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!
Those were taken on your phone? They look amazing! I never have good lighting for my phone pictures. Anyway, it all looks delicious and I can’t wait for the cookbook on the 4th!!
haha thanks ;) I usually use a small white board to bounce light for pictures, especially if it’s dark or shadowy. Works like a charm!
I’m interested in seeing the chickpea quiche. I can’t eat tofu (soy bothers my tummy) and if it soy-free I’d love to try the recipe.
Thank you so much! This was exactly what I needed to inspire my Monday morning move out of my own lunch rut. Your inspiration is much appreciated!
These are great ideas! Thank you for sharing! I’ve been pretty stuck lately as well as to what to pack for lunch. Simple fruits and vegetables are getting a little boring for me now. I really liked the idea for the vegan chili with homemade sour cream. I will definitely try it out soon!
My go to is leftovers. However, I always keep cooked quinoa in the fridge so if I’m in a pinch its usually a bowl of quinoa, whatever veggies are in the chill and some apple cider/mustard vinigrette accompanied by good (homemade) seedy bread. I need to get more creative, but between school and work I fizzle out sometimes. LOL Thanks for the inspiration…I want that Big Vegan Bowl every.day.of.the.week. Please? =D
I love all your lunch ideas! I get in food ruts all the time; same breakfast and lunch for weeks on end. I love having leftovers and I often will freeze 1-2 portions to have in the future.
My go to lunch when I can’t think anymore is a variation of your Big Vegan Bowl. Whatever veggies I have in my fridge, I roast up, and throw whatever beans/tofu etc I have and a big dollop of hummus and/or avocado. no thinking & always delicious! Thanks for more ideas, going to try the quinoa/black bean salad tonight!
The quiche sounds amazing! I can’t wait till the recipe is ready!
Thank you for the delicious Banana Bread Muffin Tops recipe! It was so easy to make. I thought they would be delicious as I was processing the bananas, dates, vanilla and coconut oil (the smell of the ingredients was heavenly) but I was not prepared for the wonderful texture and taste they had when they came out of the oven! I plan to always keep a batch of these on hand for snack emergencies.
So many great ideas, I have avocado toast on hummus almost every other day for lunch, sometimes I add sun dried tomato paste and cucumbers.
Going vegan is healthy! There are a lot of recipes which you can have on your vegan diet and still manage to stay fit and healthy.
Thanks for sharing :-) They all look very tasty and healthy. I’m having a hard time choosing which one to try for Lunch tomorrow lol.
It’s just amazing! Thank you so much!
Good Morning!
This post was perfect. We’ve been stuck in a veggies & hummus rut for two weeks for lunches. I made your cumin, lime, black bean and quinoa salad for supper last night, adding in the last of the cherry tomatoes and an avocado, and have enough left for a couple of lunches for my daughter and I. We all loved this. My 9 year old daughter said “Put that one in THE BOOK” which is her cookbook of her favorite recipes I make. It only makes the book if she loves it. This was definitely Amber approved. Thanks for coming through, once again. Can’t wait for your cookbook to come in. Loved the extra book you put out as well!! :)
I work from home & make lunch every day so thanks for all the ideas. Looking forward to the Chickpea Quiche recipe!
Wow! these lunch ideas are utterly marvellous! My fav is the Travel Meal, it incorporates some brekkie items and I’m very obsessed with breakfast :D I also love the collage, your blogs pictures are amazing(I’ve been reading your blog for long now! and love it!) it’s fabulous, Those pancakes you come up with and the granola recipes, yuuuuum! :D
I just wanted to say that I have recently started reading your blog and am very unhappy… Because now I am going to go to the store and put myself into debt buying all of the ingredients to make all of these delicious recipes!
Definitely trying the vegan chili ASAP! :) Love love LOVE your blog and all of the recipes! (And those desserts though…)
One of my fav vegan lunches is leftover baked potato smothered in homemade salsa, some guacamole and just a little bit of Sriracha. If I have some grilled mushrooms, I’ll throw those on too! It’s really good hot or cold. Makes me want to have some right now. Also, any leftover soup makes a great topping to a baked potato!
This may sound silly, but can you talk a little bit about freezing your leftovers? What sort of storage containers do you use? I’m super lucky and get a ton of fresh produce through my job, but that means I’m always cooking, to the point where the amount of food is a little ridiculous for one person.
I was so excited to receive my copy of your new cookbook. I have made a few soups/stews, smoothies and the metabolism-boosting green citrus tea which is simply divine. I can’t get enough of the indian lentil-cauliflower soup…I just love it :) Tonight – veggie burger!!
Congratulations on the success of your new book, it has quickly become one of my all time favourites.