Amy loves pasta, so thought i’d focus on making her the best pasta lunch box out there! I must confess, I often struggle with pasta. The issue is… I just don’t like it! I don’t know what my Italian grandfather would say – probably just shake his head. I’ve tried it in all shapes and sizes. I’ve eaten it in Italy. It’s just not my thing! I much prefer rice. That said, cooking something you don’t eat is super challenging! In a way it’s sort of fun, like making a lunch box blindfolded, almost. Culinarily blindfolded? That works! I wonder – does anyone else have to deal with this at home – a significant other or family member who just loves something you can’t stand, but you cook it for them anyway? Tell me stories, I’d love to hear them 😂
All that said, according to Amy I did a very good job with today’s lunch box. Really, how can you go wrong though – assuming you like pasta – with a huge pile of vege ravioli on roasted kale and spinach salad. Pine nuts, basil and goat’s cheese adorn the top to boost the flavour, with beetroot working in the background to give some earthy tones.
Now, if you have access to fresh basil, go out and pick some! We love it and it really helps the lunch box out. If not, you should consider it – it’s totally easy to grow, even in a pot. We ended up planting some basil seeds in the garden and within a couple of months had a veritable forest of basil. Taking the raised garden bed into account, it was pretty much head height! It was crazy. In the end we had to get rid of it, apparently there is such a thing as too much basil.
Come to think of it, this may have been my fault – instead of appropriate spacing, I usually just throw the entire seed packets in and hope for the best. I guess all that competition really worked out and pushed them to grow as highly as possible. I’ll count it as a win, even if it did try to take over the entire garden!
Now oh yes where were we – the lunch box! Pair it with some tomatoes and asparagus to keep that Italian theme going, then finish with some coconut yoghurt and fresh fruit for dessert. What a feast!
- Spinach, kale, ravioli, beetroot, pine nuts, basil, goat’s cheese
- Nectarine, fig, grapefruit, rose petals coconut yoghurt
- Asparagus, tomato
For this lunch we used the Lunchbots Bento Trio. Dishwasher safe, stainless steel and BPA free – what’s not to love! Click here for details.