Vegan Field Roast Bento Box

Today’s featured bento box is vegan.   Sounds pretty healthy huh?   On the “straight and narrow”?  Well, on closer inspection you’ll see that the nori wrapped musubi is made with white rice!  Not that white rice is bad or anything; it’s just not the best choice for optimal nutrition.  

Yes,  the White Rice is creeping back into our daily intake.  Usually the Brown Rice is eaten at home while the other is  allowed only when we go out for dinner.   Sigh…  ”But I can’t make it on a couple of  Asian restaurants once or twice a month!  You are too much for me  White Rice!  I wish I knew how to quit you!”

The rest of the bento box items are not as dramatic. Thank goodness.   The Field Roast is a recent discovery.  It’s flavorful but I’m still a bit “on the fence” about mock meat.  Some of them are just terrible but this product is very tasty and  it’s firm texture will lend itself to many possible recipes.    Saba Man’s philosophy about  disguising and re-fashioning veggies into meat look-a-likes cuts to the point!  “Does it taste good?”  He doesn’t need it to  taste like beef or chicken, it just needs to be yummy.  But he quickly added,  “but I still like real meat too.”

We also have steamed cauliflower, roasted delicata squach and cherry tomato fillers.  This green cauliflower is a first for me; I was attracted to the  color and I also would like to try  purple and romanesco cauliflower someday. 

The delicata squash is roasted in the usual manner: olive oil, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.   If you’re not familiar with this squash, it has  a nice creamy pulp with a blend of mild sweet potato and corn flavor.  It holds it’s shape when cooked so it’s very packable and with it’s edible skin you can prepare it without the hassle of peeling.

I roasted the delicata squash using  this simple recipe which is really not  a recipe at all.  Just lightly spread some olive oil on a pan, place a single layer of sliced squash,  sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper then cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  (I use a toaster oven)

Back to the White Rice musubi.  This rice ball is stuffed with salty shoyu black beans which means it’s more than just a lump of starch.  The beans definitely raises it’s nutritional value.   Yes,  I’m defending my musubi,  but it’s not an addiction I tell you!  And I can quit anytime.