For the two bentos in this post, I used the only box of hard tofu left at my grocery store. Not because everyone around here is a trendy veggie-head, but because no one here eats tofu and I think they only get shipments in once every few months or something. Completely ridiculous. There are tons of great things you can do with tofu.

Don’t believe me?

Well here are two ideas.

Last Sunday night I made a super yummy veggie korma for dinner. It ended up being perfectly flavored. The left overs made it into this bento:

Bento 1: Veggie korma with tofu, peppers, onions, and mushrooms, basmati rice, cherries, and kiwi.

(Guest appearance by my t-rex shaped children’s chopsticks…his name is Churchill)

Later in the week I did not have time to cook and needed something quick to take to lunch. Ah! Still had some fried tofu left over!

Last night I was craving a chocolate peanut butter cup, but am sticking to a very low sugar lifestyle. So with that in mind, I set out to create something that I could consume quickly, that would taste amazing, but still be low in sugar. Enter, the peanut butter hot chocolate idea.

Peanut Butter Cup Hot Chocolate – No Sugar Added

Ingredients:

* 10 oz Almond Milk (I used my Quick & Easy Almond Milk)

* 3 tblsp dutch Cocoa

* 2 tblsp Peanut Butter

Instructions:

Add almond milk and cocoa to a small sauce pan. Heat through and add peanut butter. The PB I used had a small amount of sugar added to it when made, so it lightly sweetened my cocoa. You could add some liquid stevia or another type of natural sweetener to this instead, to give it a small amount of sweetness. Enjoy!

Apparently being vegan does NOT prevent me from getting sick. Darn.

I know that’s a ridiculous thought, but I suppose I had this idea that eating well – mostly veggies and fruits and lots of whole grains – would somehow better support my immune system. I entered into this experiment trying to keep an open mind, knowing I would encounter foods and situations outside of my comfort zone and that there would be, shall we say, unintended consequences of this dietary choice.

But open mind or not, i managed to retain a few preconceived notions about how all of this would turn out, including the belief that it would create an invisible, plate-glass, 3-inch-thick barrier around me to ward off illnesses.

This weekend convinced me otherwise.

As I sit here, breathing through my mouth, one ear completely closed and only barely making a sad protest when I swallow, a pile…