40 Healthy Vegan Lunch Ideas

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20140611-DSC_7402-2A little over a year ago, I posted 35 Healthy Vegetarian Lunch Ideas. Today, it remains one of my most popular posts. The fact that so many people are continually looking for vegetarian lunch ideas makes my heart happy – it means that more and more people are seeking to eat meatless meals. Yay!

Recently, I’ve been incredibly inspired by plant-based cooking. I’ve been discovering new flavour combinations and feeling energized and light. I feel as though my meals are more creative and flavourful than ever – especially lunch! Lunch is the perfect opportunity to sneak in some extra veggies in your diet. I find that sandwiches and salads are my go-to when it comes to lunch. I love a huge salad that eats like a meal! Since I know a lot of you are looking for plant-based lunch options, I thought I’d share some of my favourite lunch ideas from The Fig Tree, as well as some ideas from my favourite bloggers.

In other news, my husband and I are setting off on a European adventure on Wednesday! We are starting in Barcelona, Spain. Have any of you been to Barcelona? Any suggestions/recommendations on what to see and do while in Barcelona? Although there may not be a lot of recipe posts in the next little while, I will definitely update the blog with photos from our adventures and include some tidbits about the food we are eating in each country.

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! xo

Salads

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Sandwiches & Wraps

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You may also like: 25 Gourmet Veggie Burgers and 65 Healthy Vegetarian Snack Ideas.

Asparagus Pad Thai Salad

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20140622-DSC_7758-5As a huge fan of anything by Terry Hope Romero, I could not wait until the release of her new cookbook Salad Samurai: 100 Cutting-Edge, Ultra-Hearty, Easy-to-Make Salads You Don’t Have To Be Vegan To Love. Her previous two cookbooks Vegan Eats World and Viva Vegan are two of my very favourite cookbooks to browse through for inspiration. I love her flavour combinations! They are always so creative and the recipes so flavourful.

In Salad Samurai, Terry presents 100 hearty and easy-to-make salad recipes that focus on wholesome, seasonal ingredients inspired by flavours from around-the-world. In the book’s introduction, Terry states “The only thing that we (as in all vegans, vegetarians and even omnivores in favour of meatless meals) must do is rescue salads from their sucktastic reputation as wimpy fare.” And this is exactly what she accomplishes in her new cookbook. She presents such well-thought-out salad recipes that could win over vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike! These unique and creative salads are far from wimpy fare!

20140622-DSC_7721-2Terry not only presents delicious, hearty salads in this book, she also arms the at-home-chef with an arsenal of delicious homemade dressings & vinaigrettes and creative salad toppings. For instance, I cannot wait to try the Curried Cashew Pepita Crunch topper for my next salad. And the Roasted Hemp Seed Parmesan! The Creamy Maple Mustard Dressing sounds incredible, as does the Green Curry Dressing, the Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing and the Carrot Chia Ginger Dressing. Yum!

Throughout the book, Terry includes features such as “The Spin” which contains helpful hints for preparing the recipes and “Samurai Stylings” which give suggestions for fun variations of the recipes in her book. She also highlights recipes that are perfect for those following a gluten-free and/or raw diet. The recipes are accessible to everyday at-home cooks. The book is separated into chapters including: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Sweet & Savoury. The layout of the book is really fun and easy to navigate. And as with all of Terry’s previous books, the writing is playful and with a good dose of humour.

20140622-DSC_7736-3I have already tried a number of recipes from this cookbook including this Asparagus Pad Thai Salad and the Coconut Samosa Potato Salad. Both were easy to make and had great flavour! Both salads will now be in our regular dinner rotation. Other recipes I cannot wait to try:

  • Gingery Beets & Lentils with Tahini & Agave Nectar
  • Couscous Salad with Preserved Lemons & Olives
  • Herbed Pea Ricotta, Tomatos and Basil
  • Mexican Roasted Corn Salad with Avocado
  • Blueberry Tamari Greens Bowls
  • Pesto Cauliflower & Potato Salad
  • Almond Falafel Crunch Bowl
  • Backyard Buffalo Ranch Caesar Salad

How amazing do those recipes sound!? Even though salads can be enjoyed year round (as demonstrated in the book), I am really looking forward to trying out many more recipes from Salad Samurai over the summer. Salads are the perfect meal on lazy, hot summer days. I’m thinking picnics, BBQs, and late dinners on the patio. What I love most about this book is that unique, but accessible ingredients are used to make salads really interesting. Terry takes flavours from across-the-globe to inspire her recipes and it really works.

Print
Asparagus Pad Thai Salad

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 2

Ingredients

    Pad Thai Salad:
  • 4 ounces of Pad Thai rice noodles
  • 1/2 pound of asparagus
  • 1 cup of mung bean sprouts, washed and dried
  • 1 cup of lightly packed fresh Thai or sweet basil leaves, chiffonaded
  • 1 cup of lightly packed fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
  • 2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
  • 1 recipe of lemongrass tofu (recipe to follow)
  • 1/2 cup of roasted peanuts, coarsely ground
  • lime wedges and Sriracha for serving
    • Toasted Shallot Dressing:
  • 1/4 cup of minced shallots
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon of minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar or organic brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of tamarind concentrate
  • 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, plus more for serving
    • Lemongrass Tofu:
  • 1 pound of extra-form tofu (pressed)
  • 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 4 teaspoons of tamari
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of finely chopped or prepared lemongrass
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons of peanut oil or olive oil

Method

  1. Prep the Lemongrass Tofu: Slice the tofu into thin 1/4-inch strips. Preheat the oven to 400'F and coat the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9-inch ceramic or glass baking dish with cooking spray. Combine the maple syrup, tamari, lemongrass, garlic and oil in the baking dish and whisk together. Arrange the tofu slices in the marinade and set aside while the oven is preheating (about 15 minutes). Occasionally stir around the tofu strips. Bake the tofu for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and flip the strips over. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the strips are golden and the marinade is absorbed. Chill for salad.
  2. Boil the rice noodles according to package directions and cook only until al dente (1 to 2 minutes less than directed). Drain, rinse with cold water, and cover with cold water until ready to use.
  3. Wash and trim the tough stem ends from the asparagus. Trim the heads from the asparagus and set aside. Use a Y-shaped peeler to shred the asparagus stalks into long ribbons and slice into thin strips the remaining pieces that are too awkward to shred. Transfer the asparagus ribbons to a mixing bowl and add the mung bean sprouts, basil, cilantro and scallions.
  4. In a skillet over medium heat, fry the shallots, garlic, ginger and oil until the shallots are golden brown (about 3 minutes). Add the asparagus tips, sauté 1 minute, remove from heat and cool for 2 minutes. Transfer the asparagus tip mixture to the bowl with the ribbons. Drain the rice noodles and add to the asparagus salad.
  5. Whisk together the lime juice, sugar, tamarind, and soy sauce and pour over the salad. Toss to coat everything with dressing. Mound the salad in serving bowls and garnish with strips of the Lemongrass tofu and sprinkle with peanuts. Devour, but graciously offer wedges of lime, Sriracha, a small dish of coconut sugar, and soy sauce for dining companions to season their own dish to taste.

Source: Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero (reprinted with permission from Da Capo Lifelong, © 2014)

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Salad Samurai from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you to Da Capo Lifelong for sending me this fantastic cookbook to review. It was an absolute pleasure! 

I have used Amazon Affiliate linking in this post. If you purchase any books using the links in this post, I may get a small proceed from the sale.

Vegan Double Chocolate Strawberry Muffins

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20140611-DSC_7368Weekend plans definitely changed a lot from what was originally planned due to torrential rain all Saturday and Sunday – but we still ended up having a lot of fun. It allowed for more spontaneity and a chance to spend some time baking! Hence, these double chocolate strawberry muffins. We received a pint of fresh strawberries in our weekly organic delivery on Wednesday and I knew I wanted to combine them with chocolate for a decadent treat. I opted to make muffins, as I wanted a special treat for morning coffee/tea time over the weekend. These muffins have strawberry purée mixed right into the batter and then strawberries pieces folded in for an extra big strawberry bite. These muffins are fudgey without being too dense. They are perfectly chocolatey with the mixture of cocoa powder and the mini chocolate chips. Yum! The combination of maple syrup and brown sugar allow for just the right amount of sweetness. Bottom line – these muffins are really yummy and so easy to throw together.

Note: I opted to add in a small bit of espresso powder, as I generally find it enhances the flavour of the chocolate. Feel free to leave it out if you don’t have any on hand. Also, I believe you could sub the flax eggs with regular eggs (2) and the vegan butter with regular butter. I have only tested the dairy-free and egg-free version, but feel that using eggs and butter would work just fine. 

20140613-DSC_7710Hope you all had a great weekend – rain or no rain! Friday, we attended a family birthday . It was really nice to catch up with a few people from out-of-town. Saturday, we picked up our Saturday sticky-buns (it’s a weekend tradition), did some grocery shopping, attended a concert (Yes We Mystic), celebrated my cousin Mark’s university graduation (congrats Mark!!!) and then went out for an amazing dinner with some of our very best friends. Today, we celebrated father’s day with my amazing dad by making him brunch and then we watched World Cup matches all afternoon. Not a bad way to spend a rainy day. :)

Print
Double Chocolate Strawberry Muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

  • 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons of ground flax seed & 6 tablespoons of water)
  • 1 cup of mashed strawberries
  • 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/4 cup of melted vegan butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of espresso powder (optional)
  • 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 and 1/3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup of chopped strawberries
  • 1/3 cup of diary-free mini chocolate chips

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 375'F. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
  2. Prepare the flax eggs. Combine the ground flax with the water and mix well. Let rest for 5 minutes, or until the consistency of an egg.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the mashed strawberries, maple syrup, brown sugar, melted butter and unsweetened almond milk.
  4. In a small bowl, combine the salt, baking soda, espresso powder, cocoa powder and flour.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not over-mix the batter. The batter will be very thick.
  6. Fold in the chopped strawberries and chocolate chips. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop batter into muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean or with a light crumb. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove them and let them finish cooling on a wire rack.

Source: adapted from Minimalist Baker