| Top: spaghetti squash with my alfredo sauce, spicy taco meat and onigiri recipe (below) Also, cashews and American cheese. |
Onigiri is also known as a rice ball (omusubi) , and is usually made with plain or lightly salted rice, formed into balls or triangles and used in bento. Some onigiri is usually traditionally with any salty or sour item as a food preservative (pickled umeboshi (prune), salted salmon, katsuobushi (dried, fermented, smoked skipjack tuna), kombu (edible kelp), or tarako (salted roe food made from Alaska pollock). I don’t usually stuff mine, but you could stuff yours with something fun like a green olive, fish, or a tiny bit of pickle.
Low Carb Onigiri
2/3 cup finely processed, raw vegetables (I used coleslaw)
1/3 cup Shredded Parmesan cheese (canned)
Process vegetables together until resembling couscous. Combine in bowl with Parmesan cheese. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir hot mixture with spoon. Butter your hands. While mixture is still hot, form into shapes (be careful–you could burn your hands if it’s too hot). Refrigerate.
Options: You can press surprises in the center, like an olive, a tiny meatball or a small piece of your favorite fish!
Wrap with nori for an authentic looking onigiri. I placed a small face for decoration.
Mini onigiri: Recipe makes 2-3 small balls.
Triangle: Recipe makes one triangle.
Form: Recipe makes one form.
Other fun, low carb, bento posts to check out:
Back to school Bento overview
Spring Bento
Cute bento idea
I love this idea! I've always loved the idea of a bento box lunch, but struggled a bit with making the contents low-carb. This is a great idea!
I'll try to post some more fun ideas for low carb as the year kicks off. I have at least one I didn't share yet!
Awesome!! Our children love, love, love bento boxes. And your local library has the cutest cookbook – I put collections together to show off the beauty of the library – would love for you to visit!
xoxo michele
https://thegreatread.blogspot.com/2011/07/zentai.html
What a cool, serene blog, Michele. I love it! I am also a total bibliophile. Thank you for sharing your great blog and the adorable cookbook. What you're doing is phenomenal!
~the book addict
Do your kids exclusively eat low carb?
Mine eat lower carb 80-90% of the time. Lower carb tends towards 40ish net per day. One kiddo is higher carb. He just likes what he likes, and he's as thin as a rail.
WAIT. Could I use onigiri instead of rice to make low-carb sushi?!
You absolutely could, for sure. It would adhere better as well.
Fantastic!! You really are a life saver!
I am glad I can help!