Bring My Own Lunch to Work

I love bringing my own lunch to work. It's more convenient, somewhat healthier, and I can stay away from the crowd at the staff cafeteria.

Here's how I packed my lunch bag to work.

I will reheat overnight food in the morning and packed them in my trusted Zojirushi food jars to keep them piping hot. Then, I will bring the food jars to work in my Ju-Ju-Be Fuel Cell (it means lunch/cooler bag in Ju-Ju-Be lingo).

The Zojirushi food jars are still functioning really well even after almost 8 years. Last time I used them to pack my sons' lunch at their babysitter's house.

I quite enjoy solo lunch by the window at the pantry because I can have my lunch while binging on whatever I'm watching on Netflix during that one hour of solitude.

Piping hot food is very comforting!

Sometimes, when I don't have time to reheat food in the morning, I will pack the cold overnight food into a glass container.

 

When it's time for lunch, I'll heat up the food in the glass container in the microwave at the pantry.

 

I always sit by an opened window sill because ventilation is important.

 

 

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Introducing miso paste into toddlers' meals

I introduced miso paste to my toddler when he turned 19 months. He's 26 months old now. :)

Here's an adapted excerpt from "Journal of a nutritionist mom" that I refer to when I want to include miso into my toddler's meals. 

What is miso paste?

Miso paste is an Asian seasoning made by fermenting a mixture of soybeans, barley, brown rice and several other grains with koji or also known as Aspergillus oryzae. The result of this fermentation is a smooth-textured paste with a strong savory flavor.

Health benefits of miso

Nutritionally, miso provides mostly carbohydrate with some protein. It is also rich in several of the B-complex vitamins and contains several minerals, including calcium, iron, zinc, copper and magnesium.

Often used in Japanese cooking, miso is a healthy, probiotic food that helps support digestion by adding beneficial microorganisms to your digestive tract. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, consuming miso rich in probiotics can shorten the duration of infectious diarrhea, especially in children.

Do I need to worry about its saltiness?

Based on this article, recent research has shown that in spite of its high-sodium content, miso does not appear to affect our cardiovascular system in the way that other high-sodium foods sometimes can.

In recent animal studies, for example, identical concentrations of salt (sodium chloride) obtained from miso versus table salt were discovered to have very different impacts on blood pressure. High-salt diets that derived their high salt level from table salt raised blood pressure in these animal studies, but high-salt diets that derived their high salt level from miso did not raise blood pressure.


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How to add miso paste into toddler's meals?

Avoid boiling miso directly because this will nullify its effectiveness as a probiotic food. Gradually add miso paste a little at a time into simmering liquid and continue stirring, keeping the heat at a low temperature.

What I usually do is, after I have cooked my toddler's meal (e.g. porridge/soup/stew), I removed the pot from direct heat and stir in miso paste until well incorporated. I usually use one to two teaspoons of miso paste per meal.


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Sample meals that I have cooked

Stew Mixed Grains Rice with Miso

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

6 tablespoons mixed grains rice, soaked overnight & drained

1 small red onion, chopped

1/4 piece organic tofu, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup organic salt-free seaweed strips

2 tablespoons goji berries

Enough water to cover the ingredients

2 teaspoons miso paste

How to: 

Put all ingredients, except miso paste, into the stainless steel pot of an electric lunch box. Add enough water to cover the ingredients. Steam-cook for about 40 minutes. Once done, remove the pot from the cooker and stir in miso paste until well incorporated.

Millet Noodles in French Beans, Egg & Seaweed Miso Broth

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 handful French beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch sticks
2 cups water or vegetable stock

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup organic salt-free seaweed strips
1 roll millet noodles

2 teaspoons miso paste

How to: 

Heat up vegetable oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add French beans and cook for about 2 minutes. Add water or stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in egg, seaweed, and millet noodles. Cover and simmer until the noodles are cooked. Off the heat and stir in miso paste until well incorporated.

Soy Noodles in Spinach & Seaweed Miso Broth

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, blanched
2 cups water or vegetable stock

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup organic salt-free seaweed strips
1 roll soy noodles

2 teaspoons miso paste

How to: 

Heat up vegetable oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add spinach and water or stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in egg, seaweed, and soy noodles. Cover and simmer until the noodles are cooked. Off the heat and stir in miso paste until well incorporated.

Steel-cut Oatmeal with Miso

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

6 tablespoons steel-cut oats, soaked overnight & drained

1/4 piece organic tofu, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup organic salt-free seaweed strips

2 brown button mushrooms, chopped

Enough water to cover the ingredients
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, blanched

2 teaspoons miso paste

How to: 

Put all ingredients, except spinach and miso paste, into the stainless steel pot of an electric lunch box. Add enough water to cover the ingredients. Steam-cook for about 40 minutes. Once done, remove the pot from the cooker, add in spinach and stir in miso paste until well incorporated.

Little Baby Grains

  
Veggie Quinoa Miso Soup
(cooked in Zojirushi Stainless Steel Food Jar) 

Ingredients:

(Serves 1)

4 tablespoons mixed quinoa & rice, soaked overnight & drained

1 handful radish cubes

1 handful spring onions
2 cups boiling water

1 teaspoon miso paste

How to: 

Fill up an empty Zojirushi jar with boiling water, close and tighten the lid set, and set aside for at least 2 minutes. Discard the water. Put all ingredients listed above (except miso paste) into the jar. Pour in enough boiling water to cover the ingredients. Close and tighten the lid set. Shake the food jar for a while. After 5 minutes, discard the water carefully so that the ingredients don't spill out. Then, pour in 2 cups of boiling water, close and tighten the lid set, shake, set aside and wait for minimum 2 hours. Before serving, stir in miso paste and test the temperature before serving.


Note: Collaborative blog post with Little Baby Grains will be up soon!

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Tomato Enoki Rice Porridge (cooked in Zojirushi thermal food jar) - second trial!

Tomato Enoki Rice Porridge

Ready to be served.

I have successfully cooked rice porridge in my Zojirushi Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-FBE75 (750ml)! My first trial with this food jar was sweet potato dessert soup.

Ingredients:

(Makes 2 servings)

5 tablespoons white rice (I used Caotun short-grain rice from Taiwan), soaked overnight in room temperature

3 tablespoons pearl brown rice, soaked overnight in room temperature

6 cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup enoki mushroom, chopped into small pieces

1 stalk spring onion, cut into small pieces

2 cups boiling water, with more to preheat the jar

The white and brown rice that I used.

Caotun short-grain white rice from Taiwan.

How to:

1. Fill up the empty food jar with boiling water, close and tighten the lid set, and set aside for at least 2 minutes.

2. Discard the water. Put in all ingredients listed above. Pour in enough boiling water to cover the ingredients. Close and tighten the lid set. Shake the food jar for a while. After 5 minutes, discard the water carefully so that the ingredients don't spill out.

3. Pour in 2 cups of boiling water, close and tighten the lid set, shake, set aside and wait for minimum 2 hours.

4. Before serving, use a spoon to stir all ingredients to mix and test the temperature before serving.

Note: Be careful with the temperature. This jar is super good in retaining heat. So, even after 2 hours, the porridge is still piping HOT.

Mam-mam time!

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Travel series: Zojirushi Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-FBE75 (750ml) - first trial!

Jeng... jeng... jeng!

Introducing the much-discussed-about Zojirushi Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-FBE75 (750ml)! This is a heaven-sent thermal food jar for us mommies to prepare food for our little ones on the go.

I need to tell you something.....

You can actually "cook" rice porridge in this food jar.

There, I have said it.

Details about how to "cook" will be shared later, at the bottom of this post. :)

Now, let the un-boxing begins...

The specifications for those who are into technical details.

All product features at one glance.

How the lid set looks like.

See the long spoon?

The chic-looking bag, spoon sleeve, and pearl yellow jar.

My first trial with this food jar was sweet potato dessert soup during our trip to Club Med Cherating.

Ingredients:

1 medium orange sweet potato (cut into small cubes), 1 medium purple sweet potato (cut into small cubes), 1 teaspoon molasses sugar, 2 cups boiling hot water

I follow the how-to-use guide below to "cook" my sweet potato dessert soup.

How to use:

Below is a set of general guideline about how to "cook" that was provided by TheJournie, the seller whom I bought this jar from.

1. Pre-heat: Fill up the empty food jar with BOILING water, close and tighten the lid set, and set aside for at least 2 minutes.

2. Initial soaking: Discard the water used to pre-heat the food jar. Put in raw ingredients (rice/vegetables etc). Pour in BOILING water again, close and tighten the lid set. SHAKE the food jar for a while to distribute heat to the ingredients. After 5 minutes, discard the water again.

3. "Cooking": Finally, pour in BOILING water again, close and tighten the lid set, SHAKE, set aside and wait for minimum 2 hours, done. 

Very important notes:

1. Raw ingredients must be cut into small pieces.

2. Water must be BOILING, not just hot.

3. The food jar should be filled up to 80% full. Water should not exceed the water line/grid in the food jar. Please keep to about 1 cm below the water line/grid.

4. To cook porridge, soak rice grains overnight or at least an hour.

5. If you want to add raw meat, use boiling water to "soak" the meat separately (to kill germs) for 5 minutes, then drained before putting into the food jar with the rest of the ingredients.

Where to buy?

I highly recommend TheJournie. She's very helpful, prompt, and I feel safe doing transaction with her. And no, this is not a sponsored post. I bought this jar for RM169 (Chinese New Year promo price) from her online shop. :)

What's next?

I've successfully cooked vegetarian porridge with Taiwanese rice that I got from our recent 6D5N trip to Taiwan.

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Updated! Here's the link for my second trial with this food jar: Tomato Enoki Rice Porridge 

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