Vegan packed lunch ideas?

katieowl_2

Aldi have a food flask at the moment...I nearly bought one! £4.99 IIRC.

Kate

kittendothroar

One of my favourite lunch fillings is bean stuffed pitta's - fry a little finely chopped onion until lightly browned, add a tin of kidney beans (or similar), stir in a good tbsp or two of mango chutney with a splash of water to loosen if needed, fry for a further minute or so mashing lightly with a fork or wooden implement and allow to cool. Stuff into pitta's, you could have a just a simple salad on the side to get extra veggies in.

This makes enough filling for 2-3 lunches for me.

babyshoes

I'm not veggie myself, but I should think that even a simple peanut butter sandwich would be a good addition to the fruit she is currently taking in. Nuts are a good source of protein and good fats, while wholewheat/brown bread is a slow release energy source.

Kirri

Bulghar wheat tabbouleh, couscous or quinoa type dishes with herbs and roasted mediterranean veg, seeds, nuts, chickpeas etc are good, can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a few lunches.

I make a dip with yellow split peas, make it like a houmous with garlic, oil, cumin seeds etc, but with the benefit that they cook in about 45 mins with no pre soaking. Can have with pitta, bread, salad, veg. Nice with dukkah on top (Sainsburys do a good one in the spices section).

Another dip I do is broad bean and minced onion, again with olive oil and garlic etc. Eat it on top of bread.

Yet another dip quite easy to make and take, baba ghanoush (smokey aubergine).

There's a great recipe in the River Cottage book for puy lentils and mint with a dressing (it's actually a recipe for beef with puy lentils but I just eat the lentils part!).

I've also made a vegetable type quiche but the liquid filling is made with tofu/soya milk and the case with ground almonds/hazelnuts/soya marge/flour

Pot of nuts/seeds to snack on.

Seeds on top of a salad with a dressing.

I think vegideli pretend cold 'meats' are vegan - sold in Morries, Ocado etc but increasingly hard to get hold of.

very

I take my food flasks everywere, you can buy them everywere and they are not bad priced they even do for cold food as i find salad goes pretty nasty ater a few hours so putting it in a food flask works great i add beeroot love it.cold pasta's ect. also beans stay really hot in a food flask i take toast with it i have gotten used to it cold i have a ew flasks you can even put jacket potatoes and home mad pasties in them but you have to remember they are just going to be warm not hot i pack kitchen roll in the flask as there won't be as much air so it keeps jackets ect warmer longer. i also take flask of hot water for noodles or anything you need to add water to tesco basic pot curry noodles are suitable for vegan but you need to double check with their free from list at the time to double check they are only 35p and are great if you have a flask of water and i even take a sachet of coffee for a drink so the one flask does twice. you can buy a pack of crackers for 35p i think from co-op tescos are ok but double check with there list take some marge add humous or what ever you like to them when your out. Redwood do some great fake meats i only like the sage and onion great with tomato on bread you an get them rom hollland and barrat and morrisons. I also take a banana and buttered bread and a plastic knife and slice the banna for my bread when i'm out if i'm really stuck i will just butter bread and buy a bag of crisp out and make good old fashoined crisp butties . i take nuts ect aswell. Hope that helps.

kafkathecat

Over the years I have made bean or veg pasties, pasta and pesto, pasta and sauce, pasta salads, veg. couscous, soups hummus wraps, hummus and carrot pittas, peanut butter sandwiches, also hummus, marmite, pate, and russian salad. At least they are the first ideas that come to mind. bw.

first78

nuatha wrote: »

I make empanadas, basically a pasty with a bread dough instead of pastry, favourite filling is spinach, onions tomatoes and walnuts. but most things work as long as the filling isn't too moist. I freeze after allowing them to rise and bake off as I need them.
Another simple bread dough based one is Rollios, basically a pizza masquerading as a Danish pastry, roll dough to a rectangle, top with a tomato and chopped black olive sauce (or whatever you fancy) and roll up like a swiss roll. Slice and put slices on a baking tray, spiral side up, Allow to rise (half an hour) and bake (or freeze for later baking)
I do several pates with butter beans as the base/carrier, simplest one is garlic mushrooms - soak butter beans overnight, boil until soft (or use a tin) peel the outer skin. Fry mushrooms and garlic in small amount of olive oil and blend with the butter beans, season to taste.
The food vacuum flasks work well for soups and stews.
Sweet stuff would be banana and walnut cake, muffins, flapjacks
etc.
I'm happy to dig out recipes if you wish.

Nuatha, I'd be really grateful for any vegan recipes you've got, I'm making the switch to a vegan diet and am a little overwhelmed by everything at the moment, especially trying to ensure I get all the vitamins that I need. I'd greatly appreciate any recipes you have.

Boodle

Hi ShandyClover


My hubby usually takes the following for packed lunches:

• hummus sandwiches (varying the type of hummus i.e. red pepper, Moroccan, onion, sometimes homemade )
• veggie cheese sandwiches (we prefer Sheese brand to Cheezly, although we have to pick it up from a health food shop)
• peanut butter sandwiches, sometimes with salad stuff or a sweet version with jam
• "Cheatin'" slices (by Redwood, again from health shops) in sandwiches
• leftovers such as a veggie cottage pie or pasta dish or a pastry pie

DD takes a wider variation to school (hubby is a man of habit lol), varying sandwiches with wraps, baps, wholemeal or 50/50 breads etc

• the sandwiches as mentioned above
• dark chocolate spread (from Asda) and flaked almond sandwiches
• pease pudding and salad (just cucumber or beetroot are fave combos) sandwiches
• veggie sausage sliced up with pease pudding and salad
• lentil pates (cook lentils with just enough water then season until thick and blend if desired) sandwiches
• bean pate sandwiches (blend cooked/tinned beans with seasoning)
• couscous or pasta or noodle salads with fruit, veg and cooked beans or nuts
• leftover savoury pastry pie
• samosas with crudites
• a pate or hummus with crackers and crudites

With the above, she takes a raw vegetable such as carrot or pepper or cherry tomatoes or cucumber or raw broccoli florets, and some fruit, and a soya yoghurt or dessert pot. And water of course

Hope that helps

Kafkathecat.... if you don't mind, could you please share your Russian Salad recipe?

Boodle

first78 wrote: »

Nuatha, I'd be really grateful for any vegan recipes you've got, I'm making the switch to a vegan diet and am a little overwhelmed by everything at the moment, especially trying to ensure I get all the vitamins that I need. I'd greatly appreciate any recipes you have.

Hi Have you checked out the Vegan Society, its good for vitamin and minneral info.

Most omnivores pay little if any attention to ensuring they have adequate amounts of the wide range of vitamins and minerals, but as soon as we become vegan it can become overwhelming to be faced with all that info! Once you have had a read through at the Vegan society's suggetions for foods to eat for a balanced diet, just ensure you eat a rounded diet including fortified cereals and milks such as soya or oat, and you have every chance as being healthy (if not more so) than the vast amount of omis lol x

Puddleglum

What I do is pack a portion of dinner into a takeaway box each night and then take it with me for lunch. Most of what we eat is vegan and I don't have to worry too much about keeping it refrigerated at work. If your daughter doesn't fancy eating the same thing twice then often the food can be frozen and defrosted the day before she wants it.