So this weekend I helped run a convention. There were long hours and much lifting, running around and generally being busy. Which was unexpected as I wasn't supposed to be in charge... but ended up being very much in charge. The girl (BF's sister) was supposed to manage the food but the moment I arrived she deferred to me in everything and didn't do anything practical except serve people unless I told her specifically to do something (like empty the bins). It was very tiring.
I had planned to be very good and had packed myself two lunches and a very big dinner to bulk out a few snack items. Unfortunately all that got thrown out at the end of the convention as I'd spent the weekend eating not much and what I did eat was gluten filled and bad for me. So my goal of eating much bento failed, but I did organise some at least. So a step in the right direction I suppose.
Today's bento is not really a bento. It's leftovers put in a container with some frozen rice. But I'm very tired and I'm impressed that I remembered to grab anything at all.
This week's goal is to get back into my routine, start getting to the gym more often and rest up because 18 hour days make me tired and there's a big heat wave in Melbourne. Bleh!
January 27, 2009
January 20, 2009
Too hot to live
It's summer. As in, actually hot, sunny and pretty. It's going to be 37C today. Yesterday was about that too. Hot weather doesn't agree with me this year. Generally I suck it up okay, just keep plodding onward daydreaming of gray autumn days but this year no such luck. Bad dreams, broken sleep patterns and today my stomach hates me too. This I blame on summer as well. It feels related to the heat somehow. Insane, but that's what I'm feeling.
This week is the week before Arc (Arcanacon). This is my last year as a helper/organiser and I'm glad that I'm more of an advisor and helper than organiser. Last year I took a week off work and spent the four days of the convention working 18 hour days and eating not much beyond plain potato chips.
This year? I'm bento-ing! Which is kind of scary since it means I'll be bentoing 8 lunches and 4 dinners in a row. I have to make it to next Monday without buying a full meal because I'm challenging myself dammit! Also, I'm broke, but the con would feed me if I wanted. But fragile tummy says grr at gluten and my giant butt says eat more chocolate. But my bento box is lovely and full of mostly healthy things. Hurrah!
I spent the last couple of days doing preparations for the busy time ahead. Not only is all my washing done but I went WAY over my grocery budget knowing that I won't be eating out at all as well as need to eat for two weeks off one shop instead of two. My bentos won't be particularly varied, but they'll be tasty.
Bento-able items that are frozen/prepacked/easy include:
::coconut crackers (GF! made with taro and coconut)
::mochi (red bean and chestnut flavours)
::wasabi peas and roasted broad beans (I've even split them into ziplock bags so I don't eat them all at once)
::rice (frozen in packs as per Lunch in a Box instructions
::chicken hot pot (still haven't made more, this recipe must feed 6 or more, so I froze portions in my new silicon cups and then moved them to a tupperware. I have some today, we'll see how defrosting in my bento box goes)
::mini burgers (Safeway now stock gluten free hamburgers! There's a flavoured one with some zing to it but all they had on the weekend was plain, but they're pretty good. I quartered each and reshaped them into burgers, cooked and then froze them in foil. The Boy intends to steal some while I'm so busy.)
::many grapes and some cherries
::carrot sticks. Boring but necessary for those vegetable needs! I chopped a tonne so I can grab and go. Hopefully this will prevent "I don't have time to eat my vegetables!"
::Dip! Hummus with cashews which sounds interesting. Hopefully it will liven up my carrot sticks and whatever other veges I can find in the crisper.
::Laughing cow cheese wedges and Baby bels. Baby bel swiss cheese in yellow wax! tasty though i think I'll miss the red wax. Red is more fun to play with somehow (yes I am crazy).
::Lasagne. I froze 2 serves of lasagne the other day. Homemade with San Remo pasta sheets, lots of shredded zucchini and spinach. I really recommend the Sam Remo GF pasta range actually, they do need to be stirred while cooking to prevent a big clump (oil in the cooking water doesn't seem to help too much, but a stir or two in the first couple of minutes of cooking does the trick). Best of all, the lasagne sheets are a "normal" size, unlike the only other ones I've seen around by Ogran, which are mini sized and annoying.
So I won't starve. I might be a little bored by Tuesday but hopefully all that snack variety will keep things interesting.
This week is the week before Arc (Arcanacon). This is my last year as a helper/organiser and I'm glad that I'm more of an advisor and helper than organiser. Last year I took a week off work and spent the four days of the convention working 18 hour days and eating not much beyond plain potato chips.
This year? I'm bento-ing! Which is kind of scary since it means I'll be bentoing 8 lunches and 4 dinners in a row. I have to make it to next Monday without buying a full meal because I'm challenging myself dammit! Also, I'm broke, but the con would feed me if I wanted. But fragile tummy says grr at gluten and my giant butt says eat more chocolate. But my bento box is lovely and full of mostly healthy things. Hurrah!
I spent the last couple of days doing preparations for the busy time ahead. Not only is all my washing done but I went WAY over my grocery budget knowing that I won't be eating out at all as well as need to eat for two weeks off one shop instead of two. My bentos won't be particularly varied, but they'll be tasty.
Bento-able items that are frozen/prepacked/easy include:
::coconut crackers (GF! made with taro and coconut)
::mochi (red bean and chestnut flavours)
::wasabi peas and roasted broad beans (I've even split them into ziplock bags so I don't eat them all at once)
::rice (frozen in packs as per Lunch in a Box instructions
::chicken hot pot (still haven't made more, this recipe must feed 6 or more, so I froze portions in my new silicon cups and then moved them to a tupperware. I have some today, we'll see how defrosting in my bento box goes)
::mini burgers (Safeway now stock gluten free hamburgers! There's a flavoured one with some zing to it but all they had on the weekend was plain, but they're pretty good. I quartered each and reshaped them into burgers, cooked and then froze them in foil. The Boy intends to steal some while I'm so busy.)
::many grapes and some cherries
::carrot sticks. Boring but necessary for those vegetable needs! I chopped a tonne so I can grab and go. Hopefully this will prevent "I don't have time to eat my vegetables!"
::Dip! Hummus with cashews which sounds interesting. Hopefully it will liven up my carrot sticks and whatever other veges I can find in the crisper.
::Laughing cow cheese wedges and Baby bels. Baby bel swiss cheese in yellow wax! tasty though i think I'll miss the red wax. Red is more fun to play with somehow (yes I am crazy).
::Lasagne. I froze 2 serves of lasagne the other day. Homemade with San Remo pasta sheets, lots of shredded zucchini and spinach. I really recommend the Sam Remo GF pasta range actually, they do need to be stirred while cooking to prevent a big clump (oil in the cooking water doesn't seem to help too much, but a stir or two in the first couple of minutes of cooking does the trick). Best of all, the lasagne sheets are a "normal" size, unlike the only other ones I've seen around by Ogran, which are mini sized and annoying.
So I won't starve. I might be a little bored by Tuesday but hopefully all that snack variety will keep things interesting.
January 16, 2009
150109bento
Today is the end of my first week of the bento challenge and I think I did pretty well. My bento's weren't pretty in the way they can be traditionally, I have no desire to cutes-ify my lunch. And they were also a little repetitive. When I was eating them I didn't notice, but when I look back on my photos for the week (also getting used to doing that and not feeling like a freak who takes photos of her pre-packed lunch) I think it was a little.
Pictured is yesterdays lunch, which was very tasty. Tasty enough to share even if it was entirely leftovers.
In the divided tier there is the previous days snacks that I didn't want at school as it was uber hot and I was very busy. A slight alteration was the addition of a Laughing Cow cheese which made the mochi move to the other container. Nothing horribly interesting there.
On the bottom tier is dinner leftovers (eaten cold) with some rice, some green beans, mochi and Chicken & Chorizo hotpot the Boy made. OMG is that stuff good!
Recipe can be found at http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Chicken-and-chorizo-hot-pot
Tonight I'm going to freeze some and see how that works.
Pictured is yesterdays lunch, which was very tasty. Tasty enough to share even if it was entirely leftovers.
In the divided tier there is the previous days snacks that I didn't want at school as it was uber hot and I was very busy. A slight alteration was the addition of a Laughing Cow cheese which made the mochi move to the other container. Nothing horribly interesting there.
On the bottom tier is dinner leftovers (eaten cold) with some rice, some green beans, mochi and Chicken & Chorizo hotpot the Boy made. OMG is that stuff good!
Recipe can be found at http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Chicken-and-chorizo-hot-pot
Tonight I'm going to freeze some and see how that works.
January 13, 2009
Bento Challenge
Hello once more, oh blog. I still eat gluten free but have been mostly very boring in the last year or so since I got lazy and stopped posting. I have been inspired lately however by a Bento Challenge from maki of Just Bento so once again I am getting on the blogging wagon to track my progress as well as record any gluten free bento experiments.
My goal/NY resolution for 2009 was to take more care of me. Which sounds simple enough but not the way I intend it. Taking care of me means getting out and seeing people again, keeping my house cleaner (not "cleanclean" but a nice environment to be in), get regular haircuts for once, attempt clothes beyond the jeans/tshirt for school and black pants/shirt for work, lose some weight, eat healthier, exercise, lose my fat wobbly (and hated) upper arms and above all stress less.
Last year was the year of my finally getting some mental health advice and seeing someone regularly for no other reason than I get very worked up over very insignificant things. I don't see them anymore and haven't in months but lately I've found I need to start working on being happy and more carefree again because I'm noticing a downward spiral which is NOT GOOD.
So before Christmas the hair was cut from the long grown out previous cut (a year grown out) and suddenly everyone was saying how good I looked. I've made another appointment and everything.
I made myself some skirts to wear with tshirts to ease into the less jeans idea and some new pink slip on runner style shoes (I walk a LOT, to and from work etc) to wear with them so I can't say "oh but I'd have to wear heels and I'm walking so I can't wear a skirt!" I'm even wearing on today!
I joined the gym at work (hurrah for salary sacrificing!) and am planning to go before work the three days a week I work (Tues/Thurs/Fri). This may change once the university semester starts and the aerobics roster gets changed. I like aerobics and am hoping there are some I'll be able to get to - dance! Please! *fingers crossed*
I got a 2009 diary and am determined to fill it with some social events. I have a party on Friday and a yum cha party on Saturday (both birthdays). Please ignore the fact that yum cha mostly contains gluten. I'm being bad, so there! (Plus, lately I've discovered I can have SOME gluten without getting sick at all. I'm not coeliac after all, just intolerant so this makes sense. I say it does.)
The bento challenge started yesterday but I got in early and had one every day last week as well as stocking my freezer up with some gluten free baked goods as an experiment ->
Mini muffin trays are awesome. I bought one just for the challenge and recommend it to all bakers out there. I like baking and baked goods but if you're the only gluten intolerant person in the house, odds are you'll end up with most of a cake to yourself. Not good for the butt! My first baked experiments were:
Woolworth's brand orange and poppyseed cake mix and Woolworth's brand pizza base mix
The cake I just made as directed and put it into the muffin tray (well greased). Meh. Tasty enough but next time I'll be adding something to give them some more flavour... maybe orange juice instead of some of the water, or some orange rind? They lack oomph but are definately tasty. I also didn't ice them so maybe that would help? Not sure how that would work for freezing though and I'm going to try and avoid extra calories from tasty icing. Be very careful when cooking though... I ended up with burnt bottoms on all of them so watch them like a hawk and don't believe the back of the packet unless you REALLY know your oven.
The pizza mix I've used several times before and liked it. I have often gotten the excess dough and baked it into a "roll" which I always thought was more like a scone. So that's what I did - I made 'scones.' I made these as directed and added half a chopped onion and a handful or so of grated cheese. Oh. My. God! These things are tasty! The onion flavour is not too strong and gives this bite sized scone a nice addition of flavour as I didn't want to add butter or anything. The cheese mostly isn't noticeable but it was probably good to add for extra binding power.
Day 1 Bento 12/01/09
My goal/NY resolution for 2009 was to take more care of me. Which sounds simple enough but not the way I intend it. Taking care of me means getting out and seeing people again, keeping my house cleaner (not "cleanclean" but a nice environment to be in), get regular haircuts for once, attempt clothes beyond the jeans/tshirt for school and black pants/shirt for work, lose some weight, eat healthier, exercise, lose my fat wobbly (and hated) upper arms and above all stress less.
Last year was the year of my finally getting some mental health advice and seeing someone regularly for no other reason than I get very worked up over very insignificant things. I don't see them anymore and haven't in months but lately I've found I need to start working on being happy and more carefree again because I'm noticing a downward spiral which is NOT GOOD.
So before Christmas the hair was cut from the long grown out previous cut (a year grown out) and suddenly everyone was saying how good I looked. I've made another appointment and everything.
I made myself some skirts to wear with tshirts to ease into the less jeans idea and some new pink slip on runner style shoes (I walk a LOT, to and from work etc) to wear with them so I can't say "oh but I'd have to wear heels and I'm walking so I can't wear a skirt!" I'm even wearing on today!
I joined the gym at work (hurrah for salary sacrificing!) and am planning to go before work the three days a week I work (Tues/Thurs/Fri). This may change once the university semester starts and the aerobics roster gets changed. I like aerobics and am hoping there are some I'll be able to get to - dance! Please! *fingers crossed*
I got a 2009 diary and am determined to fill it with some social events. I have a party on Friday and a yum cha party on Saturday (both birthdays). Please ignore the fact that yum cha mostly contains gluten. I'm being bad, so there! (Plus, lately I've discovered I can have SOME gluten without getting sick at all. I'm not coeliac after all, just intolerant so this makes sense. I say it does.)
The bento challenge started yesterday but I got in early and had one every day last week as well as stocking my freezer up with some gluten free baked goods as an experiment ->
Mini muffin trays are awesome. I bought one just for the challenge and recommend it to all bakers out there. I like baking and baked goods but if you're the only gluten intolerant person in the house, odds are you'll end up with most of a cake to yourself. Not good for the butt! My first baked experiments were:
Woolworth's brand orange and poppyseed cake mix and Woolworth's brand pizza base mix
The cake I just made as directed and put it into the muffin tray (well greased). Meh. Tasty enough but next time I'll be adding something to give them some more flavour... maybe orange juice instead of some of the water, or some orange rind? They lack oomph but are definately tasty. I also didn't ice them so maybe that would help? Not sure how that would work for freezing though and I'm going to try and avoid extra calories from tasty icing. Be very careful when cooking though... I ended up with burnt bottoms on all of them so watch them like a hawk and don't believe the back of the packet unless you REALLY know your oven.
The pizza mix I've used several times before and liked it. I have often gotten the excess dough and baked it into a "roll" which I always thought was more like a scone. So that's what I did - I made 'scones.' I made these as directed and added half a chopped onion and a handful or so of grated cheese. Oh. My. God! These things are tasty! The onion flavour is not too strong and gives this bite sized scone a nice addition of flavour as I didn't want to add butter or anything. The cheese mostly isn't noticeable but it was probably good to add for extra binding power.
Day 1 Bento 12/01/09
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