(upbeat music)
- Hey Munchies, welcome to the channel.
If you're new, or if you're not,
I'm Alyssia and I'm so excited you're here.
Back to school time is here for many of us, adults too.
I started grad school this year
so this is actually my first time in Mind Over Munch history
that I can say it is back to school time for me.
So I thought I would do a back to school bentos episode,
adult Lunchables edition.
Lunchables are fun and inspired by an interactive approach.
And they're not just for kids.
Although I will say these could totally be kid friendly too.
The main component in my first box
is a savory egg salad with a secret ingredient kick.
I boil eggs in my instant pot.
It is my new favorite way, and I showed you
how to do this in a video earlier this year,
which I will link below.
Today thought I wanted to show you
an easy way to chop the boiled eggs.
I have a bowl with a cooking or cooling rack on top of it.
And I place the boiled egg over the top
and press a small plate or bowl over it,
squish it down, and boom you got chopped egg.
It's pretty fun to do.
You can actually do an entire batch
in less than a minute.
It is so easy and I've got to say thanks
to Food and Wine for the tip, cause I did not make that up.
You could also use the nifty egg slicer
that I shared in this fun egg gadgets video
that we did a couple of months ago.
Or you could of course just chop them up with a knife,
no big deal.
Okay, to get this creamy and delicious
I add mayo, mustard, and a secret ingredient, horseradish.
I use the real deal, not the pre-mixed condiment,
along with some fresh dill, chives, and salt n' pep.
I mix that first and then I add in the chopped boiled eggs
and some optional cooked and chopped bacon,
highly recommended, and make sure that is coated thoroughly,
and that's it.
The horseradish adds a nice kick
and a natural sweetness, but you could really use
more or less to your preference.
This egg salad is so savory and creamy,
and it's got a nice crunch and smokiness from the bacon.
I can actually put this on anything.
This goes into the bento box along with
some lettuce wraps to serve it with,
but you could also use a little sandwich bun,
pita, or crackers if you prefer.
I'm also adding veggies to the box
with radish and carrot chips.
I re-discovered my crinkle cutter recently,
which adds a fun touch.
As adults, we eat with our eyes too.
It is not just kids.
So this little bit of care and time
can really help us enjoy food more fully and mindfully.
I make a little ranch dip on the side.
It's just a mix of mayo and Greek yogurt or sour cream,
along with dried dill, parsley, chives, garlic powder,
onion powder, salt n' pep, and lemon juice.
Most of you know me by now; it is not likely
you'll see me eating raw vegetables
without something to dip them in.
This ranch is creamy and thicker,
better in my opinion for dipping than a dressing.
In the other compartments I add some cheese cubes,
and one of my favorite on-the-go snacks, a nectarine.
But you could use any on the go fruit you prefer.
I love this box.
This is a lunch I would love any day.
It's versatile, fresh, nutritious, colorful, and satisfying.
Remember, I love sharing these lunches in a bento box form
because they look so cute and appealing.
But you don't have to serve them this way.
You can use whatever lunch box you have.
Although I have linked everything I use below,
if you are looking for it.
The next box features a super easy tuna salad.
First I mix together mayo, or you could use Greek yogurt,
along with some relish, pickle juice,
which is like a secret ingredient for me here.
When I discovered it, I was like I'm never making
tuna salad again without pickle juice!
It's so good.
Lemon juice, and salt n' pep.
Then I can add in some drained canned tuna.
I do think a good quality tuna makes a difference
with the tasty tuna salad.
As well as some diced red onion, celery,
and for an additional crunch I like some chopped pecans.
Mix, but don't over mix.
And then of course season to taste
before you store it or enjoy.
If you struggle to get fish into your diet,
tuna salad is a really easy and fun way to do that.
If you like egg salad or chicken salad,
you'll probably like this.
It's savory and satisfying,
and the crunch from the pecans and celery is just perfect.
I serve that with some additional celery sticks.
Again you could serve this with whatever you want,
but celery is a fun way to switch up the serving vessel.
And just like the little tuna Lunchable packs from childhood
tuna salad just isn't the same without crackers,
at least for me.
Whatever you prefer, I do have a couple of different
healthy, homemade cracker recipes that I've shared before,
and I will link those below
if you want to make your own.
For a sweeter component I am adding fresh strawberries.
And I'm making an easy peanut butter dip.
It's so easy in fact, that it's just three ingredients.
It's Greek yogurt, peanut butter,
and a little bit of honey or maple syrup.
Mixing those ingredients, it becomes like a whipped dip.
It is so hard to stop eating.
That goes on the side and it's actually
really good with the celery too.
And finally, I just took a granola bar
and chopped it up into little bites.
So again, sometimes a small change in appearance
can make a food that you eat regularly,
more fun and intentional.
I've also linked some of my favorite
granola bar recipes that I've shared on the channel
in the past, in the description box below
if you want to make your own.
And there is another easy box.
I mean, so easy in fact that so far
both of these have only taken about five minutes
to throw together and you end up with so much variety.
I used to get really caught up in balancing meals
with macro and micro nutrients,
but now I have really relaxed and I try to focus
a bit more on a meal that's colorful and satisfying.
If I do that mindfully, more often than not
then the nutrients tend to balance themselves out,
for the most part.
Okay I have got one more box
and it is a taco bites inspired box.
But first, if you are enjoying this video
I wanted to remind you to subscribe and hit the bell
so that you don't miss any upcoming videos.
I really appreciate it.
Okay for the taco bites I start with some ground meat.
And I wanted to show you how I cook it.
I always start with a little bit of cooking fat and onion.
And once that is tender I add the entire block of meat.
I break that up into just four pieces or so to start,
and this is over a medium high heat
because I really want it to brown.
So before I even mess with it,
I let those big chunks sit and that browning
is really gonna add so much of the flavor.
Then once it's browned I can start to flip those pieces
and break them up a little bit more.
And then just stop and let them brown.
Don't feel like you need to be messing with it nonstop.
And finally, I get it all chopped into ground meat
and then I can season it with a bit
of taco seasoning, if desired.
For the sake of this box, I decided to mix
some cooked white rice and the ground meat together
for storing, but you could also use beans or tofu
if you wanted this mixture to be vegetarian or vegan.
I serve this up with some scoop shaped tortilla chips.
I've also really eased up on processed foods.
I'm not pretending they're preferred to whole foods,
but as I've been working on healing
my relationship with food, I found that my fear
around processed foods was not really necessary.
Tortilla chips for instance are a real trigger food
for a lot of people.
It's easy to over do it.
But when we talk about clean foods,
which is a word I'm trying to get away from,
but clean in terms of the number
of pronounceable ingredients,
tortilla chips are not that bad.
It's usually only corn, oil, and salt.
And last week I actually shared an entire video
with packaged, or quote/unquote junk foods,
that have less ingredients than you might think.
So demonizing foods does not help.
It definitely hurt me.
I will link a few videos below where I've discussed
my anxiety and fear foods,
and healing my relationship with food.
Okay, these little bites wouldn't be complete
without cheese and lettuce,
and on the side I'm also adding guac and salsa.
So I have everything I really need to prepare.
But for a little sweet bite,
I am finishing off this box with these churro bars.
First I stir together cashew butter and milk of choice,
non dairy is fine.
But warming both of those in the microwave
or over the stove will help the two mix together.
Then I add salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract,
and maple syrup.
I finish it with oat flour and baking soda,
mixing until incorporated.
That goes into the pan.
And I also have a mixture of granulated sugar,
or you could use sweetener or coconut sugar if you prefer,
and some cinnamon.
And that gets sprinkled all over the top.
Into the oven it goes.
You do have to wait for these to cool
to room temperature before cutting,
but holy moly I promise you it's worth it.
They almost melt in your mouth, and that cinnamon sugar
topping really adds a churro flare.
They're sweet and light and satisfying.
Those bars are the perfect finishing touch
to my taco box where I can assemble
little nacho bites, knowing I'll be satisfied
nutritionally but also mentally and emotionally.
It looks nice; it tastes great.
And it's giving me great food energy.
I hope you enjoyed these boxes for inspiration.
Whether you're adult or a kid,
and whether you're going back to school soon or not,
remember these boxes are not here
for you to replicate blindly.
I want you to take what you want and leave what you don't.
Let them inspire you to make something
that you love so that you can enjoy food and health
in a way that works for you.
I have linked all the recipes below,
as well as many other relevant videos I mentioned earlier,
and all of the cooking products I used
if you're curious.
I appreciate you all being here.
I'll be back next week with a brand new episode
and remember, it's all a matter of Mind Over Munch.