Vegan lunch ideas

[sugarmouse]

I often have this problem.I will be keeping this thread in mind! Lol
Yesterday was the same. I ended u pjust nibbling all day because nothing was takin my fancy for a meal!

[Woody]

I keep a list of everything that i've made and enjoyed, so whenever i'm short on inspiration i look at my list and i always find something to make.

[caitlin_:)]

thanks guys! yeah, i should right down meals when they turn out nice...I'm sandwich snacking at the mo but all recipes are welcome...

[emmapresley]

i always (almost) have wholemeal pitta breads in the freezer..then instead of it being a mere sandwich, after you've toasted and split it open you can pile on just about anything (i tend to use raw spinach as a base and generously lob anything else i fancy/whatever is kicking about and needs using up on top)..it becomes ...super sandwich!!

[Hemlock]

We are running low on cash as it's nearly pay day so we made potato cakes with onion, garlic and herbs, fried in a little olive oil with the remnants of some tomato relish and some mustard, they were lovely

[caitlin_:)]

ended up making really yummy tofu scramble with celery,mushrooms,onions and lots of garlic! was delicious....

[!!]

for my lunches i usually take something with me- a favourite of mine is sesame seed ryvita and lemon hummus (goes so well), with peppers, raw carrot and cucumber and a smoothie. You can build ryvita castles- pile on as much veg as possible, sticking it togther with hummus!

Today I've had melon, grapes, orange, pineapple fruit bowl. Another thing I like to bring is pasta with various veggies in, mixed with (vegan) pesto- that's my friday treat!

[ViveVegan]

being im at school mon-fri and I dont have an actual period to sit down at a table and eat lunch, I normally just have something portable like an apple or peanut butter sandwhich. I wish I had the time in my day to cook/eat some of the yummy foods you guys mentioned!

[MyInnerHippie]

Hey,

If I eat one more salad for lunch I'm going to scream! Here's my issue,
I'm on a budget so I pack my lunch.
It has to travel well and be convenient, someone suggested veggie burgers to me but I can't make those at work. I can't really cook anything. Even heating up soup in our ancient microwave takes 10 min.

I pack my salad everyday and I wait to eat until I'm really hungry, but I still can't get it all down. I'm just so over salads. I've tried all types of dressings and variations.

[jimmeh]

Cold pasta is nice. Vary what you have with it - pesto, tomato-based, herby etc. Sandwiches obviously. I'm sure there's already a thread about this

[sleepydvdr]

Sandwich with LightLife deli meat, lettuce & tomato.

Potato salad & a couple side veggies (oops, I said salad )

Soup in a thermos (so you don't need to heat it so much)

Hummus & pita bread / stuffed grape leaves

Fruit

That's it. I'm out of ideas.

[Hemlock]

I can't heat anything at work, I just eat whatever I had for dinner last night cold i.e pasta and vegemince, rice and sauce, pizza, whatever.
Any kind of leftovers are nice cold.
You could quite happily have veggie burgers in a bun cold made at home the night before, they taste great!
Me and Corum always put either leftover food or make whatever we want to eat the next day and put it into a leak proof plastic box and it's ready to go in the morning.
Cold soup is horrible though
It's just the same as when you eat takeaway curry leftovers cold the next morning - lovely.
You could also do sandwiches or pitta bread filled ot take a packet of oat buscuits and a couple of diffeent types of spreads in small pots such as peanut butter, humus, hazelnut spread or whatever and spread them at work. The possibilities are endless.

[vegcurry]

It's just the same as when you eat takeaway curry leftovers cold the next morning - lovely.

on toast

[cedarblue]

i've started getting really bored with thinking of lunch ideas - it's the time which sometimes taxes me and i can end up eating crappy carb laden stuff that i wish i hadn't an hour later.

*bump* maybe we can get this thread moving again??

eg. for lunch today i had marmite on toast....zzzzzzzzzzzz

[RubyDuby]

tempeh "bacon", lettuce and tomato for us today.

[beanstew]

We can't heat anything up at work. I normally take sandwiches or a baguette with salad or sheese and tomato. I also like rye bread with humus, spring onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and sometimes salsa. Wraps filled with salad and tahini are also good. I keep meaning to get a decent flask so I can take hot soup in but haven't got that organised yet.

When I'm at home I normally have a hot lunch like spaghetti or beans on toast or chip butties.

[Enchantress]

Today I had a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting and a cup of rooibos tea. Very healthy .

[helen105281]

I had chips and mushy peas which isn't healthy either.

[smallhelen]

Lunch was scrambled tofu with mushrooms and spinach. It was the first time I've tried the new recipe in 'Vegan Brunch' and I was quite impressed with it - very tasty. I'm actually trying to work my way through the book in order (OCD alert ). Tried the omelette last week, but didn't like it that much, possibly cos I used the 'wrong' tofu (firm instead of soft). Am looking forward to getting to the 'sweet' section of the book....

[rwehner]

I usually get to eat lunch at home and try to pack it with protein. This is one of my favorite chickpea lunch dishes, it can be warmed up in a microwave too so it could work for a packed lunch.
Recipe for it is here.

[harpy]

I usually get to eat lunch at home and try to pack it with protein. This is one of my favorite chickpea lunch dishes, it can be warmed up in a microwave too so it could work for a packed lunch.
Recipe for it is here.

That looks good, always pleased to see a new chickpea recipe I might try making it for dinner, don't think I could get it together at lunchtime but perhaps there'll be some left over...

[colleengirl95]

My lunch would consist of :
a half cup of rice
Mapo Tofu and Beancurd along with other vegetables
and a glass of water

[megrainbows]

I had, marinated tofu, a giant organic pink lady apple (it was massive!), mint plamil chocolate, two pink waffer biscuits. A very random school lunch!

[Jivattatva]

Hi all

What about spring rolls, gingery cabbage, cream of potato soup and for dessert, sweet potato and corn in coconut cream.

If you are interested, I can give you the recipes. Or else visit my blogsite, by clicking on my name.

[TXvegan]

I'm a self-confessed soup nut. I make a big pot of soup on Sunday, then parcel it out for lunches. I do the same with a big salad. The key for me is variety.

[TXvegan]

What about making soup? That's what I do when it's cooler weather. Make a big pot on Sunday then parcel it out for lunches at work.

[RainInStarlight]

i always (almost) have wholemeal pitta breads in the freezer..then instead of it being a mere sandwich, after you've toasted and split it open you can pile on just about anything (i tend to use raw spinach as a base and generously lob anything else i fancy/whatever is kicking about and needs using up on top)..it becomes ...super sandwich!!

I'm going to start calling my spinach-base hummus tomato sandwich SUPER SANDWICH from now on. ^^

[RainInStarlight]

Lunch was scrambled tofu with mushrooms and spinach. It was the first time I've tried the new recipe in 'Vegan Brunch' and I was quite impressed with it - very tasty. I'm actually trying to work my way through the book in order (OCD alert ). Tried the omelette last week, but didn't like it that much, possibly cos I used the 'wrong' tofu (firm instead of soft). Am looking forward to getting to the 'sweet' section of the book....

That sounds really good! I wonder if one could stuff that in a pita and have a pita scrambled tofu-brunch thingie?

[Gwydion]

^ YES!!!! Epic eggless noms, always.

Bit of the ol' tommy or brown sauce thrown in never goes amiss either

[Susieannah]

Oh dear, this thread is a little lonely now, isn't it!

I am currently obsessed with Broccoli Soup. YUM!

Saute (in the microwave) 6oz chopped onions and 6oz of broccoli in 1oz marg (vegan, of course ). Stir in 3tbsp red lentils and 1 1/2 pints vegetable stock. Cover and cook for a further 10 mins in the microwave. Liquidise, then reheat for 2 minutes. DONE!

I can't remember where this recipe is from, my mum got it from one of her books, but I don't remember which one. Needless to say, the recipe isn't mine.

[Alechka]

Russian version

A salad. Just like Grandma used to make. My Grandma.
Peel a cucumber, Cut into half-circle slices, add tomato, cut up scallion, cut up dill and parsley. Dressing-toasted Sunflower seed oil.

Best with Rye bread.

Enjoy!

[Firestorm]

What I have started doing is making a bit batch of something then having it for both lunch and dinner, one of my favourites is Lentil & bacon stew or chickpeas romseco. It makes a nice change from having bread all the time

[Blueberries]

Eating lunch at home and packing a lunch to bring around with you are two completely different things!
For lunch at home anything will do, having access to cooking facilities, utensils and all that.

But packed lunches are different, especially when you can't heat them up.
I agree with leftovers, but I find that certain things work cold/room temp and others don't.
Things with a bit of fat in them keep better, so pasta w/pesto works much better than pasta w/bolognaise sauce. Also, as everyone knows, putting protein in will make you full for longer!

Things I bring frequently are:
- Veggie burger/seitan/baked tofu sandwiches w/houmous, salsa & salad
- Any grain/noodle w/veg, beans/tofu & spicy peanut sauce
- Pasta w/pesto or tapenade (with beans/tofu)
- Leftover pizza w/cheezly
- Rice w/veg oyster sauce
- Chickpea flour omelette/quiche w/ketchup or brown sauce
- Mashed potato w/veg & vegan mayo

If you're in a hurry (which I am frequently):
- Crackers/crisp bread/crisps with a container of sauce (for some reason I always seem to eat houmous & crackers in the college library!)
- Nut butter & jam sandwiches
- Packet of biccies

I usually bring something like what I mentioned above with some fruit, nuts, muesli &/or dried fruit and a vanilla Alpro dessert pot (they keep well room temp & are good for mixing the nuts etc into)

(Can you tell that I'm a student who makes alot of packed lunches?)

[Robinwomb]

I spend an hour or so on Sundays preparing lunches for the week as I have little time to do it during the week (in fact I should be finishing a school project right now). I like to make soups (lentil, brocoli, carrot, spicy white bean and veggie, split pea etc), or big garden salads, or a bean spread/dip for sandwiches. Sometimes I might make up a batch of quinoa and steam some kale, garlic, onion, cranberries, oranges etc to go with it or wild rice with berries and nuts and veggies to eat cold during the week as a kind of salad. Other times I will make a loaf of bread on Sundays, or a casserole or soup or chili in the crockpot for the week. I have also done that with steel cut oats, made a big batch in the crockpot to last several days. Then you just heat it up during the week and throw in your add ons. I have also made cold raw soups in my high speed blender and had those for the week for work. Red pepper soup, tomato soup, and coconut/pineapple curried soup are examples of those. Next week I am going to try a raw butternut squash soup.

[Bjorn]

I usually cook or my other half every evening for both dinner and lunch.. Though I have a microwave at work I prefer most dishes cold anyway, my personal taste, I find the texture and flavours stronger when cold than warm !
Can be ricenoodles with ginger/coconut milk, or potatoes and chick peas with tomatoes, vegan burgers, or mushroom risotto, or quinoa boulgour quiche, etc etc... plenty of gorgeous recipes that taste as good or even better cold...

All it really takes me is to plan a bit more when I prepare dinner.

[QueenAlison]

I love a toasted sandwich with red pepper hummus, watercress and either Soy Sausages or a Vegetable burger.

Or a pasta salad with spinich and chillis. Yum yum!