sure that my bentos are balanced is to do a color check. If you have all of the colors of the rainbow (including white, black, pink and purple) in the correct serving sizes then you're doing great! But if all of those items also happen to be corn chips...not so great. My next favorite way is to doodle it out - it doesn't have to be pretty or sophisticated looking, again, think of it as a movie - you always have a storyboard and things to work off of. I like to doodle in the vegetables and characters and then write them down just in case I forget or my drawing doesn't come out as expected.


See the picture below? Just having a basic plan can make everything go right! Hopefully you take all of these tips and tricks into mind when making your next bento - and don't forget to comment and tell me what you think about this! Feel free to ask any questions and I hope that you enjoyed this post! ^^

Kuririn Parfait (Low-Fat and Sugar-Free)

I came up with this yesterday because I was a bit tired of making Hello Kitty for everything - and I bet you guys were too. I had originally had my eyes set on a King Cake but after an incident (that you'll know about if you follow me on Twitter) that was saved by my beautiful freezer that also resulted in ensuring that I had a very seedy cake - I decided to make a hamster themed dessert! Trust me - its fantastic and addicting.

(Seed Cake Dry Ingredients)

• 4 tbl of Coconut Oil (slightly cold)
• 1 and 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 cup of Chia Seeds (soaked with water)
• 2 and 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 cup of All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp of Sea Salt
• 1/4 cup of Stevia (or other Powdered Substitute)
• 2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups of Vegan Buttermilk

(Directions)

• Cream together your stevia and coconut oil and then slowly add in your chia seeds.
• Fold in your flour and other dry ingredients. Then pour in your wet ingredients. Mix gently until fully incorporated and place into a greased baking dish.
• Bake for about an hour at 350 degrees or until well-browned and cooked. Let it rest, then chill.
• Put some cake into your serving dish. Top with homemade coconut whipped cream, dehydrated bananas, a fanned strawberry and put a little bit of pandan on one banana slice and place it near the strawberry for the full "Kuririn" effect.

I hope you enjoy! Whose your favorite Sanrio character?

Pandan Breakfast Bento

I'm posting another wonderful breakfast while I'm waiting for my cake to freeze - but that's for another post. This was one of my breakfasts for the week which consisted of lots of yummy pandan flavored items - the thing that I love about pandan is that it tastes so much like vanilla with its own "piney" taste! ^^ I made a face with nori on top of the spongey pancake and accidentally left some steamed mustard greens on top - I think its cute, don't you?

Pandan Breakfast Bento Ingredients:

Grapefruit Slices

Strawberries

Steamed Mustard Greens

Pandan Pancakes

Banana

Vegan "Egg White"

Pandan "Egg"



I hope you enjoy it! Do you like to make bentos - what types?

Raw Vegan Gluten-Free Sardines/Anchovies

Yesterday I made a delicious banana flower curry that I'm now obsessed with, and while removing a layer of petals I noticed the immature bananas. I didn't want to ruin the flavor that everyone said was bitter and so I took a quick bite of one of the little gangly things - it tasted like a cross between a green bean and a green banana peel. Wanting to utilize everything, I noticed a lot of them looked like little fish and a few had little cute pockets on them so I decided to half-dehydrate some. The recipe is so simple that you'll have fresh little "fish" within the hour or so.

(Raw Vegan Sardines Ingredients)

• 1/4 Cup of Immature Bananas
• 4 tbl of Cold-Pressed Olive Oil
• 1 tsp of Minced Parsley
• 1/4 tsp of Minced Garlic
• A heavy pinch of Sea Salt

(Directions)

• Toss all of the ingredients together and place into an oven at about 180 degrees (about 300 if non-raw) and then wait until you've smelled the garlic and olive oil permeating the air.
• Take out, taste and tell me what you think!
• Enjoy!

I hope that you enjoyed this little tidbit!

Raw Vegan Pie Pops

I actually first heard of pie pops as a part of a trend from Hannah Kaminsky's "Bittersweet Blog" but kind of thought of it beforehand. It wasn't until I ended up in a department store surrounded by cake pop makers, waffles on sticks and mini pies on a stick makers. I felt that the machines would be a great waste for a once in a while treat (but great for those that make a lot of them!) so I decided to just buy the sticks since I was there. That's when I decided to make these delicious mini-strawberry pie pops - I love how one serving is only one to two bites!

(Raw Vegan Pie Pops Crust Ingredients)

• 1/2 cup of Coconut Flour
• 1/4 cup of Gluten-Free Oat Flour
• 1/2 cup of Nut Flour (your choice)
• A pinch of Sea Salt
• 4 tbl of Melted Coconut Oil
• A pinch of Turmeric

(Pie Filling Ingredients)

• Sliced Strawberries
• 2 tbl of Stevia
• 5 tbl of Fresh Citrus Juice
• 1 tbl of Chia Seeds

(Directions)

• Mix filling ingredients together, then set aside.
• Combine your flours and oils.
• Lay your pie crust down and place one to two small strawberries on top, then indent a place for the lollipop stick and then rest it in that area.
• Place the top crust onto it and then seal it with a fork. You may want to add more on the bottom of the pie around the stick.
• If you wish, you can sprinkle some raw sugar or stevia on top, then freeze for about 20 minutes.
• Unstick from your plate and then continue to freeze until five minutes before you're ready to serve.

Wasn't that easy? I hope that you enjoyed it! ^^

Friendly Troll Bento

Oops! It looks like this little guy was attracted by your delicious "forest food" and decided to jump right in. And you just had to catch him when he was peeping out - don't you know that all trolls turn into bao the moment they're seen? Oh, well...this might have just been some cleverly made bao with chickpea, onion and roasted cauliflower filling but who says you can't pretend? This is another soy-free bento that you're sure to love!

Friendly Troll Bento Ingredients:
Radishes
Roasted Asparagus with Powdered Hazelnuts
Cauliflower
Chickpea-filled Bao
Carrots
Mung Beans
Fresh Mushrooms

I hope you enjoy this lovely meal as much as he did! ^^

Phineas and Pherb Valentine's Bento

This was the last bento I made and I was really sad that I didn't have anything besides white for the girl's skin. I would have used yellow - but that doesn't look so much as brown skin as it does jaundice. I've placed half of a mini deep dish pizza, a cinnamon and flax nut butter sandwich alongside plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. This was one of the few bentos that was able to be finished but I think that I'll wrap up my sandwiches with green plastic wrap from now on.

Phineas and Pherb Bento:

Rice Cheese

Carrots
Nori
Radishes
Broccoli
Mini Pizza
Peanut Butter and Flax Sandwich
Strawberries
Spinach
Pineapple
Banana

I hope you have a chance to make your own soon - and that you enjoy what I've created now! ^^

Baked Mini Apple Donuts (Low-Fat and Sugar-Free)

Do....uh...do I eat it? I mean, they're so adorable! They smell delicious though, and I'm a bit hungry. If you want to make your own little yummy donuts that make you question your hunger - you've come to the right place! These donuts were actually a happy accident as I was attempting to make healthy smores donuts, and I poured about two tablesoons of ACV into the mix. In an attempt for retribution I looked for apples to add and found that someone had made a delicious apple pie. ^^; So here we are!

(Mini Apple Donuts Ingredients)

• 1/2 Cup of Bulgur Flour (just grind some bulgur wheat)
• 1/2 cup of Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 cup of All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Annato Powder
• 5-8 tbl Stevia (or other dry sweetener)
• 2 tsp of Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
• 1-2 cups of Water (go slowly)
• 4 tbl of Oil (sub Applesauce or Chickpea Puree)
• 2 tbl of Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 tsp of Vanilla Extract

(Directions)

• Whisk all of your dry ingredients together. In seperate bowl,combine the oil to the water, extract, and vinegar. Then, then fold in dry ingredients with a spatula.
• Pour a small amount into your silicone donut pan (you have one, right?) and then bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until you feel that they're browned and ready.(Be sure not to let them be too thin or overspread themselves on top of the pan as that results in dryness.)
• Let them rest for about 15 minutes from the oven and then place the mini donuts on a wire cooling rack until they have cooled to the touch.
• Eat as many as you want (you may want to avoid the giraffe, however) and enjoy! ^^

Today Is My Blogiversary!

Tea sandwiches inspired by "shopping mum".

Can you believe it? I've been here for exactly one year today and I've met so many wonderful people! I've been inspired by hundreds and encouraged by many to continue going and I couldn't be happier. When I first started this blog I was really adamant on trying to blog at least once a week and I wrote down whatever came to me. When I first started, I used a cell phone camera for most of my pictures and it wasn't until a few months later that I realized how horrid they looked. I used a lot of high fat foods, all-purpose flour and other things that weren't the greatest for the body. Now I know better and know the wonders of whole wheat and eating a totally nutritionally balanced diet, later when I came upon the Adventures in Bento Making by Crystal Watanabe, I was amazed. Although she is far from being vegan or even vegetarian, she inspired me to do something for the vegans and vegetarians. I wanted to see everyone being able to use egg sheets, "kamaboko" and "eggs" to create great bentos for themselves and their family.

I later came upon Sherimiya from Happy Little Bento and that helped transform what I did a bit as well, making me look at my bentos to see if they are both nutritionally and color-wise balanced. When I really started to establish myself and my creativity, I came upon the blogs of Nami, Lia, Jenn, Sue, Susan Voisin and Natakiya and realized just how well I was doing from their comments. It was a big deal seeing anyone reply or comment on my blog, and to ever see repeat commenters and such friendly people such as Nami - I felt so happy and blessed. In the food community I felt so welcome and excited with trying new recipes, finding new blogs and seeing people who felt the same way about my blog.

The "bento community" was equally welcome and in a sense it kind of helped open me up to even more new things and helped me even learn with food styling (although I still have a long way to go with everyone. And the vegan community was also so very happy and warming and all of those that have seen my blog have made me feel the best I ever had over the internet. So with that said, I would like to thank Hannah Kaminsky of BitterSweet for inspiring me (and commenting every so often), Joanne for commenting and encouraging me, Jacqueline and Marina for encouraging me a while ago and giving me my first award.  I like to thank every single person who has ever commented or encouraged me, including my family and friends - you guys really helped me out when I started this and without you, this blog would have never existed as the way it is today. Finally, I would like to thank Teenuja for being one of my first "taste-testers" on my oat milk yogurt and showing a lot of people my blog, all of the guys from Kipper Digital for being awesome and showing off my bento, and Allfreecopycatrecipes for showing off my homemade cinnamon toast crunch! And with that said, I will be posting my most popular (and some embarrassing) posts so that we can remember all that happened within just one year.


My First Post:
First Time


My First Bento:
Its'a Bento!


When I made a bento for KipperDigital:
Paul and Percy Bento

My First Guestpost:
On Natakiya's Site (BentoAnarchy)


If you're new at starting a blog - don't be afraid to ask for help and always keep trying. Take a break when you need to and don't stress out too much. Just remember - you have to be you when you make a blog. Good luck!

Now a few questions for you - What do you think about my blog and what could I improve about it? When is your blog's anniversary coming up and what will you do to celebrate it? ^^ I hope you enjoyed all this time with me - and there will be much more to come!

Mickey and Minnie Valentine's Bento

This is my retro version of Mickie and Minnie for my bento on Monday (I made it Sunday night). I think its one of my cutest and most simple bentos - the meatloaf made this one especially filling and had little crunchy and chewy bits of roasted cauliflower rounds and leaves. It was absolutely delicious and I fell in /love/ with it! You'll also notice the cloves and heart shapes that I've carved into the apple which are supposed to represent the saying "When one door closes, another door opens.".

Mickey and Minnie Bento Ingredients:

Roasted Cauliflower Stem and Pressed Leaves

Roasted Potatoes

Chickpea Meatloaf with Spaghetti Sauce

Apple with Lemon Juice and Cloves

Broccoli

Carrots

Radish Slices

Spinach

I hope you enjoy! ^^



Mickey Mouse Bento

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry that I haven't been posting as much lately - its just that I've been so busy that I haven't had time to post pictures and blog about them. ^^ But some of that stuff is calming down after I've finished most of my test taking - so still expect to see a few (simple) blog posts around this time. This bento is actually one of my favorites because it has most of my favorite vegetables in it and the sweet potato is so adorable, which is just enhanced by the little Micky in the middle of it all.

Mickey Mouse Bento Ingredients:
Stewed Chickpeas
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Radishes
Spinach
Green Beans
Sweet Potato
Carrots

Some of the ingredients are different then what I usually use in my bentos - but that just means that the seasons are changing and they will be full of lots more of fresh and in season fruits and veggies! ^^

Enjoy!

Bento Giveaway from Meet The Dubiens!

"Meet" the Dubiens is an amazing blog full of crafts, bentos and lots of other things that you and your family enjoy! Hopefully you'll enjoy this even more - they're holding a giveaway with lots of great prizes! Don't forget to enter their contest for a chance to win an amazing bento, supplies and a bag to carry it all in!

Check it out here - http://www.meetthedubiens.com/2012/02/bento-giveaway.html?showComment=1328536404245#c4835409447503274880


Good luck everyone! ^^

Where The Wild Things Are Bento

I feel like some photography classes are in order if I want to have a better blog. But I hope that you like this simple bento - I only used King Max and one "wild thing" in this bento because it took five and a half hours to finish everything. I had never used the box before but I wish I had gotten everything together so you could see the true beauty. This is all in a Clifford The Big Red Dog lunchbox...which is huge!

Wild Things Bento Ingredients:
California Rolls
7-Spice Furikake
Carrots
Brocolli Stem
Steamed Kale
Baked Tofukatsu
Steamed Leeks
Vegan Tamagoyaki
Orange
Avocado, Cucumber, soy Cheese
Vegan Egg Sheet
Nori
Chia Seeds

Blog Round Up - Great Superbowl Eats

I'll be honest - I'm not much of a football fan, but I can most definitely get into the spirit of things when there's plenty of cute and delicious food around. Here are some great ideas I've found!

Amazing Recipes that Aren't Mine:


25 Vegan Recipes from Peas and Thank You


BoyfriendLovlie's Stuffed Veggies from Veganlovlie


25 Super Bowl Party Recipes from Love, Veggies and Yoga

Healthy Comfort Food from Chocolate Covered-Katie

Vegan Buffalo Wings from Frugally Green Mom

Bean and Veggie Sliders from Martha Stewart

Vegan Nachos from Ellen Degeneres

Dairy and Egg Free Vegan Pretzel from ecoKaren


Top Ten Vegan Smoothies from VeganPlanet


Stuffed Vegan Pretzels (with gluten-free option)


Seven Different Homemade Popcorns from Vegan-Wolf


Quick N' Crispy Popped Rice


Best Ever Vegan Miniloaf from Vegandad


Veggie Hotdogs from Thrifty Living


Baked Potato Chips from Cookie Madness


Baked Kale Chips from Dine and Dish


Baked Pumpkin-Spice Donuts (Gluten-free) from Cinnamon Quills


Vegan White Chocolate from Bittersweet Blog


Salad Ideas and Recipes from Veganfamily

My Recipes (Some are pictureless):

Onion Rings and Delicious Things

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

Nacho Cheese Pretzels

Strawberry Butter

When It's Chilly Eat Some Chili

Cute Mini Pizzas

Baked German Sopapilla

Chocolate Covered French Fries


Garden In A Bowl

Where are my recipes you ask? Don't worry - later will be full of little treats and sweets to delight you whilst you get up before the troops assemble in front of your television.