Vegetarian Meal Ideas

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sarahshort2222
sarahshort2222 Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone, I am new to this app and I just discovered the discussion boards!
I started a workout regiment recently and started watching my diet as well. The problem I’m having is I eat a vegetarian diet and I’m simply running out of meal ideas! I work in an office and I need things to eat for lunch. I’ve been doing tons of salads because they are easy to make and quick to eat. But I’m getting really sick of having a salad for lunch 5 days a week... I’m doing fine with breakfast, I feel I have lots of options there, and then I usually don’t eat big dinner. I’ll have something small before the gym, like a piece of fruit and a protein shake, but that’s it. So the main meal of the day for me is lunch. I’m wondering if anyone can give me recommendations, meal ideas, or just tell me what their veggie diet looks like. Thanks in advance for the help!

Replies

  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,699 Member
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    Some dishes that are good at room temperature so easy to take to work. For the mejadra, bring a small pot of greek yoghurt to serve on top.

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/09/mejadra-recipe-yotam-ottolenghi
    https://www.196flavors.com/indonesia-gado-gado/

    If you have access to a microwave, soupe au pistou. Transport the pesto separately (or keep a jar in the fridge at work) and add a dollop of it into the warmed up soup. If the official recipe is too much work, I do a hacked version boiling some frozen mixed vegetables, a chopped tomato, some tinned white beans with a vegetable stock cube. Stir in big a dollop of ready made pesto into the bowl before serving.
    https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/jun/12/perfect-soupe-au-pistou-pesto-recipe-felicity-cloake

    Another easy lentil soup. Fry a chopped onion in olive oil, when softened stir in a couple of chopped tomatoes. Add water, a veggie stock cube and a large handful of split lentils. Boil about 20 minutes until lentils are mushy. Season with salt and pepper.

    Both soups can be made ahead and frozen in single portion containers to take to work.
  • Roodlokje
    Roodlokje Posts: 25 Member
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    I am vegan and I looove the vegan youtube community for meal ideas. You could always add eggs or cheese if you'd like, there are some amazing inspirational videos out there.
    Are you able to warm your food up? Cause leftovers from yesterday's dinner are always a good option too.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    My lunches are usually gain (quinoa, rice, pasta, edamame pasta) + protein (egg, tofu, fake meat) + veg (broccoli, carrots, cauliflour) + sauce (peanut sauce, garlic butter sauce, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, italian dressing, sweet and sour sauce). I change how I cook things (roasted, baked, marinated, raw), cut things (julienned, rough chopped, sliced lengthwise, diced), and whether it should be cold or hot.

    My favorite mock-meat brands are gardein, garden lites, morningstar, quorn.
  • Spite70
    Spite70 Posts: 15 Member
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    You should check out short videos by vegetarian/vegan chefs. There are plenty on Instagram that I've bumped into on IGTV and their recipes are wonderful.

    You can prep things and warm them up if there's a microwave at your office. This is where vegan meals come in handy because they usually keep pretty well until you heat them up if you don't have access to a refrigerator, but I imagine most offices have one.
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
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    My lunches are often leftovers, usually a grain with veggies. Sometimes I'll have a veggie sandwich with pesto or hummus.
  • sarahshort2222
    sarahshort2222 Posts: 3 Member
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    Thank you guys! These are all really great ideas. I’m starting to think that meal prep might be a good option for me! Does anyone have experience with meal prep?
  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
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    Wraps are easy to prep. Have you tried chickpea salad wraps? You can do a sriracha-mayo one, a pesto-mayo one, a dill-garlic-feta one, a curry in, pretty much any flavor profile.
  • _Paparazzi_
    _Paparazzi_ Posts: 463 Member
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    sarahshort2222 wrote: »
    Hi everyone, I am new to this app and I just discovered the discussion boards!
    I started a workout regiment recently and started watching my diet as well. The problem I’m having is I eat a vegetarian diet and I’m simply running out of meal ideas! I work in an office and I need things to eat for lunch. I’ve been doing tons of salads because they are easy to make and quick to eat. But I’m getting really sick of having a salad for lunch 5 days a week... I’m doing fine with breakfast, I feel I have lots of options there, and then I usually don’t eat big dinner. I’ll have something small before the gym, like a piece of fruit and a protein shake, but that’s it. So the main meal of the day for me is lunch. I’m wondering if anyone can give me recommendations, meal ideas, or just tell me what their veggie diet looks like. Thanks in advance for the help!

    What do you put on your salad any salad dressing ?
  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
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    Also, veggie chili, veggie lasagna, veggie casseroles, veggie stir fry, veggie pasta dishes, roasted veggies, the possibilities are endless. Find recipes with tons of spices and herbs, and that make good use of cooking oils, flavorful things like vinegar and soy sauce...
  • Sunshine_And_Sand
    Sunshine_And_Sand Posts: 1,320 Member
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    I’m not a vegetarian, but I do eat meat free meals pretty often.
    Do you have access to a microwave at work? If so, chili’s/soups make several servings and recipes can easily be made meatless. One of my favorite recipes is sweet potato/black bean chili. Pumpkin chili with chickpeas is good too.
  • LenGray
    LenGray Posts: 834 Member
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    I do meal prep every Sunday (I'm off on weekends) Since it's just me eating, I usually make 3-4 meals because I'm mostly eating leftovers for lunch and dinner lol If I'm looking for high-protein options, my go-to lunches are:

    Kale and Chickpea Spread- https://www.theblendergirl.com/recipe/kale-chickpea-sandwich-spread/#recipeCard (Delicious on sandwiches)
    Cheesy Zucchini Cornbread Casserole- https://whoneedsacape.com/2014/08/cheesy-zucchini-cornbread-casserole/ (Goes great with soup and tastes like cornbread stuffing)
    Cheesy Vegetarian Chili Mac-https://www.budgetbytes.com/cheesy-vegetarian-chili-mac/ (Easy to throw together and tastes fabulous)
    Southwestern Black Bean Casserole- https://skinnyms.com/southwestern-black-bean-casserole/ (Simple, but good)

    I also like to make at least one soup or curry in the crockpot :) It takes me maybe two hours for all of the prep-work and cooking. I've found Pinterest to be a good option for meal prep recipes as well.
  • _Paparazzi_
    _Paparazzi_ Posts: 463 Member
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    I'm new to this .
    Do you still count calories if you are vegan ?
  • LenGray
    LenGray Posts: 834 Member
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    @_Paparazzi_ Yup. The equation of calories in vs. calories out doesn't change once you become a vegetarian or vegan :) Since becoming a vegetarian, I'd say I have to pay more attention to calorie counting in order to reach my macros+stay full. However, because most of my foods are low-ish calorie and veggie-heavy, I've had people be shocked at how much I eat and still lost weight.

    Also, there's still a lot of high-calorie food out there that vegetarians can have. Peanut butter, for one, is a vegetarian/vegan option that can be debilitating if you aren't counting calories lol
  • tracybear86
    tracybear86 Posts: 163 Member
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    Most of these are technically vegan but great recipes! :)
    https://www.thecuriouschickpea.com/
    https://www.veganricha.com/
    https://www.rabbitandwolves.com/ (I found this one recently and have loved everything I have made!)
    https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/
    https://www.thugkitchen.com/
    https://minimalistbaker.com/ (To note the writer of this blog is no longer vegan or vegetarian but she has a huge index of recipes from when she was.)
  • _Paparazzi_
    _Paparazzi_ Posts: 463 Member
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    LenGray wrote: »
    @_Paparazzi_ Yup. The equation of calories in vs. calories out doesn't change once you become a vegetarian or vegan :) Since becoming a vegetarian, I'd say I have to pay more attention to calorie counting in order to reach my macros+stay full. However, because most of my foods are low-ish calorie and veggie-heavy, I've had people be shocked at how much I eat and still lost weight.

    Also, there's still a lot of high-calorie food out there that vegetarians can have. Peanut butter, for one, is a vegetarian/vegan option that can be debilitating if you aren't counting calories lol

    Thank you for the info.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    _Paparazzi_ wrote: »
    I'm new to this .
    Do you still count calories if you are vegan ?

    Definitely. I was a fat vegan after college, as was my roommate, so I can attest that vegan doesn't mean healthy by default.
  • beckyrpl
    beckyrpl Posts: 73 Member
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    Been a Vegetarian for 25 years - not Vegan - I eat dairy - I rotate the following for lunch: cottage cheese with fruit, Greek Yogurt, Morningstar Faux Chicken, any type of fruit (working on fresh cherries and blueberries now), hummus, carrot sticks, lots of bean soups (check Amy's soups)

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