Healthy Easy Plant-Based Lunches

During the height of the pandemic, many of us wanted so badly to get back to ‘normal’. This fall, as more and more ‘normal’ activities are resuming, we are slowly getting those familiar routines back. Routines including in-person meetings, full work or school days, and the packing of the beloved lunch bag. Oh, the lunch bag. What to pack for lunch?!?! I hear you! So, today I bring you my Guide To Healthy Easy Plant-Based Lunches.

Tara’s Tuesday Tips

Guide To Healthy Easy Plant-Based Lunches

The term ‘meal prep’ has become so popular on social media. It looks so fun. All the cute color coordinated containers lined up + perfectly packed with lean protein and veggies. The epitome of the healthy girl. Call me on Wednesday when you pop that baby open. Soggy veggies + a shriveled up chicken breast that you packed three days ago. Tell me about that.

I’m here to tell you that an easy, plant-based lunch is achievable for any time budget, any money budget, any calorie budget. Let’s do this.

Tip #1: Make A Lunch Meal Plan

One confession I must make is that I am not a real ‘meal-prepper’. I might be the only food blogger on the planet willing to admit that. I talk a lot about this in my article, 10 Things To Do On Weekends To Make Weeknight Cooking Easier. The type of planning/prepping I do is something I like to term ‘investing’ instead of planning.

Here is how it works: pick a day of the week that you are the least busy. Carve out 30 minutes to write down what you plan to pack in the lunch bag(s) for every single day that a lunch bag is needed by you or someone that you pack a lunch bag for. Create an action plan including the full grocery list, what needs to be made ahead of time, pre-portion any snacks or sides or sandwich assembly items. You MUST have a plan. Even if it is just a rough sketch. Investing in preparation is one of the key pillars to health + wellness!

Tip #2: Prep Fruits + Veggies

This one is a MUST!!! As soon as the produce makes it in the door, wash it! Our veggies and fruits are always washed and ready to eat. Make the healthy foods easier to grab than the packaged junk and therefore easier to toss in the lunch bag! Wash + dry + chop + portion out into baggies or containers. These are the building blocks to a healthy lunch!

Tip #3: Make Lots of Extra Grains

Don’t wait until the morning to realize you don’t have any rice cooked for the beans + rice you planned to pack for lunch. In the time it takes you to watch a show on Netflix on the weekends or late at night, you could have a healthy batch of oatmeal, quinoa, or rice cooked in your Instant Pot. Toss everything in the Instant Pot, when the steam releases your show is done and guess what?!?! You just invested in yourself. You made a healthy easy plant-based lunch super achievable without any fuss.

Tip #4: Pick A Dressing Of The Week

One dressing (or sauce), many lunches! It can be Asian Ginger Dressing, Creamy Avocado Dressing, Creamy Vegan Chickpea Tomato Sauce, Tahini Dressing, Peanut Sauce, or Marinara Sauce. Make extra when you are cooking it for dinner or prepping for the week. Divide your sauce or dressing into single serving containers to pour over your salad or bowl. Ready to be tossed in the lunch bag on a busy morning + never forget the dressing again!

Tip #5: Make The Freezer Your Friend

I love the freezer! Freezer meals are my jam. Yep. My jam. If you have ever been in my kitchen, and are lucky enough to go in my freezer, you will see that I ALWAYS have a meal ready to go from the freezer. When I cook, I siphon off a freezer container of whatever I am cooking and stock it away for lunchboxes. There are always containers of Lentil Curry, Chana Masala, Black Beans, and Refried Beans. I even use this trick for sweets. I make a batch of Edible Cookie Dough, or Brownie Batter Hummus or Cake Batter Dessert Hummus and scoop it into mini containers that can be tossed in a lunchbox for a fun lunchbox treat.

Tip #6: Boring Lunches Are OK!

Food on repeat is not such a bad thing! I go into LOTS of detail on how healthy this can be in my article, Is Dietary Variety Really That Important? Research has found that eating the same thing for lunch actually can make you more productive. For us, we eat oatmeal for lunch. Therefore, I cook a big batch of steel cut oats and measure 10 one-cup servings. This takes the guess work out of portions and ideas for lunch. I also measure the accompanying berries and nuts and have 10 of each ready to go. If you aren’t into oatmeal, portion out the salad or the soup or whatever. Lentil soup works fabulously for lunches, so does Kalamata Olive Hummus, or Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa.

Tip #7: Get Organized

Dedicate a shelf or a drawer in your fridge to lunch items making everything easy to grab on busy mornings. If you follow tip #4, you will have your dressings in little containers already. If you follow tip #2, your fruits and veggies are washed + cut up. Tip #3 has you ready with a bowl of grains portioned out. Hmmmmm, sounds like lunch is already made + ready to toss in the bag!

Sandwiches might not stay for 5 days pre-assembled but you can be prepared with what is going in between the bread and then just assemble the sandwich when packing the lunch bag. Pour dressings + sauces on when sitting down for lunch to prevent a soggy lunch bowl. Having all of these things done ahead of time gives you more time and headspace in the morning to pause + be present without too much thought going into how you are going to keep everyone’s lunch easy and healthy and yummy and plant-based!

Tip #8: Know Where You Can Eat Out In A Pinch

Obviously, this rule does not apply to the kiddos lunchboxes but for the adult lunches, this could be a viable option if you are careful! More and more quick, easy, plant-based, healthy options are popping up in fast food restaurants + grocery stores. Ask questions about the menu + remember hidden meat products to look out for in prepared foods.

Tip #9: Think Outside Of The Box

Anything goes. Food does not need to have rules. Leftover pancakes from Sunday’s brunch? Toss them in with some berries and there you have it, lunch! Leftover pizza, pasta, quesadillas? Need I say more? It was good enough for breakfast or dinner the first time around, it is good enough for the lunchbox! Many snacks can equal a meal, a good one! Think nuts + granola + dried fruit or hummus + crackers + carrots or almond butter + pretzels + an apple. Yes, whatever you have on hand or whatever you are craving, toss it in the lunch bag + enjoy it!

Tip #10: Not Every Lunch Has To Be Perfect

Let it go. It’s just one lunch. So you ate the chips and the cookies. So your lunch wasn’t Instagram worthy. Maybe your vision of the ideal healthy lunch got derailed. As we come out of surviving a pandemic, get back into routines, find our healthy habits again, not every lunch will be perfect. A few extra calories once in a while to enjoy a meal with a friend might not be the worst thing. As long as most of the time, the lunch is balanced + healthy, you are still winning. Give yourself some grace.