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Dabble in Vegan Lunches 

 May 23, 2021

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Welcome to our 13 Steps To Go Vegan's challenge number 4: Dabble in Vegan Lunches

You’re doing so well! If you are following our ‘Steps to Go Vegan Program’, you are now on step 4!

You know how to:

  • Eat a Vegan breakfast!
  • Make a Vegan Choice
  • Explore Vegan Communities.

If you are not following our program, don’t click away!!  We invite you to stay around and get some ideas about how you might eat more vegan meals.

The Challenge

Eat at least 4 vegan lunches a week.  Because of step two’s challenge, you’ve probably got lots of great resources you can now turn to if you get stuck for ideas. Likewise, if you eat out, step two will have already set you on the right track.

Why at least three vegan lunches?

In this challenge, we will be going to try to integrate at least three vegan lunches into your week. Why three? Again, we are easing into this whole vegan thing. In this blog post, we will be giving you some tips and tricks to help you smash this challenge.

Tackling this challenge

The easiest way to tackle this step is to just try to veganise what you already do by making a couple of substitutions. 

  • If you are someone who brings leftovers from home then bring vegan leftovers from home.
  • If you are someone that meal preps for the week do that but vegan.
  • If you are someone who grabs a salad from the deli on the way to work, do that!
vegan lunch boxes

Just make a little more of a commitment to make these lunches vegan. We suspect that this might not be too much of a stretch for you, because you are already used to making some easy vegan choices and have probably discovered some great products.

Tips to make your lunches vegan

Having said all of this, we do want to help you as much as possible so we have some tips to make it as easy as possible. Most of us have to go to work outside the home and as such there will be different situations for having lunch. Some people have a quick lunch at their desk, some might not have access to a refrigerator or even a place to sit and those with very physically demanding jobs, might have particularly high caloric needs. Take what works for you and disregard the rest.

Buy a lunch container

If you are bringing a lunch from home, consider investing in some containers that will make transporting your lunch easy and clean. While this might be as simple as a tupperware with a lid that will not easily fall off and covering the bottom of your backpack with salad dressing and kale, it could also be a specialized lunch container that will just make you feel like lunch is a real occasion. Over the past years I have a wide range (perhaps a bit of an obsession) with having the right containers for whatever it is I am storing. While some have been duds, some have been favorites. If you decide to splash out and buy some special containers for your lunch, then make sure they will fit well in your bag and that they are big enough for your needs. I often find that the cute boxes with lots of different sections are not always practical.

variety of lunch containers

Microwave your lunch

While they might not be the best and most inspiring lunch options out there, you can always have a backup stash of ramen noodles or cans of soups in your desk or even some frozen burritos (in the kitchen freezer) that you can grab if you have no time. If you are leaving anything in the communal fridge for any length of time, make sure you label it with your name.

Leftovers

One of the easiest ways to have lunch is to simply eat leftovers. Depending on the size of your household, you might decide to double the recipe quantity so there is plenty for everyone to have leftovers. I like to separate the leftovers into single serving containers as I am serving up the dinner from the night before. By the time I’ve eaten dinner and I am cleaning the kitchen, everything is cool enough to put in the refrigerator.

Set an alarm

If you are not used to bringing lunch to work, then get into the habit of leaving a little note on your front door or setting an alarm for just before you leave. This will ensure that no matter what life throws at us, we never forget our midday meal and have a chance to enjoy it if possible 🙂

Meal Prep

If you can't stomach leftovers, then consider spending some time at the weekend to make something for lunch for the week. 

Salads in a jar

Making a salad in a jar or a grain bowl in a jar takes a bit of time, but we bet that it is less time consuming than queuing up each day at the local deli. There are so many recipes for salad in a jar online but some general tips for making sure that your lunch on Friday will still be in a good condition. We love this type of meal prep.

Layering is key

If you pack your salads in jars, there are a few steps to get the most out of them. First start with heavy and non-absorbent ingredients like cheese or nuts on bottom then work up through lighter items such as pasta salad until finishing off with greens themselves. As long as they don't tip over while traveling, these delicate leaves will be protected from their dressing each time! Talking about dressing, we love this Hearty Peanut Dressing

Bonus tips:
  • Use a quart jar: This is a really good size and makes sure you have plenty of greens in your salad.
  • Make sure you have a nice big bowl to eat your salad in a jar from and of course don’t forget cutlery.
  • Bring your week’s worth of meal prep in on Monday morning providing there is space in the communal fridge to do so. Remembering to bring your lunch once, rather than every day will help.
salad in a jar

Soups and Stews

While the salads and grain bowls don’t require heating up, of course any stews and soups will require heating up. I hope you have access to a clean microwave at work.

Soups and stews are perfect for lunch at work because they just need to be heated up in the microwave. Soups and stews are also great if you really don't like having the same thing every week. You can freeze soups or stew in single servings. This will build your soup or stew collection over time just grab on and all it takes is heating them up. Make sure to let soups and stews thaw before microwaving as it could take an extremely long time to microwave. This is especially frustrating if we only have 20 minutes for lunch.

Soups and Stews

Sandwiches

One of the joys in life is a tasty sandwich. But who wants to make that sandwich every morning and risk it getting soggy by lunchtime? A better option would be to prepare all the ingredients at work, then assemble your masterpiece fresh before you eat!

Sandwiches

Smoothies

This might not be everyone’s idea of a perfect lunch,but a thick nourishing smoothie can be a great option for lunch. They are so easy to make, they don’t require heating up and they are perfect to eat / drink at your desk (and no mess or funky smells). Make sure your smoothie is hearty enough to keep you going.  You can make it heartier by adding oats or chia seeds and of course, add some greens.

smoothies and pinky

Homemade Instant Noodles in a Jar

While there is nothing wrong with the occasional ramen in a pinch, something even more delicious is a hearty healthy noodle dish in a jar.  These are very easy to prepare ahead of time 

How’s this for inspiration:

We hope that has given you some inspiration for some vegan lunches. For some of you, this will be the first time you have brought a lunch from home so this might require a bit of time to get used to it. That’s okay! We’ve got lots of time to master this step. When you are ready, let’s head on over to Step 5 - Making sure you have snacks


Let's Discuss!

We'd love to hear from you!  Do you have any questions?   Do you have a favorite (vegan) lunch?  Let us know in the comments below!



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