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I'm trying to come up with some interesting but non-time-consuming lunches to take to work. I often take dinner leftovers or instant McDougall soup cups plus fruit, but I'm getting a bit bored. Anybody have any delicious but easy lunch ideas?

I make big batches of soup or stew over the weekend to take for lunch during the week. If your dinner leftovers are boring you, maybe you should try some new recipes. You could look at the great clickable lists Letha made of recipes from the newsletters; they are now stickies at the top of the Food and Recipes forum.

Guess I should have been more clear, Toadfood. I'm bored with the soup cups. My dinners are fine--as dinners! You can see pictures of some of them on my blog (llink below). And I often do take planned leftovers as lunches, especially on days when I get a real lunch break.

I'm a teacher of kids with special needs, and I've just gotten a bunch of new students. Due to staffing issues, there have been many days lately when I had to eat at my desk because I had no one to watch the kids in my room. In that situation, I prefer not to have to go microwave a hot soup or stew. I was wondering if anyone had run across any appealing new ideas for sandwich spreads, dips, salads, or other meals that don't need reheating... any personal recommendations?

Ruth,

I'm getting sick of soup for lunch too. I eat either the soup cups like you or a frozen soup that I prepared.

What about wraps? I like the Ezekial tortillas. Spread a little fat-free hummus or yellow mustard and add romaine, tomato, onion, pickle, pickled beets, artichoke, etc. to it. You could prep the veg you want to use on a Sunday and pick and choose what you put in your wrap each week. If you aren't trying to lose weight, you could add a little tofu too. Or cold refried beans, with rice, and salsa.

What about cold potato, rice, or pasta salads?

Nancy

Oh, sorry, I get it now.

I like Mexican potato salad -- add corn, black beans, green peppers, and Vidalia onions. Dress with bottled salsa and lime juice.

I was looking over the Q&E cookbook and they have lots of spreads in there.

Ruth,

Another idea -- today for lunch I had a bowl of chickpeas and chopped tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and little salt and pepper. I think if I put it over romaine lettuce, it would have worked too, but I didn't feel like eating lettuce for lunch today...

Nancy

Brown rice and broccili with teriyaki sauce. Kind of like a teriyaki bowl. MMM!

For a no-reheat lunch, I like Quinoa salad. I am sure there is a recipe somewhere, but it is pretty much cooked quinoa, fatfree dressing, chickpeas, chopped raw veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, scallions, etc. It will keep for a few days, so you can make a good size batch and have pre-made lunches for a few days!

Nancy wrote:


That sounds delicious, especially with the pickled beets and/or pickle. I also like the Ezekiel sprouted tortillas.

Toadfood wrote:


That sounds really good, too. I have been craving potato salad. Salsa and lime juice would be a great substitute for mayo.

kpolninja wrote:


This sounds like something I could eat every day.

altoids wrote:


I've never made quinoa salad, but my sister-in-law made one at Christmas, and it was wonderful. I'll get her recipe.

Okay, now I'm inspired! Thanks for the ideas!

you make a bean burito with a can of oil free refried beans spread in a whole wheat pita with lettuce and tomato.

you could also have brown rice and beans(just cook it the day before and reheat it in the microwave at lunch)

you could have a can of chickpeas, just plain it tastes so good i just open the can and heat it and then drain the beans. its delicious.

you could also have pita bread with a hummus dip

you can also have bean enchiliadas

these are just my favourite things i like to have but there are tons more choices..hope i helped:)

A favorite sandwich of mine:
Ciabatta bread
Hummus (any kind you like)
Roasted red peppers
Sometimes a dash or five of hot sauce or chipotle sauce

Also, I can go for weeks with just hummus and a fat-free pita bread as lunch. Sometimes the hummus is fat-free---my own; sometimes not---store-bought. Either way, it's delicious.

Also I'll second the burrito idea. You can make beans (can or slow-cooked), make burritos and free them, then just take what you need.

Mock Tuna Salad

* 1(15 oz.) can chick-peas, drained (or 1.5 c. cooked)

* 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise (the original would call for in-excess of 1/4 c., but 1/4 c. is WAY more than enough--I think I even used only 1/4 c. on a double-batch of this, and it was *still* magnifique, so if you're looking for lower-fat and calories, just add a wee bit at a time)

* 1/3 cup minced celery

* 2.5 T. minced dill pickle (about 1 pickle-slice, give or take)

* 1/2 T. nutritional yeast

* 1 green onion, chopped

* 1 t. soy sauce

* pepper, to taste


DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mash the chick-peas coarsely with a fork. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Use on sandwiches or on a bed of salad greens.

I pack lunches almost daily for myself & daughter, and she can't reheat hers, so here are some of our favorites:

Baked potato w/Bush's vegetarian baked beans on top. No reheating needed (but it's tasty hot too).

Wraps using steamed collard leaf as the wrap.

Vegetable dumplings (buy frozen in bag), cooked per bag but using apple juice instead of oil. Allow to cool on tin foil or waxed paper. Stack in lunch container w/the foil/paper between layers to prevent sticking. Include a small jar (a pimento jar works perfectly) of Ponzu or Soy sauce for dipping.

Thermos of hot vegan "cheese fondue" with bread cubes, veggies, etc for dipping.

Leftover sushi rice formed with hands or a onigiri press or ice cream mold into a tightly-packed ball (called onigiri -- google "bento" and "onigiri" and you'll find plenty of recipes). Can put a bit of something in the center or just include something to dip them into.

Leftover polenta, cooled, cut into squares or triangles, browned in a pan, & cooled before packing. Add a container of hearty spread or dipping sauce like hummos, black bean salad, or even BBQ sauce.

Leftover mashed potatoes, formed into a ball by placing in a square of plastic wrap & twisting the wrap ends together. Best to chill in fridge overnight. Add a dipping sauce.

Baked or crockpot-cooked whole potatoes, white or sweet. Add container of hummos or other hearty spread for dip if you want.

I love hummus sandwiches with a slab of roasted red pepper and raw spinach on ww sourdough.