(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.
