Bento No. 1: Fancy Food and Salad bento

So this is the lunch I made for September 30th, 2013.  I ended up making 4 dishes this weekend and was so excited about that that I included three of them in this bento.  However, my structure is usually a little different.  What I tend to do is include a meat protein, an egg dish and some cooked vegetable (steamed or sauteed, not as fancy as this risotto) with the bottom being a salad, some veggies and maybe a snack.  The risotto and quiche go well together since they both had a fair amount of parmigiana cheese but I wouldn't put both dishes together with the chicken nuggets.  Still, you could probably get away with two out of three of these dishes in your top tier and be satisfied.  I also will apologize for the weird looking cucumbers.  Our refridgerator is set too cold and they got frozen, hence why they're transparent.

Bento Used:  Kotobuki 2-tier (I know this isn't the same design but I also have the owl one and it's super cute)

Chili Citrus Pan-fried Chicken Nuggets (1 carb per serving, 89 calories):  With all of these recipes, I'll upload a more detailed recipe but this one is just so easy that I'll tell you it here.  I adapted it from Just Bento's Pan-fried Lemon Chicken Nuggets whereas instead of using cornstarch, I shallow-fried them in coconut oil and added a tablespoon of Huay Fong Chili Garlic sauce to the marinade of the juice of one lemon, a tablespoon of soy sauce, salt and pepper.  I use this for 12 ounces of chicken, marinade it for at least 15 minutes and fry it up.  The result is a moist, flavorful nugget that's slightly spicy and citrusy.  You can replace the lemon with lime for more of a thai curry flavor.

Butternut Squash and Zucchini "Risotto" (7 carbs per serving, less than half a serving used for the box = 4 carbs at most, 53 calories):  The most carby of my dishes.  My mom had given me a butternut squash a few weeks before and I honestly did not want to waste it but as you can see, they're pretty sugary (which is part of the reason why they're so delicious).  I only used about a quarter of the squash (probably less since I used half of the neck and froze the other half) and balanced it out with half of a zucchini and the secret ingredient to making any keto rice dish: cauliflower.  That's right, this risotto is actually made with grated cauliflower instead of rice giving it the right consistency without the calories.  It's actually super luxurious and even though the squash might not be the best choice for super carb-cutters, it adds a pretty orange pop to the whole dish.

Spinach, Mushroom and Broccoli Quiche (1 carb for half a serving, 112 calories):  I like to make an egg dish every week since 1) eggs are cheap and 2) they're really awesome for giving you some needed fat and protein.  I actually had this quiche for breakfast at 7:30 and it kept me full until 3 with only a 100 calorie protein shake at 1.  Plus, it has some added vegetables for your micro-nutrients. 

Cucumber, Romaine and Baby Spinach Salad with Ken's Aged Romano Italian dressing (3-5 carbs, 76 calories):  First off, I only use about a tablespoon of dressing and it's 1 carb per 2 tablespoons.  I also overestimated the amount of cucumber I put in my lunch so that was probably less than 2 carbs.  Also, I'm pretty sure MyFittnessPal rounds up.  If you don't like the idea of a salad, chop up some veggies (cucumber and celery are my favorites) and add a side of almonds as a snack.  You can even add fruit if the rest of your lunch is low in carbs or your meal plan allows it (just make sure to portion comtrol using MyFitnessPal). 

Overall:  8-10 carbs, 330 calories.

Rating:
Taste:  8/10
Visual Appeal: 5/10
Fillingness:  10/10
Keto-ness:  6/10
Final Grade:  B-

This actually isn't too bad.  I'm still munching on this right now and the top part did a good job of filling me and the BF up.  I'm thinking of eating the salad after my workout but today is looking like a good job diet day.