Camping Bento

  So now it's summer!
I must admit, I have been in a summer mindset for these past few weeks. That's why I haven't been posting lunches lately, I guess. But now it's back to business:   I thought  of the possibilities for summer bentos - camping, swimming, gardens, hiking, the beach, the 4th of July... SO many ideas! I couldn't let the summer go by without making lots of fun summer bentos.

So today, I made 2 of my favorite things I love about summer - camping, and daisies!  Here's the camping one:

This is made from beef, lentils, rice, veggies, and a little cheese. The sky is "forbidden rice" which is a cool kind if rice - it's pure black when dry, and it turns dark purple after it's cooked. It tastes like wild or brown rice.

The ground is extra lean ground beef and lentils. I like how they taste together : )

The trees are made from slices of zucchini and are cute with some mini Christmas tree cutters, and the stars and moon are made from cheese.

The fire is made from thin slices of red, yellow, and orange bell pepper, and the logs are gluten free pretzel sticks. The tent is also made from bell pepper, with a touch of nori for the zipper.

I plan to eat the pretzels and microwave the rest and add a touch of ketchup - that's how I like it!

I have a "summer's resolution" to eat a big green salad along with whatever I'll be eating for my lunch.  Here's where the daisies come in:

I love the daisies! - they are made from jicima slices cut with a flower cutter, with the center cut out with a small round cutter and filled in with yellow bell pepper circles. The rest of the salad is lettuce, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and edamame. I plan to eat this with light ranch dressing along with my lunch.

Since tomorrow is Friday, I hope to post another gluten free recipe - so check back here tomorrow to see what it is : )