Vegan lunch tips part 2! I know a lot of you aren't Rawtill4-ers and even if you are... sometimes all things call for a really good cooked high carb lunch. As you know, I eat a low-fat, no oil plant based diet typically on the wholefood end (though bread is bae) and I've had some people ask how exactly to eat that way without feeling restricted. At first it does seem like you can't eat a lot! Going vegan is a huge step cutting out a lot of the foods we've grown up with, let alone cutting out added fats and oils, but I'm here to show you how easy and how yummy it really is... just takes practice and a bit of kitchen creativity and a whole lot of menu dissecting sometimes haha.
Eating out can be the tough one, and I'll be honest, a lot of the time restaurants won't cater for oil free meals. I've definitely had the moments where I've literally ordered steamed rice and steamed veggies with sweet chili sauce or something, and for me I don't mind that! But if your tastebuds are a little classier than mine that might not cut it. It's good to call the restaurant beforehand to see if you can organise an oil free dish, or even stay at home and eat in if that's easier. There'll be a whole lot of posts coming up reviewing my favourite vegan restaurants and what I order with my acne in mind, but I'll also be posting a tonne of recipes just in case you're worried about being 'that one' at the restaurant. Remember, IT'S OKAY TO BE HEALTHY ;) you're not a crazy vegan, you're just a vegan <3
~CRUNCHY POTATO SALAD~
This is an all-time go-to. I LOVE THIS ENDLESSLY. As a really simple lunch, just throw some potatoes (organic taste best) into a steamer until semi-cooked, then into the oven to finish up and they will crisp up like crazy. You can always just go for oven straight up if you're feeling lazy but they won't get that flaky crunch pre-steaming gives them.
I'm pretty minimalistic when it comes to my food so I just sit at my computer and eat the potatoes with organic baby spinach leaves and a chopped organic cucumber from the local market. Bliss. You're also welcome to use condiments on HCLF if they're oil free such as ketchup, sriracha, sweet chili sauce, mustard, balsalmic etc. I usually don't need to but ketchup can really bring back that feeling of eating fries and ketchup yknow?
~RAW PASTA SAUCE~
One of my favourite summertime recipes is a raw pasta sauce with some sort of pasta. You can find a link to the recipe in my GG Kitchen catergory, but oh mama this stuff is so good and something a little different to your average jar of Dolmio, it tastes really fresh and light. If you can get your hands on some good quality tomatoes, this is gold. Just toss it with your favourite pasta (organic wheat, brown rice, gluten free, whatever) and top with some baby spinach or a type of salad leaf
~SPUD BAR!~
Spud bar is a really good option if you want something low fat yet really satisfying. This again, is an old picture so I'd be minus the avocado but the other day I had Spud Bar in Emporium, Melbourne and it was soooo good. If you haven't been before, its kind of like Subway where you choose your salad toppings and whatnot but instead of on a footlong, you get it thrown on top of a baked potato or sweet potato. The people at Emporium were great and let me have both a baked potato AND a sweet potato because I didn't want the cucumber yogurt or the hummus. I topped mine with a ton of veggies and salads and also this oil free minty tomato quinoa which was such a good addition plus some lemon on top. Done!
Remember to say, "no butter" :P
~QUICK AND EASY PASTA~
If I'm super hungry or in a rush or just getting home from a big day, the quickest thing I love to make is a super simple pasta. This pictured is the rice pasta spirals you can buy from Coles but I'm currently loving Macro Organic Wheat Pasta Shells from Woolworths as they have a thicker texture which is just better than the sloppier rice pastas. I top that with some passata (no salt) that I cook in a pot with some onion, nutritional yeast stirred through and some herbs like basil and oregano. Sometimes I add some peas or another veggie but I've lately been over that so usually just some kale chopped finely AND always always always some tinned organic lentils (MACRO ARE THE BEST). I top it all off with some baby spinach and YES sometimes I eat in a mixing bowl :P regular bowls are too small!!
NOTE* Load up on nutritional yeast, it gives it a really awesome salty cheesy flavour
~VEGGIE WRAPS~
I love making these if I'm really craving a lot of salads. A great combo I've tried which makes it kinda taste like a 'pizza wrap' is lettuce, carrot, red capsicum (all shredded really thinly) and tomato on a wholemeal pita with the passata pasta sauce from the previous recipe topped with EXTRA nutritional yeast. SO.DAMN.GOOD. It tastes like a pizza, especially with extra basil and yeast, and it is just so healthy for you. Yay!
~SUSHI~
Mmmm coz why not? Cucumber rolls always make me feel like I'm winning. But you can add almost any veggie to sushi without the rotting fish flesh OR any oil or avocado. I'll admit I miss avocado rolls a heap, but I've discovered some really good combos such as shredded carrot and cucumber, capsicum and lettuce, just cucumber, pickled daikon radish (the yellow thing), and mixed salad rolls. If you can have tofu or beancurd go for that too!
~PIZZA~
I much prefer to make my own pizza or get it from Mr Natural's Vegetarian or Pizza Farro (both amazing places) but I have many a time ordered a Dominoes pizza around family or at a party. It DOES contain oil. I'd say I'd have it around 2 times per year, and it gives me little breakouts. Not a lot, but it does, and the high sodium sauce makes me feel a bit blergh. Definitely a better option than greasy noodles etc though as it is just the pan that is sprayed with oil so it doesn't stick.
I would ALWAYS recommend making your own pizzas! So much more fun and you can make them as creative as you want!
~VEGGIE BURGERS~
This is from Lentil as Anything, Preston, but dayum veggie burgers get in me. Making your own lentil patties is a cinch, and there's plenty of oil free veggie burgers around on the shelves. Personally I love Macro Vegetarian spiced chickpea burgers that I either put under the grill or in the toaster oven to avoid pan frying. So good. Serve them on a bun with all the trimmings and those amazing crunchy potatoes from above and you've got a killer lunch!
Hope you enjoyed these lunch ideas, it's reallly easy to be vegan after all!
Don't forget to BeGlowing, LiveGreen and StayPeaceful xx
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