So, one of the biggest problems going back to school for a vegan in pre-college levels or for college day students is what you can pack in your lunch. Well, never fear, I'm here to help you with that! Now, this is going to assume for the most part that you will have access to a microwave during your lunch hour. Sticking with the philosophy of The Vegan College Cookbook, I want to try and give you tips that are inexpensive, healthy (for the most part,) and delicious.
First, many of The Vegan College Cookbook's recipes work great for packing in a lunch. I have found that these recipes tend to generate a lot of leftovers. It's best to pack leftovers in a sealable microwaveable container if you intend to reheat the food. If it's something like a salad or something else that you don't have to heat, microwaveableness is then not necessary, but it never hurts.
Just a tip about salads though, if you're packing a black bean and corn salad or any other salad that has a lot of liquid, I would recommend draining it the night before you intend to eat it. It keeps it from getting quite as messy. If you don't want to waste the liquid, it makes a really great marinade for grilling tofu. Or if you don't have enough left for marinade, you can always add a little bit of another vegan sauce or dressing, and you can toss in a few herbs like rosemary, pepper, or whatever you like. Then you'll have plenty.
I must not overlook an obvious option. Fresh fruits make delicious sides for lunch. Bananas work very well, because they require practically no preparation. Citrus fruits like oranges, tangerines, clementines, or grapefruits are best pre-peeled and put into sealed containers. Peeling them in advance saves you time, and saves you a mess when you're trying to eat your lunch. Apples, pears, and other fruits with a core and stem can be eaten around the core, and thusly, do not require preparation, but again, if you want to save some mess, you can pre-cut them. If you do, I recommend dipping them in a bowl of lemon juice or orange juice immediately after cutting them, and before putting them into a sealed container. The same thing goes for peaches, plums, and other fruits with a pit. Berries and grapes require little preparation, so they work great as well. For grapes, I'd recommend taking them off the stem, and for strawberries, I'd say to cut the tops off, and dip them in a citrus juice before packing them into a sealed container that doesn't have a lot of extra space, so they won't roll around and get bruised. Melons, mango, or pineapple work best sliced into small chunks and packed into a sealed container with as little juice as possible.
On the other hand, many fresh veggies are also perfect for lunches. Some of my favorites are baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and celery (chopped into smaller pieces,) stringless sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber slices, and sliced bell pepper. Some good choices of dips for those veggies would be peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter, hummus, or black bean dip. All of those options can be purchased in single-serving, doesn't-need-to-be-refrigerated packages, though buying them in traditional packaging is cheaper, and easier. I would avoid packing salad dressings to dip them in, because they are rather high in calories, with little redeeming nutritional value. Also, they're terribly messy.
There are many varieties of frozen meals that you can take from companies such as Amy's or Candle Cafe, but keeping them cold can be sort of a problem. Also, there's not always a good selection if you have to be gluten-free too.
Now, an absolute must is shelf stable food. Why? Because I'm sure that you've forgotten to pack your lunch until the last second and grabbing a Clif Bar way too many times. Because I forget my lunch all the time, and I'm sure everyone else in the world does too. Whether you remember in enough time to grab something handy-dandy-healthy, or you stash a collection in your locker for those occasions like I do, not having to keep all your food cold can be a great thing. Here are some of my favorites:
As a side note, not all GoPicnics are vegan, and there are some vegan ones that aren't gluten-free. But, they're on sale this week at Target, so stock up if you have the chance. Now then, I hope that you found everything super-helpful. If you'd like to share some of your lunch favorites with me, I would absolutely LOVE to hear them. I mean seriously. I like variety, and trying new things. So, enlighten me.
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