Packed / School & College lunches / Dorm food

[spudstud]

Hello, I'm in college. Not one of the big giant places like IUPUI with a cafe that caters to vegans either. A small one-hallway type place. Every day I starve here...what can I bring to keep in my car or somthing to keep me satisfied on my 30 minute break? I don't want veggie burgers to heat up or anything like that - they look to much like the real thing.

Any suggestions? Thanks...
- Matt

[gertvegan]

spudstud, this may be of interest to you.

"How We Veganized Our Dining Hall"
by Leor Jacobi, Vegan Action Founder

During the spring semester of 1994, at the behest of the vegan and vegetarian dormitory residents in the group, our campus animal rights group decided that we should do something about the dorm food at the University. We agreed to draft a petition, but by the time we actually got anything done, finals were upon us, and many of the students lost interest as they were about to leave the dormitories and the dorm food forever.

A few of us resolved that we would bring the issue up in the fall, to a new bunch of students. We started thinking about what types of strategies and tactics we would use. We decided to aggressively recruit fresh people and other new members at the beginning of the semester and try to get them active on this issue. It's amazing how issues that hit close to home seem to be so much more motivating. That's one of the big advantages about working on this campaign as opposed to many other campus Animal Rights campaigns: it's easy for students to see how it will directly affect their own lives.

More from vegan action HERE.

[Artichoke47]

I always take Larabars with me to depositions. I eat two or three as a meal.

www.larabar.com

Available at www.veganunlimited.com

[spudstud]

Hi! Thanks!
Unfortunatly my school doesn't have a cafe or a dining hall. All it has is student lounge with vending machines. It's a small "college" with like 600 students. Thanks for the info though.
- Matt

[Roxy]

What about keeping some fresh fruit in your car now that the weather isn't so hot, it should keep just fine until your break time. I find bananas to be the most filling. Or could you make a sandwich? How about a little bag of nuts with the fruit or sandwich?

These are just some simple suggestions off the top of my head. When I'm working during the day, I don't usually take a break and instead I go home half an hour earlier. I always like to pack a small snack though that I can eat while I'm working. Usually it's an energy bar (similar to a Larabar), or some pretzels. I would like to have fruit, but it can be a bit messy to have at the front counter.

[uww27225]

There are lots of things you could do Matt! You could bring bring a salad. I recommend put the dressing in a small container so that you can put that on right before you eat it. You could do a sandwich or wrap. What I do sometimes is bring a tupperware container with some salsa in it, an avacado, a sharp knife, and some tortilla chips. Then at lunch I cut up the avacado and mash it in with the salsa for a quickie quacamole. It's really easy and pretty filling. Plus, it requires minimal thought in the morning, which is always a plus for me!
Is there a microwave in the lounge?

[spudstud]

Thanks guys!
It all sounds so good. I'l make sure to buy some stuff and a plastic container at the store. Yummy! Yes, there is microwave. I've been getting twizzlers 'cause that the only vegan thing in the vending machine. Keep 'em coming guys...

[John]

When I was in school I would usually prepare a sandwich with Tofurky deli slices, vegan cheese, and tomato slices with flaxseed oil on whole wheat bread. I would also have some potato chips and orange juice. I was able to prepare it pretty quickly as I was always in a rush to get to class.

[Mystic]

I am at uni, and while there is heaps available to vegans there, I am too poor to buy my lunch, so I bring my own food:

I always pack a sandwich or a roll with hummus/tahini/avocado and salad, plus some snacks, like:
- fresh fruit (whole fruits like apples/bananas or I will slice up a fruit salad and put it in a tupperware container)
- fresh cut up veggies (like carrots, cucumbers or baby cherry tomatoes)
- dried fruit
- fruit juice
- puffed corn/pop corn
- rice cakes
- soy yoghurt (when I get an occassional crazy craving!!!!)

It is just about being a bit organised, thats all.

[JaredM]

I need some vegan ideas for school lunches. So far i have pb&j and the jelly has no gelatin, and some type of wrap that my mom makes with hummus, tomatoes, bocoli, peppers, salsa, black beans in a tortilla. I need some more ideas!

[ConsciousCuisine]

This is a link to a thread where there are many ideas...

http://www.veganforum.com/forums/sho...t=feeding+kids

[Andie]

Can you carry soups in a thermos?

[Tigerlily]

What kind of things do you guys pack for lunches to school/work/etc?

I'm really running out on ideas. I'm getting tired of soy balonie sandwiches, boring salads, fruits salads, and soy pudding.

What kind of things can you guys recommend? Please note, it can't be microwaved (I'm *NOT* wasting 30minutes of my lunch hour waiting in line for the microwave) and can't have nuts since our school has a nut-free policy because of allergies...but I eat alone on stairs not in the cafeteria, but still I don't want to hurt anyone with allergies.

Thanks a lot guys!

[Poison Ivy]

Sandwich fillings - Houmous, Guacamole, Swiss Yeast Pates

Pasta Salad
Rice Salad
Couscous (with oven roasted mediterranean type veggies is really nice )

Pita bread stuffed with falafel and salad

[gertvegan]

Have a look at THIS thread lily.

[snaffler]

One of my fave is cheezly and pickle
Also like humous/Tom/Curly lettuce/cucumber
Peanut butter and cucumber
Swiss Pate Spreads - nice stuff

[feline01]

hummus is easy to make, nutritious and great in sandwiches
check out gorilla's bean spread thread .

[foxytina_69]

-crackers and different toppings? (like cream cheese and chives, or red onions, roasted tomatoes, etc.)
-bagels with different toppings
-different flavoured flour tortilla wraps w/ different fillings (roasted red peppers, vegan cream cheese, sun dried tomatoes, anything works)
-peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (i guess you cant bring peanut butter can you?)
-mock chicken, egg or tuna sandwiches
-different soups or pastas or anything warm in a thermos (heated up before u go to school and it will still be warm at lunch time)
-different veggies with different dips
-do you like veggie dogs? wrap them in bisquit dough and bake them
-pancakes with fruit spread (theyre good cold)
-taco salad
-dried fruits
-cereal mixes
-popcorn with seasoning (you can make this before and bring it to school)

[PinkFluffyCloud]

Sausage rolls
Homemade Vegan Pasties
Homous Kisses (ready-to-roll Pastry, cut into small squares, spread with Homous then tied into a little 'kiss' shape and baked, mmmm-mmmmm!)
Cold homemade Pizzas or flavoured bread (baked with things like Garlic or Celery or fruit in the mixture)
Scones
Pittas filled with Salad

[Tigerlily]

Thanks for all the tips! *hugs*

My mom is taking me out to Subway for lunch today but tomorrow or Monday when I pack my lunch, I might make a sandwich with hummous (my mom makes it very good, I'll just have to let her go easy with the garlic!). And the bean spread looks delicious.

[Korn]

http://www.healthyschoollunches.org/changes/index.html

[Roxy]

Great website Korn. I was actually pleasantly suprised by what it says!

[nakaniNumen]

So like... what food does everyone here live off of at college? At RIT everything is extremely expensive, and the selection is o-so-poor

Here's some of my combos and favs:

_ Hummus + pita bread + tomatoes
_ "Silk" soy milk + .... anything???
_ "Very Vanilla Silk" soy milk + bag of granola (I like to just pour it right into the bag and eat it out of there to save on extra dishes!)

_ Trail mix = great snackage + protein = great!

I wish I could think of some more right now but I'm kind of tired, so why don't you share some of your favorites for the benefit of poor vegan college students worldwide?

[Skajen]

i go to uni in surrey and the only vegan options are chips, salad etc. However, one restaruant does hummus and roast vegetables in crusty bread sandwich with chips....chips again?! there isn't a vegan, vegetarian or even animal rights society at my uni, i approached the fair trade table and the girl went on to me at great lengths about fair trade, so i said...so you promote vegan/veggie living then... "oh no we don't do that" i was so disapointed as wanted to join society...i have no vegan mates, all meaties!

sorry i totally lost the point of the thread then xxx

[Mr Flibble]

i have no vegan mates, all meaties!

I used to live close to Guildford (Godalming) for 6 years (up until just over 5 years ago when i moved out and went to uni) and AR in the area was a lot more active than it is in places I've lived since. I know at least some of the people have moved away, but if you're interested in meeting others and perhaps attending some demos then you may wanna check out Surrey Wildlife Protection Group. They had monthly meetings in central guildford (walking distance from the uni) when i was there, and their contact details are on the following page:

http://www.veggies.org.uk/acd/europe...ue/countys.htm

Straying back on topic, when I was at uni i just had cook pretty much everything myself. I'd done this when living as a vegan with my non vegetarian parents thou, so i did have a head start on people who got to uni and cried because they didn't even know how to make beans on toast. My survival tips for working in a shared kitchen is to keep all your cooking stuff in your room (get a small fridge if needed) and invest in some large chopping boards. That way no one can use your stuff to cook meat with and then not wash it, and you don't have to worry about the cleanliness of the worktops etc, because your food only comes into contact with the chopping boards.

[thecatspajamas1]

Hey- I'm in college too, and the food's not so great here either. Sometimes I eat a Clif bar as a meal. They're really tasty and all the flavors are vegan. I slip those and some juiceboxes into my backpack to have during class.

[thecounterspark]

man I actually feel guilty eating Clif bars because they taste so much like dessert.. like a huge bad-for-you cookie. ESPECIALLY the crunchy peanut butter one. mmmm that's my favorite. I just had that one last night. but yeah, I agree, snack bars are definitely a must to keep around.

[assilembob]

Has anyone posted this link to "the vegan lunchbox" on here?
http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

This is where she bought that cool lunchbox too!
http://www.laptoplunches.com/

I have asked for one of these for christmas...but i am not holding my breath. My dad says "take it in a brown paper bag...who cares?"

~Mel

[thecatspajamas1]

Oh those lunchboxes are cool!!


If you're trying to cut down on plastic and wrapping, you can always wrap your food in clean handerchiefs and carry it in a basket- like they did in the olden days. hehe

[twinkle]

Has anyone posted this link to "the vegan lunchbox" on here?
http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

...

That is an excellent blog to point to - such a lot of ideas! Thanky

[thecounterspark]

Has anyone posted this link to "the vegan lunchbox" on here?
http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

This is where she bought that cool lunchbox too!
http://www.laptoplunches.com/

I have asked for one of these for christmas...but i am not holding my breath. My dad says "take it in a brown paper bag...who cares?"

~Mel

I LOVE HER! my blog name is thecounterspark (who woulda thought!) and I usually leave comments on Jennifer's posts there. Seriously, I check it everday. even on weekends when I know there won't be any, 'cause sometimes she posts recipes and such. that little schmoo is one lucky dude.

[xjohnx]

i'm doing some summer classes and just realized how hard it is to stay vegan due to selection and cost at college. anybody have suggestions? there are some really good vegan restraunts nearby, but i don't want to pay 9 dollars for lunch regularly.

[twinkle]

Bring a packed lunch

[cedarblue]

are you living at home xjohnx? do you have kitchen facilities in residence halls?

[assilembob]

My bag usually held apples, nuts and a sandwich of some sort for me to take with me. I never ate out unless I forgot my lunch. I am le poor.

[madpogue]

Our campus veg*n group has successfully gotten several of the student union facilities, and I believe even some of the residence halls, to carry more veg*n items. If you're interested in a long-term solution, which would involve some work, I could put you in touch with them.

[Syren]

Definitely contact whoever creates the menus in the school's cafeterias or whatever they have. It's worth a shot! Besides that, bring your own lunch. It's easy to slap together a few fillings between some bread or in a pita, and then you don't need to worry about finding someplace to eat. As was mentioned, bring fruit, nuts, energy bars etc in your bag for when you need a quick bite.

[kaitlin]

I will be off to college soon for the first time and, thanks to college rules, will be forced to live on the school's 21-meal-a-week meal plan. Because of this, underclassmen do not have access to even remotely full kitchens. I should have a blender, microwave, refridgerator, and possibly a rice cooker at my disposal. Could anyone recommend a particular book that might help me? The pickings may be slim in the cafeteria so I would like to be able to cook some things myself. Any advice from those who have gone through this in the past? Thanks

[Mystic]

I havem't been through this, but coz of my laziness, I eat like I have no facilities

I often mix curry powder with canned chickpeas and have it wrapped in pita with cucumber & tomato.

I eat microwaved intant oatmeal for breakfast

I use a rice cooker to make rice and that same chickpea thing I wrote above (just heated up) for chickpea curry.

You can cook veggies in the microwave: nuke a potato and top with hummus, other veggies, can of baked beans etc...

You can also make other stuff in rice cookers. Sometimes that is how I make dhal.

Blenders are great for smoothies....

[Juice]

Most beers are vegan.

[Tigerlily]

Most beers are vegan.

I thought I heard somewhere, it was the opposite?

[Limey]

I havem't been through this, but coz of my laziness, I eat like I have no facilities

Best thing I've read all day! haha, genius

[Mystic]

Glad you think so

[kaitlin]

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. Does anyone own any of those microwave vegan cookbooks? Are any of them worth purchasing?

[Limey]

I don't own any, Kaitlin, sorry. Have you looked at Amazon and see if there are any reviews?

[Syren]

The Student's Vegetarian Cookbook has some microwave recipes. The Garden of Vegan also has a specific microwaveable section for students.

[assilembob]

I was so thankful for the Garden of Vegan's microwave cookbook section. I just wish I had it my freshman year!
I lived off pasta and tomato sauce, nuked potatos with carrots and greens, microwave Amy's enchiladas and burritos, canned veggies, LOTS of baked beans and peanut butter and jelly. The dining hall was good for "salads" and I brought in my own sprouts and beans for them. They had vinegar on hand. I also got my bananas and apples and oranges from there.

good times.

[Wildflower]

Wow, if you have a fridge and a microwave, you can cook almost anything! Or, you could go raw!

When I was in college, all I could have was a fridge and a hot pot. I loved my hot pot, and used it to make noodles, mac and cheese (i was veggie then, but they have mac and chreese), pasta with marinara (i never heated the sauce, it gets warm from the noodles), soups, boil water to heat soydogs, instant mashed pototo cups, make tea, coffee, etc. I also heated leftovers in it (depending on what they were - chinese, indian, etc). i imagine a rice cooker would do all the same things. I have a rice cooker now, but I have only used it for rice a few times. I did see some websites on rice cooker cooking. I belive it makes good oatmeal too.

I also smuggled in a toaster oven, toaster and electric burner (kinda like a stove burner, only just one and you plug it in).

the toaster oven was awesome - i made all sorts of stuff in that. I also used a toaster to heat fake chickn patties - it makes them really crunchy and perfect if you put them through like 2 cycles. You could probably do frozen veggie burgers in that too.

Can you take or smuggle food out of the dining hall? We were allowed take out meals, so you can stock up on raw veggies and beans from the salad bar to make things with at home. Or take cooked veggies and add them to pasta sauce at home. Basically, we had pasta and marinara every night in the dining hall at my school, and veggie burgers every day for lunch. we could also build our own sandwiches, and they had a vegetarian soup daily and a few other veggie entrees, so it wasn't so bad.

What was bad, was that I got sick of that food and just wanted to eat what I felt like, ya know? I started craving weird things I never craved before - it was weird.

I also loved Amy's frozen dinners and soups when I was in college, and I ate a lot of uncooked stuff like fake turkey sandwiches, pretzels, yogurt, granola, fruit, salad, etc.

I can give you tips if you tell me what you like, or have a recipe to adapt - I swear I made gourmet meals out of my dorm room!

[thecatspajamas1]

I lived on campus the last two years (I don't anymore )

About the cafeteria: ASK, ASK, and ASK.
They will probably have soymilk, tofu, and some basics. But if they don't, make sure you send in lots of requests and make friends with the manager so he knows there is a vegan demand on campus! At my cafeteria, they always had pizza out, so I asked them to make no-cheese veggie pizza and they started doing it.


And there is always microwable couscous. Ramen noodles with canned veggies,
pitas and hummus in your mini-fridge...

Also, MEET OTHER VEGANS on campus, and do potlucks, take turns cooking. Have fun with it. Have you checked out if your college has an animal rights club? I met other vegans on campus through various liberal/political/environmental type clubs. If you're active, you will find them.

[Kiran]

I have lived on campus for almost 2 years. It was never a problem for me. Although you can use microwave for cooking almost anything, it is recommended not to as it has harmful effects. Try to be raw for most of the day. It is always good to have some curry paste in handy. You could use the rice cooker to boil vegetables to the required extent. Then you could mix them with the curry paste. Or making easy stir frys using the microwave is another option. For instance, I used to boil water in the kettle and use them on the stry fry noodles. Some basic seasoning and soy sauce will do you a quick meal.

Your options are limited because you don't have an electric or gas stove/cooker. Hence making detailed recipies might be a problem. But with what you have got it will be easy to enjoy tasty food although you might have to repeat yourself too often.