Lunch Ideas Needed

Dh has started a second job and he has to take his lunch. He will not always have access to a microwave. This have to be portable and non-fussy. Is that even a word?

I have made sandwiches in the past, but I am just running out of ideas. I don't want him to have the same thing everyday. I try and pack at least 2 snacks (trail mix & soy jerky or granola bar), main thing, fruit, and something sweet (cookie, fruit leather).

I am afraid to give him anything with nuts because of his job. It cannot be anything that is messy. He has a cooler that will keep things cool and I think hot. But being in the south, that won't be necessary right now.

Any ideas???

What's Been Cooking

Dh made the most amazing soup. Even my bean hater LOVED it. When I asked him for a recipe he said that it had a little bit and a little bit of that.

We only had one complaint...there wasn't enough.

Next he tried Bryanna's New Beefy Seitan that Vegan Dad talked about here. Tracker couldn't get enough of it. He called it meatloaf and kept asking for more. We had that with roasted red potatoes, steamed green beans and a Sun-dried Tomato and olive bread for The Joy of Vegan Baking. Yummy!! I don't think that this picture does it justice.

I tried to make bite sized quiches. They looked wonderful, but they were not that good. I need to fool around with the recipe some more. Has anyone ever made something similar before? Quiche is one of Tracker's favorite breakfast treats. I would love to find a way to make it a little bit lighter.

I also made a veggie sandwich with roasted mushrooms, onions, red peppers and garlic spinach. I used some homemade bread that dh made the day before. I will admit that it was not one of my best recipes. It was still ok.

Meat*loaf

I made the most amazing meal tonight. I made *meat*loaf, roasted veggies and biscuits for dinner. It was beyond amazing. I got the recipe from a vegetarian yahoo group that I belong to. The vegetables that I roasted were purple sweet potato, red potatoes, baby carrots and onions. The purple potato was my favorite. It was the first time that I ever cooked with them. I was disappointed that they weren't purple on the inside. The biscuit recipe came from The Joy of Vegan Baking cookbook.

*Meat* Loaf

1.5 cups dried lentils, rinsed
2 yellow onions
1/4 cup olive or canola oil
3 cups brown rice (cooked)
1 (6-ounce) can of tomato paste
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp sage
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
3/4 cup tomato sauce (or pasta sauce)
Additional ketchup or salt to taste



Rinse the lentil and cook them in 3-4 cups water until soft (about 30 minutes). Drain excess liquid. Mash lentils slightly.

Meanwhile, peel and chop both onions, cooking them on a skillet with the oil until translucent or golden.

In a large pot or bowl, combine mashed lentils with onions, rice, tomato paste, spices, quartered tomatoes, and pasta sauce until mixed well.

Press mixture into a well-oiled loaf or baking dish. Spread 1/2 cup ketchup across the top. Bake at 350-degrees for 1 hour.

Add additional ketchup to taste. Will keep (covered) in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.

Number of Servings: 10

***SF Notes*** Of course I didn't have all the spices. I just used a generic seasoning blend. I also didn't have the cherry tomatoes so I used a couple of spoonfuls of canned diced tomatoes. The only complaint that I heard was that it was not firm enough.

Baked Tofu

The other day I could not decide what to do with some tofu that I had thawing(I freeze mine tofu). I decided to baked it. After I pressed the tofu, I cut the tofu into steaks. I got 8 'steaks' from the one package of tofu. I then pressed the tofu into a seasoned bread crumb mixture(bread crumbs and your favorite spices). I then baked them on a cookie sheet until they were crispy on the outside but still chewy on the inside. My kids LOVED them. I would of preferred the tofu to be less 'springy'(according to Dragon) but he loved it just like that. I served it along side scalloped potatoes. I had forgotten that I bought them. LOL.

Veggie Sandwich

I was craving some fresh veggies for lunch. I made myself a veggie sandwich. It has tomatoes, roasted red pepper, cucumbers(from this morning), lettuce, avocado and onions. It was ooh so good.

Lunch & Dinner

Lunch was egg rolls & fruit. The sauce is sweet & sour sauce. I needed to use up my cabbage & spring roll wrappers.
Dinner was AMAZING!! It was caramelized onion, mushroom & spinach pizza. I did put just a little bit of cheese on top. I used less than 2 tablespoons on the entire pizza!! I used the pizza dough recipe found in Vegan Planet. I highly recommend this book. If you don't buy any other cookbook this year buy this one...oh wait you need to buy The Joy of Vegan Baking as well.