A few months ago, a blog reader asked me if I could share some lunch ideas to help her get out of a rut. That’s when it hit me that I was in quite the lunch rut myself too. I sent her some of my go-to lunch ideas (when I’m not in a rut, that is) and then I used this as a nudge to start creating more balanced lunches. As added motivation, I’ve been sharing lunch snapshots on Instagram because I thought it might be helpful for others in need of inspiration. I personally love seeing what other plant-based people whip up for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sometimes you just need that one moment of inspiration to spark a new idea!
I have a couple main goals when making lunch:
1) They have to be quick to throw together. My secret is to rely on leftovers for most of my lunch. I’m not ashamed to admit I love leftovers. I think they’re big time savers and well, I can’t argue with the foods that taste even better the next day (like soup or chili). To me, the beauty of putting so much time and effort into food prep is that you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour the next day or two without any mess, dishes, or hassle. Leftovers rule! And if I get sick of any particular leftover, I just freeze it for another time…no big deal.
2) I aim for lunches that are packed with nutrition to fuel my day and keep my energy high. This doesn’t always happen, but it’s definitely something I shoot for most days.
Here are a handful of my favourite lunches from the past couple months, as shown above. I apologize for the photo quality – all photos were snapped on my phone. I’ll also share some other lunches I love in the list below.
1. Chickpea Quiche (new recipe I’m working on) + sides, sliced Gala apple, sliced carrots, Blissful Blueberry Banana Spelt Muffins with Strawberry Chia Seed Jam.
2. Big Burrito Bowl inspired by my Raw Taco Salad. It features a sun-dried tomato walnut “meat”, shredded kale, salsa, spiced tomato rice, green onions, black beans, and hummus. Divine!
3. Travel Meal: This is a meal I packed for travel last week. It includes a simple chickpea salad I threw together with balsamic vinaigrette, two slices of seedy spelt bread, hummus, apple, and a banana.
4. Leftover bowl of My Favourite Vegan Chili with Vegan Sour Cream. Perfect on a cold winter day!
5. Leftover soup, specifically my favourite Spiced Red Lentil, Tomato, and Kale Soup! With a huge side salad and toast with hummus. I love this lunch!!
6. A huge “kitchen sink” salad topped with leftover Cumin Lime Black Bean Quinoa Salad and hummus toast on the side.
7. Leftover bowl of cauliflower-potato-kale-lentil soup I was testing last December.
8. The Big Vegan Bowl! Packed with roasted chickpeas, sweet potatoes, quinoa, hummus, carrots, avocado, sliced cabbage, and more.
9. Avocado toast served on top of my Super Power Chia Bread.
Other lunch ideas not shown above:
10. Almond/Peanut/Sunflower Seed Butter and Chia Seed Jam on toast with fruit and veggies on the side
11. Ultimate 4-Layer Vegan Sandwich
12. Loaded Savoury Oatmeal
13. Wraps stuffed with crumbled veggie burgers or leftover casserole/burrito filling + veggies
15. Easy Flaked Almond “Tuna” Salad – a reader favourite!
Ok, that’s all for now. I hope this list gives you some inspiration! Be sure to let us know in the comments what your favourite go-to lunches are.
Happy Friday!
Last week for lunches, I brought to school your Carrot Ginger Soup and chickpea salad-stuffed pita sandwiches with a fruit! I was looking forward to school just to get to lunch time ;)
That’s great! Thanks for trying them out :) I need to make that soup again soon.
Oh man I wish it was lunch time NOW. Great collection of recipes, some of my favorites. Yum!!!
Angela, I bought your book and immediately found what I wanted: Creamy veggie Curry, but I had no cashew nuts, so I made my creamy sauce out of cauliflower and it was soooooooo good. Vegans have so much more “play” with foods . My husband and I have been vegans for the last 20 years and enjoy a medication free healthy life and we are older, but very young at heart and body. Thanks, Kerstin
I love that idea! Will have to try it soon :) yum
I just wanted to say that I got your cookbook in the mail yesterday and it is amazing! I already have about 10 things I am planning on making this weekend!! Congratulations!
Oh that just made my day…thank you!! I hope you enjoy the recipes. :)
Another wonderful post! In this phase of my training cycle, I am ravenously hungry all the time, but always looking for new nutritious ways to enjoy my food. I try to have a hearty lunch that will keep me going for at least a few hours, and these are wonderful options!
Nutrition is crucial to my body staying healthy with all the stress I am putting it under with my high level running. It always pays off in my races if I eat right during this time, now I have lots more options! If I run the 1:13 in the half marathon this spring that I hope to, I may be sending you a thank you for keeping me on track :)
Thanks for these recipes….am a veggie…but looking towards vegan in the future…so these are ideal.
vodkandarose.blogspot.co.uk
Just what I needed to see today – lacking inspiration in the kitchen. These look great! Thank you! xx
You’ve got my stomach rumbling for lunch already and it’s only 10:30! A lot of my meals are similar to your big vegan bowl – stuffed with a rainbow of veggies! I don’t know about you, but I find that if I make it look nice and pretty, it tastes even better. All of these are beautiful! Happy Friday, Ange!
Great round up. I’m in a rut myself so this is perfect timing!
I am a self-proclaimed leftover queen! If I had the choice I would only eat leftovers, but its tricky because you have to cook at some point!!
I normally still from dinner leftovers too for my lunches!
Nutritious packed leftovers for lunch = gold! I can’t wait to try your spiced lentil kale soup – woah!!!
Thanks for the ideas. I always find inspiration from your lunch IG photos and I’m in desperate need of quick healthy lunches.
a big kale salad, spaghetti squash spaghetti, and marinated veggies are always good for lunches….
Thanks for these great ideas! I love how huge all of the meals are — and absolutely packed with veggies. I need to get better about basing my meals around vegetables and fruit rather than around grains, I think…these would be a great start :)
Where is the recipe for that cauliflower-potato-kale-lentil soup??? Sounds amazing.
Hey Michelle, I haven’t done anything with it yet…it kinda got lost in the heap of recipes I tested around Christmas! I might have to dig it up though… :)
These lunches sound delicious! I’m always looking for new lunch ideas!
Thank you for some new ideas! I feel like I’m always in a lunch rut. I usually make a big salad on Sunday and eat it during the week. Sadly, my salads aren’t all that creative.
Nice list. I would love to jump into number 9.
Avocado toast is one of my favorite things ever! I will seriously never get tired of it!
These all look so good! Everytime I make your thai sweet potato burgers I crumble the leftover patties over arugala, thin out the sauce to make salad dressing and have it as a salad for lunch – so good!!
Also wanted to let you know I got a notification I can pick up my pre-ordered cookbook at the post office…SOOOO excited!!! Such a good surprise for the weekend especially since I wasn’t expecting it till March – can’t wait to pick it up tonight!