What are some quick and easy vegetarian lunch ideas for school?

sodium_seltzer_0h
sodium_seltzer_0h Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Please give me ideas
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Best Answers

  • Cats_fitness_journey
    Cats_fitness_journey Posts: 49 Member
    Answer ✓
    At school, I eat a box salad everyday for lunch 👍 and a protein bar for dessert! I’m not vegetarian but these could easily be :) hope that helps
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    Answer ✓
    I've been vegetarian for 49+ years (ovo lacto in my case). It might be helpful if you t old us whether you're strict vegetarian (fully plant based) or open to eating dairy or eggs.

    My best advice to anyone who's bringing lunch to eat later would be, if possible, to get two things:
    1. A small insulated lunch bag with a reusable freezer pack that fits in it ("Blue Ice" is one brand of the latter.)
    2. A wide-mouth insulated bowl with a tight screw-on lid.

    Those greatly expand your options for lunch.

    If you have access to a microwave at school, that opens up more options.

    If you have access to these foods, but none of the items above, there exist shelf-stable canned grain-based salads or even microwaveable grain-based sides that can be eaten without heating, or dried soup cups to which you can add hot water (if you have access to that at school).

    If you don't have the items listed above, and are fully plant based, something like a peanut butter sandwich on calorie-efficient whole-grain protein-rich bread, plus a fruit, could be a good lunch. There is instant hummus or refried-bean powder that can be mixed with regular drinking water and eaten with crackers or cut-up veggies.

    If there's a way to keep food cool (either the insulated/iced bag or a fridge at school), you can consider things like a salad (with tofu or edamame (either cooked or dry roasted) as the protein), bean salad, hummus and veggies, and that sort of thing. With the insulated bowl or microwave access, you can take soup/stew, pasta dishes, and that sort of thing.

    If you eat dairy, consider Greek yogurt or cottage cheese as the center of a meal, adding fruit or bread/crackers or veggies to fill it out. If you eat eggs, hard-boiled eggs are an option.

    Those are a few things I can think of, off the top of my head.

    Best wishes!
  • loulee997
    loulee997 Posts: 273 Member
    Answer ✓
    If you just want quick and organic--and you can afford it, Amy's Kitchen (Organics) are vegetarian and taste pretty decent. Microwavable. Some have cheese, some don't.

    Most people really love their Cheese Enchiladas. 2 Enchiladas are 490 Calories. About 245 Calories each.

    AMY's Kitchen Tortilla Soup--Vegetarian. 130 Calories a Serving or 210 Calories for the whole can.

    AMYS Black Bean Burrito---290 Calories, 5 Fiber, 8 Protein.

    ORGANIC CHUNKY VEGETABLE SOUP 80 Calories a Serving, 130 Calories a Can

    SPINACH RAVIOLI BOWL 390 Calories, 4 Fiber, 14 Protein

    PAD THAI 410 Calories, 3 Fiber, 12 grams Protein

    ORGANIC CHUNKY TOMATO BISQUE 140 Serving, 240 Can

    INDIAN VEGETABLE KORMA 330 Calories, 8 Fiber, 9 Protein

    I thought this might work in a pinch.


Answers

  • loulee997
    loulee997 Posts: 273 Member
    edited November 2023
    If you don't mind cold food for lunch---you should make a batch of Texas Caviar or Cowboy Caviar. No it does not contain caviar. There are several different recipes--vegetarian, has protein, is tasty. It is supposed to be eaten cold.

    It makes a pretty decent batch--for a low amount of money. You could make a batch. Take a bowl with a lid to work, stick in fridge, and have a protein and veggie mix that is quite good. Recipes vary. This recipe that I usually use.

    VEGGIE DUMP/BEANS

    No real cooking involved.

    1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained

    1 (15.5 ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained

    1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained (I prefer to cut up fresh cherry tomatoes for better mouth feel but you can used canned if you drain them).

    2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed. You can also use canned corn--drained. Both work. Honestly, the canned sweet corn works just fine.

    1 medium RED onion, diced

    1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
    1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, finely chopped.

    ½ cup chopped pickled jalapeño peppers I sometimes use regular jalapenos when I want spicy. But the pickled add a unique flavor. Buy in jar.
    • I buy the veggies pre-chopped in the read-to-go produce section when I'm in a hurry.

    Drain. Dump in bowl. Sprinkle very lightly with salt.
    DRESSSING
    1 teaspoon ground cumin
    ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
    1 teaspoon garlic powder
    1½ teaspoons salt
    ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    1 cup Italian salad dressing
    Two to three teaspoons of lime or lemon juice.

    Mix. Pour over beans/veggies in bowl. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
    • Don't like Italian Dressing? You can google how to do it with apple cider vinegar instead. I prefer the Italian dressing--the non-creamy.
    • I think this seasoning mix is the best version BUT some people just use salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian dressing and lime juice. If you don't have cayenne or cumin--you can leave them out.

    OPTIONAL:

    Cut up a fresh avocado on top just before you serve.
    Serve with tortilla chips.


    GOOGLE FOR ABOUT 10 DIFFERENT VERSIONS. This could give you a quick meal to take to work all week.

  • VeryHungryCatepillar45
    VeryHungryCatepillar45 Posts: 15 Member
    edited December 2023
    Hummus, tomato, onion, greens, and a slice of cheese on bread makes an awesome sandwich.

    Almond butter and sliced banana on a thin bagel is good.

    Greek yogurt and fruit.

    Cottage cheese with diced tomato and cucumbers.

    Make a “snacking” box with various nuts, fruits, and veggies.

    A smoothie with Greek yogurt, berries, and spinach could be stored in a thermos.

    Falafel and taziki sauce for dipping.

    And kind of soup can be stored in a thermos.
  • VeryHungryCatepillar45
    VeryHungryCatepillar45 Posts: 15 Member
    edited December 2023
    Oh! You could make some of these tofu bits. They are very portable. I will bring them for lunch with some bottled peanut sauce or orange sauce for dipping.

    https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/baked-tofu/


    This recipe is good and full of plant based protein. It’s great to make ahead. You will have lunch for a few days.

    https://plantbasedonabudget.com/easy-edamame-salad/

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,259 Member
    Hummus and sliced vegetables.

    Nut butter sandwiches or nut butter and crackers.

    Fresh fruit.

    Thermos full of hearty soup or grains with vegetables.

    Tabbouleh with cucumbers.

    Seven-layer-dip in a small container with tortilla chips (make several in advance; they should keep several days)

    Veggies in pita -- This was one of my go-to lunches when I worked landscaping, and it would always be my boss who was hungry for lunch before me, and they always stopped at fast-food for sausage biscuit on the way to the worksite. It takes some prep. Thinly sliced cabbage (green, purple, and/or Napa), shredded carrot, cubed cucumber (remove the seeds or use a seedless one if you want to do it in advance), and maybe even some thin sliced onion, radish, and tomato. You can use so many other veggies, and that way it's different each week. Make a healthy tahini dressing. Bring a pita. Open it and fill it with veggies and put the dressing on. It's good. Really good. I miss it.

    Your favorite cheese and crackers.

    Quick pickle vegetables. My ex would julienne some celery, carrot, radish and cornichon. The vinegar from the cornichon would give a nice spicy flavor to the other vegetables.

    Baked marinated tempeh. Pro-tip: steam the tempeh for five minutes or so before marinading. It will soak it up and be delicious. Lemon and garlic are super.

    Dolmas.

    "Fake meat" sandwiches. My least favorite, but some people love 'em.

    Falafel. Just be aware they are better when they are fresh and hot and kind of blah after they're cold in your lunch bag.

    BRB. That's bean and rice burrito. Make in advance if you want, but don't put too much liquid in there or you'll be a mess. If you can make some black beans with a lot of flavor and keep 'em in the fridge with some cooked brown rice, you're set. In the morning, mix some beans and rice (and cheese and veggies....) and take that plus a tortilla or two and take 'em to lunch. Then before you get ready to eat, say, "Roll 'em if you got 'em."

    Ants on a log. I was never a fan of this. Celery stuffed with peanut butter and raisins on top.

    I could go on....

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