Shoyu Salmon, Peas and Rice Bento Box
Saba Man has a new bento box which we’ve dubbed “Big Blue”! It’s the perfect size for his lunch and the 2 tiers keeps everything nice and neat! However I messed up at the first attempt when I filled the bottom tier to the top… that’s a no-no! The top tier has to sit snugly into the bottom tier about a half an inch for it to close. So you can guess what happened… oh oh! Do over! That episode took place last week and since then I’ve remembered to leave a gap.
So here we go with today’s featured bento box, shoyu salmon with peas and rice in the bottom tier. (notice the space at the top 
) The top tier contains veggie shumai, tomatoes and steamed broccolini seasoned with BaconSalt!
I was thinking as I was packing “Big Blue” that perhaps I should be using a red bento for the month of February to set a good example for this month BOMB challenge…hehehe! The tomatoes count…don’t they?
Anyway, given that I’m not actively participating in this month’s festivities, Saba Man and I decided to give ourselves a different kind of challenge. We made a pact to not spend any money on eating out for the entire month of February—starting with today! That goes for ALL purchased take-out or dine-in foods including coffee!!! Yikes!
We picked a short month…only 28 days. Do you think we can do it? I think we can.
So for DAY 1. We saved approximately $5.00 which I would of spent on coffee. I ‘m changing this to add the monies saved by packing bento box lunches too. The updated amount we saved would be approximately $20.00, a conservative amount which includes the $5 bucks for coffee and $7.50 each for for lunch.
Also, starting a separate page to log daily savings.
The saved money will go towards our vacation fund… or more bento boxes! 
What a beautiful bento! I think that I get a Big Blue for myself!!
wow, kudos to you and saba man for your no-spending pledge — great way to eat healthier AND save money!
cool new box, and great use of the scraps from the carrot flowers — they’re like shumai confetti
OK, I’m gonna make purple carrot flowers! Soo pretty!!
What a cool presentation. Very manly. hehe
Good luck with the no-premade-food-purchases this month. I think you can do it! I love my homebrew. Maybe you’ll need to buy a new thermal carafe to bring your coffee from home?…
That’s an excellent challenge…although I did cringe when you said no takeout including coffee! You’ll probably not need caffeine any more at the end of the month!
Still loving the purple flowers – I grew some purple carrots before I started making bentos – have a feeling I’ve gotta start again!
Great pact! But i dunno about the coffee part! That would be too extreme for me.
Beautiful bento as always.
Oooooh cool bento. I love the way it is set up. I’m not familiar with the shumai, yay a new food for me to explore. Lucky Saba Man. By the way great idea to save money. I vote vacation to buy more bento stuff but that’s just me. tee hee.
You always put your foods nicely in your bento box. Are those edamame shumai like the one Megan had on her previous post? Those shumai looks great in color with the carrot flowers on the top
Hi Lia, I think they are the same or similar edamame shumai. Thanks.
Love this blue set, and the checked band is so crisp and nifty. Love the savory, healthy contents, too–salmon looks so fresh with the green peas, and shumai equal edible happiness. Congrats on the savings challenge–this is really interesting and I look forward to reading how it goes–I imagine some even-greater culinary creativity may result!
Good challenge! Bento saves me money – if I had a boring lunch I’d be tempted to buy something when co-workers do, but looking forward to eating something beautiful makes it easier to be “good”. I hope you can stick to your challenge for the month . . . I’m sure your well-established bento habits will be a big help!