Whale of ATime Bento

The bento biz has actually been going on and off for a while with me, although I haven't been posting pictures as of late. I have been recording them but due to work, scholarships and school - I haven't had as much time to make, photograph and/or eat them. But here were are now withthis adorable sea-creature scene that was so simple and still so fun. We had ordered out for American-Chinese takeout and the rice was already shaped like this, all I needed to do was split the tail and add a chocolate chip. Below there's a strip of zucchini from a raw lasagna (yet to be prepared) and a red pepper crab with tofu eyes.

Whale of A Time Bento Ingredients:
White Rice
Basic Spicy Stirfry
Red Pepper
Chocolate Chip
Tofu
Broccoli
Green Bell Pepper
Baby Corn


Hope you enjoy this quick and simple bento!

Culinary Classes & A Reminder

Hello everyone! If you've friended me on Facebook or have 'liked' my page, you may be aware that I have been trying to go into some culinary classes. The college and system that I had initially tried for was not good at all - and so I just got stressed out and never had a chance to go. Thankfully, however, thanks to a new eye-opener, my guidance counselor and a great teacher I have been able to start some classes and lessons. You can't believe how happy I am and how much my own confidence has raised. I am really proud of myself for never giving up - and I am so thankful to all of you that have taken the time to listen to and support me. :)

Today was quite fun, I was the first to arrive to class (as usual) and while I was a touch nervous there, I knew that I was in my element. We started off with gathering a few ingredients for my first class period, and since my teacher was both aware and very interested in my veganism he decided to give me a vegetarian recipe. It was for Asian Sesame-Soy noodles and sadly we didn't have a lot of the exact ingredients, but it is a very quick stir-fry dish so my partner and I went to work with finding ingredients for tomorrow's recipe. When he came around to check for ingredients that he needed to buy and to suggest substitutions, I suggested mixing vinegar, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar and molasses together for the missing dark brown sugar and soy sauce. I hope it turns out well although I really don't like sweet foods (surprising, huh?). The next cooking class I had, I volunteered to make some simple naan bread and I actually have to make naan bread for someone else as well, tomorrow. So I am thinking that I should probably do all of the preparation (kneading, rising ect.), slice them into equal but separate pieces per each recipe and have the other girls grill them. I may be using some vegan ghee from non-dairy margarine as well, with cilantro for decoration. This food blogging has really paid off!

Well, that's it from my adventures for now! Hope you guys have as great of a day as I!



Now, for that reminder - don't forget to enter my giveaway! Its absolutely free to you and you get a choice of your prize. Go to to this link  http://shinsveganloving.blogspot.com/2012/09/funbites-review-back-to-school-event_20.html and you can enter every day for six more days!

Enter now!

FunBites Review, Back-To-School Event AND Giveaway!





Image from Funbites.com/

"Back to school" means a different thing for everyone, for the kids (and those new to college) it can be about meeting new people, getting older and having wonderful experiences. For parents it is about another time to pay bills and make sure that their children are getting the most out of their education, entire school experience and most definitely nutrition. Sadly, not all school lunches are made equal and a lot of times they aren't very healthy but with a little spare time you can easily pack a healthy lunch. What if your kid is still a little picky and that broccoli croquette you've presented isn't very...appetizing to them? You may not have the time to make huge bentos where everything is delicately placed and fits well 100% of the time, but you can make something that is both cute and interesting to the senses of looking and feeling. Introducing Funbites!

As with all of my product reviews, I will point out the good and the bad - as well as reasons for my point of view. Since this is also a back-to-school event I am also posting helpful tips, pictures and websites from those who have either emailed me or messaged me on Facebook, to aid those that want to jazz up their lunches.

Website Price (For Both Shapes): $12:99

Price That I Paid: $0 as I requested to review it.

The Pros: I have a love for their color and the two shapes that they come in, hearts and squares, however I only requested to review the heart shape and so I cannot verify on how the square shaped Funbites cutter will work. This food cutter is better than a few others that I have bought in bulk in which it does not break easily and you never have to worry about it rusting as it is a plastic. Plus, it makes a sandwich, rice, pancakes or other foodstuffs very neat and easy to eat with little fingers and there is no danger of them cutting themselves. I really love the hearts on the sides, and you will see me using those two the most often at home. It comes with a food pusher which is a smaller block that you fit inside of the actual cutter so that you don't have to always take a butter knife or something else and empty it onto a plate in a big mess. To help sturdy it further, it has great big handles that you can grip and use to cut and shape your food. The weight is quite heavy so that does make it harder to lose it, plus it is easy to sturdy due to the handles on both sides. The size (a bit bigger than the palm of my hand) makes it much easier to put in a place where it won't be misplaced either, plus, the reason for Funbites being made is pretty fun too. Check out their website near the bottom of their page to see just how awesome that is.

The Cons: It is quite bulky and heavy, even for me. It also makes it kind of hard for children to use unless they can push all of their weight on it. It is a bit harder to push the food through because of the way the plastic is. Some of the food that you have cut may still be in bits of the food cutter or may not be fully pushed out, which means that sometimes you do have to push it out.


Overall Overview: I would buy this food cutter although it does have its issues. I would be more likely to buy it if I had a small child in the house, but I do have a few relatives and friends with children and they are very content with it.

The makers of Funbites have not commissioned me to do this review and I am not a member of their company.




Tips, Tricks and Fantastic Blogs:

Sarah Felder of Bentoriffic and Lisa Latorre of Veggie-Bento suggest using silicone cups, trays and molds to create great little stashes of frozen yogurts, hummus and guacamole. After placing them in the molds and freezing them, you can pop them out or keep them in their molds as a sort of edible ice-pack that will keep the rest of your food at room temperature.

For grains such as brown rice, spaghetti and other pastas you can place into a cup or twirl into "birds nests" for super cute kyaraben. Any leftover fruit can be sliced and placed on tortillas with peanut butter or in a quick smoothie.

                 Bentoriffic Blog     Veggie-Bento Blog      Cute Food for Kids Blog         FunBites Blog


There are two mandatory entries for this giveaway.

1. Like Shin's Vegan Lovin' and FunBites on Facebook and share this post.
2. Follow me on Google Friend Connect on the right sidebar.

Extra Entries:
1. Share this giveaway on your blog.
2. Comment with your favorite lunch utensil.
3. Share one of my posts on Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook then link it into your comment.
4. Follow me on Twitter and tweet "I've just entered Shin's Vegan Lovin's and FunBites giveaway!" and link to this post.

Do not unfollow once this is done. Separate each post or they won't count. You may do the extra giveaways every day as much as possible until the giveaway is over for extra chances.

Make sure to leave me a way to contact you through email, and other details will be posted once you have won. Good luck!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED; WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN LATER!

Thank you all who have entered and thank you FunBites!

Paranorman Pizza

It came from the graaave! Are you as excited for the new movie "Paranorman" from the makers of "Coraline"? We all know how much I love Coraline, and so when I found out about the new movie almost a year ago I became very ecstatic and waited for the right time to come. I didn't want to make a bento but I also didn't want it to be complicated - so a dark beet pizza sauce with a unique flatbread crust was the way to go! Its full of veggies so that everyone can get their nutrition and their "spooks" in.

Beet Marinara Sauce Recipe:
1 Beet Quartered and Roasted
1 Roasted Tomato
3 Roasted Carrots
5 Cloves of Roasted Garlic
1/2 tub of Vegan Cream Cheese
2 Minced Green Onions
Italian Seasonings
A touch of Vinegar
A heavy pinch of Salt


Blend your ingredients together, and place onto your preferred (pre-baked) pizza crust. Assemble with cheese and bake once more to melt the cheese. Top with vegan egg sheets, extra veggies or masa sheets and everyone will enjoy!

Coraline Bento http://shinsveganloving.blogspot.com/2012/03/coraline-bento.html

The Other Mother Bento

http://shinsveganloving.blogspot.com/2012/03/coraline-other-mother-soboro-bento.html

Mr Bobinsky Bento http://shinsveganloving.blogspot.com/2012/04/mr-bobinsky-bento-coraline-bento.html

Ms. Spink & Ms. Forcible Bento

 http://shinsveganloving.blogspot.com/2012/04/miss-spink-and-miss-forcible-bento.html

 The Other Father Bento

http://shinsveganloving.blogspot.com/2012/05/other-father-bento-coraline-bento.html 

Powerpuff Girls Bento "Beat Your Greens" (BBTB #3)

This bento was super fun to make - I even enjoyed adding the broccoli and hot dog heart more than usual. I guess that's because I was so proud of making another Powerpuff Girls bento, based upon the episode titled "Beat Your Greens" where all of the children of Townsville refused to eat their vegetables until plantoid-type aliens invaded and froze their parents. It was up to the kids (and a few goats) of Townsville to eat their vegetables and save the day - and I'm sure that it's helped quite a few other children eat their own greens. This bento was extremely simple, and one of my favorite pieces is the Bubbles Hair lemon peel.

Beat Your Greens Bento Ingredients:

Lemon

Sweet Potato

Orange

Veggie Dog

Broccoli

Masa Sheets (Chlorophyll & Pandan)

Whole Wheat Bread

Enjoy!

Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy Bento

This post is about some of my different experiences with this bento, the first being that I did some chocolate paintings (plus a multi-pic post)! I decided to save on the fat, and thus didn't do anything aside from the outline after I hand-drew each character. The only ones who are really missing from this bento are Puddin' and Irwin, but I may have something in store for them later. If you haven't ever heard of this show before, its about two children who trick the Grim Reaper into being their best friend forever and their adventures together. The chocolate painting above is the one with Billy, the lovable idiot who tags along with Mandy, and next to him are veggie dog fingers, dark cherries and a plum. Underneath there are spooky broccoli sprouts and a tofu Reaper.

Heeeeeres' Mandy! I feel like she's saying "Billy, you idiot. Don't you realize this is food?" as she lays atop the olive and hummus sandwich.

The trio huddled together, the summer heat didn't help them unmelt.

And here's the adorable, confusing, Fred Fredburger! Sadly for him, neither nachos nor frozen (soy) yogurt were used in this bento.

GABM Bento Ingredients:
1 Olive, Hummus & Sprout Sandwich
1 Plum
Cherries
Tofu
Chocolate
Veggie Dog Fingers
Green Beans


I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I!

Mandrake Bento (Harry Potter)

This bento I decided to be more or-less artistic with since my shaping of a human face wasn't working out that well. Because of the color of the rice and the fact that the head was pretty close anyway, I decided to make a mandrake bento. Broccoli sprouts make up the hair, meatless ground made up the dirt and a put a few, pearl-like, beans around. You may have heard of a mandrake if you've ever watched Harry Potter (poor Neville) or mayhaps even if you've seen plants with oddly humanoid bodies and hair.

Mandrake Bento Ingredients:
Brown and White Rice
White Beans
Tomatoes
Kale
Broccoli Sprouts
Cucumbers

Enjoy!

Jumpy Ghostface Bento (Hero 108)

This bento is based on "Jumpy Ghostface" aka the Rabbit King from Hero 108, a show that I catch multiple times in the morning. I've been wanting to use rice for my bentos and it isn't until recently since I've really started to enjoy them, there's nothing like un-seasoned rice fresh from the steamer basket. To go along with Jumpy I added rice cheese face, nori appendages and eyes, kale, split green beans and of course tonkatsu. Normally Jumpy has a carrot in his mouth (as he is the boss) and a jumprope in hand but this Jumpy is too depressed as he's been made into a bento.

Jumpy Ghostface Bento Ingredients:
Dill Pickles
Watermelon
Seitan Tonkatsu
Raw Kale
Split Green Beans
Brown & White Rice
Rice Cheese
Nori

Cow and Chicken Bento (Bring Back the Bento #1)

This was actually of my most fun and favorite bentos to make, I even included the red guy who follows them around! If you've never seen "Cow and Chicken", a cartoon from the late 90's - don't fret, you can still learn about it here. Originally I was going to have 'The Red Guy' on a tofu salad sandwich with cherry tomatoes, but we had pumpernickel bread and only strawberries in the house, still resulting in a comical piece with his tail hanging out over his "strawberries". Cow and Chicken, meanwhile look a bit more dazed and simple than usual.

I've also started a new bento segment titled "Bring Back the Bento" where I, and any willing participants make bentos from our childhoods. What do you think?

Cow and Chicken Bento Ingredients:
Blackberries
Broccoli
Bean Sprouts
Sweet Peas
Cilantro
Blueberries
Yellow Bell Pepper
Strawberries
Whole Wheat PB & SJ sandwiches
Pumpernickel and Peanut Butter Sandwich
Whole Wheat Tortilla
Rice Cheese

I hope that you like it! ^^

A Bento For Dad

As I've said before - my father is a diabetic so I decided to watch out on his carbs for this meal, and surprisingly found that seitan doesn't contain a lot of carbs (which eventually convert to sugars if not run off). Since he works for several long hours I decided to give him the seitan to also help him keep awake and only used a teaspoon of olive oil to make a small batch crispy, dry-frying the onions and peppers. On the side I have a half-whole wheat tortilla shaped into multiple hearts with the word "Dad" markered on top. Underneath is simply some spinach for a simple and basic bento. I used Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime, cumin and some garlic powder for the seasoning as well.

Bento For Dad Ingredients:
Fajita Seitan
Garlic, Onions, Bell Peppers
Whole Wheat Tortilla
Spinach

I hope that you (and my dad) will enjoy! ^^

The Other Bobinsky Bento (Coraline Bento) w/Popcorn Flour

I'll be honest - the mouse is much better for this bento since I didn't use so much nori. But I also feel that the last of the seasoned nori that I used gave a nice "tattered" and faded look to the otherwise pristine Other Bobinsky. I added strawberries sprinkled with stevia instead of sugar because it represents a substitute or something that's not quite "right" when you really look at it. I also had placed some Indian potato burgers in this bento with homemade popcorn flour. I felt that it gave a great circus-type feel here and I was so glad that I did.

For this - all you need to do is air-pop some popcorn (to make it fat-free) and place it in a coffee grinder if you want super-fine granules. I used a blender to make it fluffier, and you can use this in just about any recipe!

Other Bobinsky Bento Ingredients:

Strawberries

Stevia

Corn Tortillas

Seasoned Nori

Popcorn

Indian Potato Burgers

Collard Greens

Crinkle-Cut Carrots

Enjoy!



Hungry? Why Not Zoidberg? Bento

Yes, this is "that" meme, I like doing bentos and foods on memes sometimes - they're fun for me. This was a really simple bento with gorgeous yellow pepper slices, crinkle-cut carrots and a strawberry and peanut butter sandwich surrounded by sushi grass. On top I have a nice tortilla which I colored and cut out for a simplified Zoidberg yesterday morning.

Do you mind memes? Or do you think they've just all become washed out once they've become common?

Zoidberg Bento Ingredients:

Corn Tortilla

Crinkle-Cut Carrots

Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam

Whole Wheat Bread

Yellow Bell Pepper

Seasoned Nori

Enjoy!

Dexter's Laboratory Bento

This bento was a super easy "throw into the container" bentothat I made. I decided to make it simple and it was so delicious! I made some more cheesy chickpea sauce over the weekend and poured it over some homemade farfalle noodles, then cut up some seitan sausages I made, used some masa sheets and decorated it with vegetables.

Dexter's Laboratory Bento Ingredients:
Broccoli
Radishes
Carrots
Tomatoes
Chickpea Mac
Masa Sheets
Mini Peppers
Seitan Sausage
Nori

Enjoy - and have a happy Sunday!

Ed, Edd and Eddy Bento

Its a Plan sandwich! I guess that's what happens when Jonny isn't around, but hey - what can you do? This is a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole-wheat bread with celery sticks, spinach, a mini yellow pepper and a plum. Its been a while since I've made something non-Coraline, but it is equally as wonderful.

Plank Sandwich Bento Ingredients:
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Whole Wheat Bread
Spinach
Celery
Purple Plum
Mini Yellow Pepper

Enjoy!

Mr Bobinsky Bento (Coraline Bento)

Sergei Alexander Bobinski (aka Mr. Bobisnky) happens to be my favorite character from the book and movie "Coraline". How couldn't you love him? He's strong and athletic, handsome, blue and quite kind to Coraline - plus he loves vegetables (namely beets)! So, instead of me telling you what went into making this super fun I decided to call up Mr. Bobinsky himself! Take it away Bobo!

How do you feel about Mr. Bobinsky?

Bobinsky: Oh hello, Ms. Shine! What is it that I am to be taking away? This "benuto"?

Me: "Be-n-to" and yes, Mr. Bobinsky! Tell us how you really feel about it!

Bobinsky: Well let me first say that there are no beets in this bento. How can you have a strong Bobinsky bento without beets? They make you strong and able to aerodynamic! *lifts up small car and throws it* Do you see what I mean Ms. Shine? Otherwise this bento is fantastic and looks like Mr. Bobo himself! Those little mice are made of Russian Miysniy Bitki, yes? So inventive with the brown and white rice covering, cranberries (red, like beets), noree eyes, almond ears and soba noodle tails! The kale that surrounds it all added with the red grapes, cherry tomatoes, masa sheet, red and orange bell peppers and blue onigiri me are amazing! The tortilla you used for my shirt is eeehh, how I would say in my Mother tongue, vyglyadit krasivo. More tortilla for the eyes, some nori and boom! You've got a Bobinsky - eh? Ey, where's my badge from Chernobyl - I was there for the cleanup after the-

Me: Oh, lookie here we're out of time so soon! Thanks for visiting Mr. Bobinsky, I think that its time for you to go back to the Pink Palace!

Bobinsky: But I haven't even told you about my wonderful Mouse Circus improvements yet! Come with me - you must see how they go "Oompa peep" now! Halfway there I must say! *grabs Ms. Shin's hands*

Me: Maybe some other time - woah! See you next time and I hope that you enjoyed this segment of Coraline Bentos, everybody! If you need the list its at the bottooooooom - The tutorial for the mice is coming soon!

Mr. Bobinsky Bento Ingredients:

Kale

Cherry Tomatoes

Red Grapes

Red and Yellow Bell Peppers

White and Brown Rice Onigiri

Miysniy Bitki Meatballs

Almonds

Dark Blue Masa Sheet

Nori

Cranberries

Corn Tortilla

Enjoy everyone!

Miss Spink and Miss Forcible Bento (Coraline Bento)

This is a simplified version of Miss Spink and Miss Forcible (although she looks a bit like Ms. Endive from Chowder due to her green hair). As I only have three technical characters to go, I'm finding it very easy and exciting to make these characters in so many different ways. These two ladies are on some freshly brown bread that are encrusted with toasted almonds and wheat berries and are made out of my masa sheets from this morning's tutorial. In the bento are some fruits and three pieces of celery. The letters are made from a sweet potato that I cut from my new mandoline (there will be a product review by Friday)

If you could be a character from Coraline, who would you be and why? Personally I'd rather be Coraline or Wybie because they're both very strong (even if they don't show it all of the time) and hey - who wouldn't love to be around a bit of adventure despite the other horrible implications. Hehe.

Miss Spink and Miss Forcible Bento Ingredients:

Sweet Potato

Whole Wheat Sandwiches, Raw Strawberry Jelly and Flax Peanut Butter

Masa Sheets

Cherry Tomatoes

Red Grapes

Strawberry

I hope that you guys enjoy it - up next is a tutorial on Russian meatballs for Mr. Bobinski's Russian Mouse Circus because even mice like something other than (vegan) cheese! ^^

Wybie Bento - Coraline

I tried to make this as simple as possible because and so I made some single-serving toast (coming soon - I promise!) with two mini dried mushroom burgers. The burgers are excellent although they do have a bit of oil in them I put them on a napkin for a while to de-oil. Added in are just some cherry tomatoes, carrots and kale with a sprig of cilantro for color.

What's your favorite macabre-style film?

Wybie Bento Ingredients:
Nori
Kale
Corn Tortilla
Mushroom Burger and Bits
Single-Serving Toast
Carrots
Cherry Tomatoes

Hope that you enjoy! The recipes for the burgers and toast will be here by Tuesday after I've finished the "Mr. Bobinski" bento.

Happy Earth Day (Dragonball Z Bento)

Nappa and Vegeta may seem like unlikely characters to celebrate Earth Day - but hey, everyone can change at some point. This bento was really fun to make, although it made me a bit nervous to draw and "carve" out, I didn't even think of just making these exactly like my vegan egg sheets and instead used my pasta dough as a clay-like substance. The pasta was made from masa which made it all the more durable, and in the bento are some cherry tomatoes, kale, broccoli, masa sheets, bitter melon, Mexican rice, carrots, a corn tortilla and lots of nori details.

How are you celebrating Earth Day?

Happy Earth Day Bento Ingredients:

Kale

Masa Pasta Sheets

Nori

Broccoli

Cherry Tomatoes

Corn Tortilla

Mexican Salsa Rice

Stewed Black Beans

Bitter Melon

Carrots

I hope that you guys like it! ^^ And Happy Earth Day!

Rabbid Rabbids Bento

The first half of this bento was quite easy as all it required was some chili in the "lower" section and some delicious bitter melon and tofu stirfry. From then on it was a bit difficult because my brown/white rice mix, beet "fur" and tomato plunger kept slipping off. Don't even get me started on those ears and eyes! But I think it came out realy well and cute - I added sushi rice and put the onigiri Rabbid in the middle of the two foods on purpose to make it look even better. 

What's your favorite videogame?

Rabbid Rabbids Bento Ingredients:
Bean Chili
Bitter Melon and Tofu Stirfry
Tomato
Spaghetti (to connect plunger pieces)
Carrot Handle
Brown and White Rice Onigiri
Nori
Rice Cheese
Beet Slices


I hope that you guys like it!

The Cat Bento (Coraline)

Its been a while since I've made a bento - but here's another character installment from my favorite movie, "Coraline"! The "darkness" of this bento doesn't come from the colors, but the rich flavors of my banana flower curry and kale. A bit of seasoned nori that I accidentally picked up gave the Cat a bit more character and made him look even more shaggy and greasy. To offset his color I used a nice yellow saffron rice and to keep everything from looking like a neon stripe I added a nice subtle "garden".

Cat Bento Ingredients:

Banana Flower Curry

Cilantro

Radish

Kale

Diced Zucchini

Olives

Nori

Soft Tortilla

Saffron Rice

I hope that this inspires you to make your own! All I need to do now is make about ten more characters and I'll be done! I'm thinking of doing Wybie next. ^^ What installment do YOU think I should do next?