Vegetarian Meal Ideas

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Note: Lunches listed as links, have recipes available on this site. Others will have their recipes added in the future.

Cold Lunches:

These can be packed as bag lunches for school or work. Typically, in addition to a sandwich, a bag lunch will have some other goodies. See Lunch Tips for School below. When prepared at home, there are more options available for a side dish; hot soup, salad, coleslaw, potato salad, 4-bean salad, baked beans, mashed sweet potato, etc.

• Artichoke Sandwich - Swiss cheese, artichoke hearts, roasted red bell pepper and lettuce on whole grain bread.
• Avocado sandwich - avocado, lettuce, tomato and cheese on a whole grain bread.
• Bagel and Cream Cheese
• Caprese Sandwich - tomato slices, salt & pepper, balsamic vinegar, sliced mozzarella and basil leaves on ciabatta with pesto spread.
• Cheese Sandwich - sliced cheese, lettuce, tomato on whole grain bread with mayo, pesto or hummus spread.
• Cream Cheese and Jam Sandwich - whipped cream cheese on whole grain bread with fruit preserves.
• Egg Salad Sandwich - 2 egg salad with lettuce on whole grain bread.
• Feta in Pita Sandwich - feta, lettuce, tomato and black olives in a whole wheat pita. Served with your favorite salad dressing on the side.
• Hummus Sandwich - hummus, lettuce and tomato on whole grain bread or in a pita.
• Mock Tuna Salad Sandwich
• Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich - natural peanut butter on whole grain bread with a sliced banana.
• Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich - natural peanut butter on whole grain bread with fruit preserves.
• Salad - large salad with nuts, seeds or cheese. Artisan bread on the side.
• Tofu Sandwich - baked teriyaki tofu slices, lettuce, tomato on whole grain bread.
• Veggie Turkey Sandwich - Worthington sliced turkey, roasted red bell pepper and lettuce on whole grain bread.

Note: According to taste; red onion, cucumber, sliced olives or mustard can be added to many of these sandwiches. Arugula or spinach leaves can be substituted for lettuce.

Hot Lunches:

These are lunches that can be prepared at home. Good for weekends and holidays. They are considered quick meals that do not involve the elaborate cooking usually associated with dinners.

• Bean Burritos - pinto beans with melted jack and cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, salsa and sour cream all rolled in a whole wheat tortilla.
• Falafel Sandwich - Falafel balls in a whole wheat pita with tahini sauce.
• French Toast - served with sliced banana and fresh berries on the side.
• Frittata - mixed vegetable, pesto and parmesan cheese frittata. Serve with wedge fries, sweet potato fries, crusty bread or salad.
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Jack and cheddar cheese on whole grain bread served with tomato soup.
• Hot Dog - tofu hot dog in whole wheat bun with choice of dressings; mustard, relish or ketchup. Serve with baked beans, coleslaw or potato salad.
• Pancakes - whole wheat buttermilk pancakes with scrambled eggs and real Maple syrup. Optionally, add blueberries when in season.
• Panini - Lightly grilled veggies of choice (thinly-sliced zucchini, yellow squash or eggplant) on whole grain bread, ciabatta or baguette with melted mozzarella on top.
• Pizza - heat a frozen pizza. Serve with salad. To build your own, see Pizza in the Dinner section.
• Ratatouille - on whole wheat baguette with melted Swiss cheese.
• Spinach Crepe - Spinach in a light cream sauce topped with melted swiss cheese. Serve with soup or salad.
• Tacos
• Tostada - crispy corn tortilla covered with refried beans and melted cheese. Topped with lettuce, tomato, avocado slices, salsa and sour cream.
• Vegetable Quesadilla - Whole wheat tortilla filled with sautéed vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper) and melted cheese. Serve with guacamole, salsa and/or sour cream.
• Veggie burger - burger patty on whole wheat bun with tomato and lettuce. Serve with chips, coleslaw, potato salad, wedge fries or baked beans on the side.
• Waffles - whole wheat buttermilk waffles with scrambled eggs and real Maple syrup.

Lunch Tips:

Work: For adults, with access to a microwave, the easiest meal is simply some leftovers from the previous night's dinner. When putting dinner away, fill a microwavable dish with a balanced serving of carbs, protein and some veggies. A round 6" glass Pyrex dish with a snap on lid works great. In the morning, just put the dish in a thermal lunch box with a blue-ice block, add a dessert and some snacks and you got it!

School: Packing a lunch for kids can be tricky. You have to know what foods they like and will eat. I tried healthy things like baby carrots, almonds etc. but they always came back uneaten. Here's what generally worked;

• A box or bag juice, small bottled water or have them buy milk.
• A sandwich.
• Something salty to go with the sandwich - a small handful of chips (corn or potato), goldfish, Chex mix, crackers, mini cheese sandwich crackers, mini peanut butter sandwich crackers, popcorn etc. Try for whole grain where possible.
• A serving of fruit - grapes, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, apple or pear wedges (wrapped tight in a plastic bag to prevent browning), orange wedges or melon cubes.
• Something sweet for dessert - cookie, mini-muffin, ½ a slice of banana or pumpkin bread, granola or fruit bar, piece of chocolate, frozen yogurt tube (Yokids or Tuberz, not Go-Gurt which has gelatin and artificial color).
• Optionally for some extra protein if the sandwich has little - a cheese stick, Babybel or hardboiled egg.