South Beach Bento

I'm on day 9 of Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. (Not to make too big a deal about it, but I miss my abs and would like them to come out and stay with me for the summer.) I'm doing it with my mom for moral support. We're e-mailing each other our meal plans for the day.

I've done quite well: I've lost 6 pounds, spent a fortune on new foods, cooked every night, and stepped up the gourmet factor all at the same time. One difficult part for me is lunch-time. I tend to (over) eat (badly) to relieve stress. Pizza. Chicken Korma. Muffins. I've never been a pack-my-lunch kind of guy.

However, a post on Ishbadiddle introduced me to the strange fetish of bento, a Japanese tradition of artfully packing the perfect lunch in a small container. People (in Japan and in America) have taken this to staggering lengths, shaping sticky rice into portraits of their children and competing with the neighbors about whose kid's lunch is cuter. The following examples are not mine!

I am not ready to dive into competitive bento, but the idea of making an adorable little lunch somehow inspires me to make and bring a healthy lunch to work. Here are my first two modest attempts:

1. Turkey roll with fat free cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and wasabi sauce. Orange and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, side of hummus and olive.

2. Pork cutlets with basil, thyme, rosemary, lemon and capers. Steamed asparagus with grated parmesan. Salad with oil and vinigar on the side.