This week's bentos!

This week's bentos aren't very cute, but they're functional, and the kids like them!
Tuesday: mandarin oranges, grapes, tofu, cheese round, peanut butter crackers, a chocolate, and a skewer of tomatoes, olives, and a pickle. I also packed a fruit leather for Beth Ann and a package of Sharkies for Ray.

Wednesday: mandarin oranges, grapes, mini corn dogs, tofu, olives, a cheese round, a chocolate, a pickle, dried blueberries, and a fruit leather for Beth Ann, and a package of Sharkies for Ray.

Thursday: Pineapple, Tofurky, carrots, pretzels, a chocolate, and a skewer of olives and a pickle - plus a fruit leather for Beth Ann and a package of Sharkies for Ray.

Second bento of the year

I'm enjoying getting back into lunch making for the kidlets. I know they enjoy it, so it's sort of my act of love for them - a touch of mom during the day! These bentos have mini corn dogs, tortilla roll ups, grapes, Goldfish crackers, dried blueberies, a skewer of tomatoes, cheese, a pickle, and an olive, and a chocolate.

Back to Bento Time!!!

Beth Ann and Ray both start school tomorrow, so it's time to get the bentos out! We're eating a normal vegetarian diet for the time being, so the next few bentos won't necessarily be either gluten of dairy free. I just love the bentos so much, that I'm going to post about them anyway!!!

In the bottom tier, I packed mandarin oranges. There is fruit leather in the lid. For the main part, I put Flat Earth Chips in the cup, a Babybel cheese, veggie meat rolled up with the animal picks, a skewer of grapes, a skewer of cheese, cherry tomatoes, and a pickle and a little chocolate.

Swing Thai

Well, we're going through all the gluten/dairy testing now, and I think it's going to be a couple of months ordeal. Gah. My oldest daughter and I went out to dinner this evening at Swing Thai, and I was pleased to see that they have their gluten-free dishes marked, and there were quite a few of them. They also have their vegan dishes marked. How cool is that? I didn't take my camera, but I'm going to go back, take pictures, and do a proper review. For now, let me just say that their food is good, and there are plenty of gluten free/vegan options.

The Millennium

I haven't been posting much lately because we've been on vacation, and then when we got home, we went back to eating gluten and dairy. We'll be getting tested soon, and we need to have accurate test results. So, we are trying to get in all the foods we may never get to eat again in the next two weeks!



Last October/November, we all took a trip to San Francisco. I was very excited to try the cuisine at the famed Millennium restaurant in the Hotel California. I thought I'd take a little time and blog about that! It was a very upscale restaurant. When our family of six invaded them (we had a reservation, of course!), they were prepared with a big table for us. This restaurant has been named the best by Veg News for a couple of years at least. We looked over the menu and ordered, and then started with the bread and lentil spread that was on the table. We were excited for our meals because the bread and spread was fabulous! Unfortunately, we were really disappointed with our meals. They were plated beautifully, as you can see from the pictures. Beth Ann ordered a soup, that she said she liked. I tried it and gagged. I nearly spit it out. Trey ordered a "raw"violi that he only ate because he was starving. Ray ordered a black bean dish that was pretty disgusting. The dish that Olivia and I ate was good. It was a portobello mushroom dish. It was absolutely not worth the money we paid for it though.


The one true highlight of the meal was the desert. I wish I'd gotten a picture of it. It was a vegan, nut-based "cheese"cake that was to die for! Overall though, we were severely disappointed. We felt like the restaurant was overrated and overpriced.

Yummy premade bread

My mom buys bread from Kinnikinnick that is pretty darn good. We made grilled "cheese" sandwiches with it, and we had toast. We really liked it. Most pre-made gluten free breads are super crumbly and gritty. This bread is chewy and not at all gritty. I'm going to have to find where I can buy it in Denver. I didn't get a picture of the bread because I didn't think about it until we had already eaten all of it!!!

Blackberry pie

While we were in Arkansas, the wild blackberries were ripe! Yum. The kidlets and I picked about six cups worth and I made a pie. My mom had a Gluten Free Pantry pie crust mix, and I used it. It was really a pain. I couldn't get it rolled out and then off the wrap like it says to do, so I ended up just putting it in the pie plate and using my fingers to spread it out. It worked pretty well. Then my mom and I made small rounds that we flattened out and put on the top.
Before:

After:

The pie crust was pretty darn good. If was very flaky, but a lot of pie crusts are flaky like that. It had ten tablespoons of margarine and ten tablespoons of vegetable shortening, so I'd like to find a healthier alternative, but it tasted good!