Mushrooms and barley, cannellini bean spread, green peppers, and goat brie

Posted in Bento, gluten-free by

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Sometimes it amazes me the deliciousness that can be hiding in the fridge, just waiting to be eaten. This bento is made entirely out of things hanging around with nothing better to do than jump into my bento box! The most time consuming part was sautéing the mushrooms.

I had leftover barley, which I mixed with sautéed mushrooms (around 3/4 cup before cooking) and about a tablespoon of pine nuts. I then sprinkled some dried cranberries over for colour. I had a little piece of cheese that had managed to escape me, and I sliced that in a little food cup. I have a tiny bit of green leaf lettuce as baran to contain the barley. Finally, I have some more of the cannellini bean spread which will go nicely with raw green pepper slices.

My morning snack will be an apple and my afternoon snack will be a home-made coconut Larabar. Or a peanut butter pretzel Luna bar if my husband was able to find some while on his golf trip to Montana and thus brought some back!

For those wondering about the nutritional stats: 380 cals, 59g carbs, 10g fat, 16g protein, 11g fibre.

10 thoughts on “Mushrooms and barley, cannellini bean spread, green peppers, and goat brie”

    • You should most definitely start making them. You’ll save a ton of money over eating out, (v. important if you’re going to, or even thinking about college) and you’ll waste way less food as you won’t be bored with your regular lunch, and you can use up leftovers or make the most of batch cooking (another college reality given funds and free time) really easily. They’re also less impacting on the planet as you’re usually using less packaging when you cook for yourself. Everything in this lunch was on hand, but until it’s assembled into something awesome, it’s just leftovers.

      I know you’re vegan from your blog. Most of my bentos can be easily veganized, as I typically use eggs and dairy for flavour only. I could just as easily have put almonds instead of brie in this lunch.

      Reply

      • I’ve definitely been thinking about bento boxes and how helpful they will be in college! I’m going off to Florida Southern this upcoming Fall and I’m really worried that school food isn’t going to be vegan friendly considering the Freshman 15 everyone talks about…So I’ll have to take advantage of my small refrigerator, rice cooker and possibly a toaster oven that I’m considering bringing into my single dorm!! hahaha but thank you for posting!! I’m definitely going to spend time this summer planning bento boxes, and posting pictures of them

        Thanks for the inspiration (:
        Ally

      • Having been vegan while a freshman, the freshman 15 is typically due to:

        -snacking on more processed foods as they’re easy
        -alcohol (and you’re doing very well without it, so that’s not going to be a problem)
        -lack of sleep
        -lack of exercise.

        There is this site which should help you out immensely: http://www.justbento.com, and the amazing Maki wrote a fantastic post about bento lunches in a dorm room: http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-basics/making-bento-lunches-dorm-room

        Knowledge is power 🙂

      • I can’t even begin to thank you enough!!! OH my goodness! Thanks for the website and the knowledge, you’re definitely going to make my vegan transition into college much easier!

        ❤ Much appreciated ! 😀

    • Thank you. On the phrase, sometimes you have to mix it up a bit – I try and keep posts short and sweet, but want to make it somewhat engaging to read. With the photo, I’m especially proud of it. I love how every now and then a picture turns out incredibly super-well 🙂

      Reply

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Tell us veggie bento lovers what you think!