This #BaonSerye Mama Made Real Character Bento with Gold Seas

When I was invited to attend Gold Seas' bento workshop last month, I thought that I'd just go for the heck of it. After all, my firstborn doesn't need baon anymore as we are currently homeschooling her. But when Kat Maderazo, kyaraben (character bento) master behing #BentoByKat no less, taught us how to make a snail rice using a cling film and some beet juice, I was so thrilled. It even gave me an idea on my next homebound projects for my fourth grader.

Since I'm a visual learner, it helped a lot to actually see Kat did the snail-shaping in front of all of us. It was hard at first since I really can't copy how she exactly did the raindrop-shaped rice that will be the body of the snail. But eventually, it definitely looked like how it should be when I was done.

Massive salute to moms slash legit bento artists out there who make their kids bring real art to school for baon. I mean, making baon is already one chore so transforming it into art is another. And what I like most about the workshop is making sure the baon that we made was scrumptious and nutritious. Pretty isn't enough, you know. Lunches, especially of active kids, should have healthy foods. In the baon that we made, we included broccoli and carrots to give it more color, and delish tuna patties for oomph and yum. The Tuna Patties were made from Gold Seas Tuna Chunks in olive oil. I made my own version of it and shared its recipe here. Actually, it was based on their recipe. See below –

Gold Seas Yellowfin Tuna Cakes

Ingredients

1 can Gold Seas Yellowfin Tuna Chunks in Olive Oil, drained

1 large potato

1 egg

salt to taste

oil from tuna can 

Procedure

1. Peel potatoes and slice into smaller pieces. Boil until soft for about 20 minutes. Drain and mash.

2. Mix the tuna chunks and mashed potatoes. Add egg and salt to taste and mix well.

3. Form into patties.

4. Lightly oil a non-stick skillet using the olive oil from the tuna can.

5. Fry until golden brown.

Me and my bestie Toni Gonzaga, haha.

To be very honest, ever since I tried Gold Seas, I don't like to go back to the brand I used to buy. It's not because they are my blog sponsor ha but it's so good talaga and the price is worth it naman since it comes in chunks. You're sure that you're eating real tuna and not just extenders (might be fake tuna flakes you know). Also, I love that their variants still give justice to the authenticity of the fish. I mean, you can still see and eat tuna meat and not super processed peas and potatoes. Do you get what I mean? So yes, even if there are more affordable brands, there's no going back. For me, there's no canned tuna like Gold Seas Tuna Chunks!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Gold Seas but all thoughts and opinions are my own.