If you work from home at least one or two days a week, eating a healthy plant-based diet in between conference calls can be difficult. So check out these five tips and recipes to learn how to make easy vegan lunches to reduce stress during the virtual workday.
When you work virtually, back-to-back Zoom calls, tight deadlines, and mountains of emails can make your workday hectic. Add in pets that need a walk and kids who come home from school hungry, and it’s easy to see how lunchtime can turn into grabbing a box of cookies and calling it a meal. Of course, prioritizing healthy meals while working from home can be a challenge. The last thing you want to do is spend your entire lunch break in the drive-thru, and you’re unlikely to find healthy options anyway. However, if you miss the opportunity to fuel your body with powerful nutrients at noon, you may be sluggish in the afternoon and miss out on opportunities to get powerful nutrients throughout the day, such as protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals. Wouldn’t it be great to have a zen healthy meal without spending your entire lunch break? A meal that’s colourful, energizing, healthy and nourishes your body, mind and soul? Here are my top 5 tips for creating healthy, plant-based lunches for the virtual workday that are satisfying, not too time-consuming, and perfect for at-home lunch breaks.
5 Tips for Making Easy Vegan Lunches for Virtual Workdays
1. Make a Grain Bowl
This wonderful recipe of whole grains + plant-based protein (tofu, legumes, nuts) + vegetables + delicious sauce is perfect for an easy lunch. All you have to do is start with cooked grains, and then you can layer in other ingredients. You can save time by cooking your grains (brown rice, farro, millet, quinoa, sorghum) at the beginning of the week (put them in the Instant Pot for a quick job). Or try pre-cooked cereal bags. Then build your bowl using the ingredients you have on hand. Try a variety of vegetables such as leafy greens, carrots, frozen peas, avocados, snap peas and cucumbers. Sauces can include prepared salad dressing, instant tahini, or plant-based yogurt.
2. Open a can of beans
A simple jar of protein-packed legumes, from chickpeas to black beans, has a quick lunch on the table! Pour them over salad greens, whole-wheat wraps, taco shells, or whole-wheat pita bread to start your meal. Make sure to add more veggies like spinach, cherry tomatoes, sprouts, frozen corn, and avocado slices. Learn more about how to make a meal out of canned beans here.
3. Fry up a quick and healthy lunch
Grab your frying pan and go to town! In just minutes, you can stir-fry up a protein-packed, colorful, veggie-packed meal. Start by heating some vegetable oil in a skillet, then add any chopped vegetables you have on hand (or use a frozen vegetable mix to make it easier), including zucchini, bell peppers, broccoli, and carrots. Add some plant-based protein, such as frozen edamame or tofu cubes or tempeh. Season with soy sauce, garlic and ginger. Look! Make a meal out of those pre-cooked grains.
4. Toss up a satisfying salad
There’s nothing better than a fresh and filling salad for lunch. It’s also very easy. Start with baby leafy vegetables or chopped leafy greens (kale, romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, arugula, spinach); top with more veggies you have on hand, such as bell peppers, canned artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and radishes ; Layer with a vegetable protein, such as baked tofu, beans or tempeh bacon; Sprinkle with some nuts, seeds and/or dried fruits, such as pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds or raisins; Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. urgent! Lunch is served!
5. Prepare healthy lunches for the week
To really save time on healthy weekday lunches, meal prep on your days off. Create delicious meals in individual containers that you can pop out, pop in the microwave, and enjoy while you’re at work. Whether you’re making salads, grain bowls, wraps, or pasta, it’s easy to whip up an entire batch of prepped lunches at once instead of making individual meals each day. You may want to try some varied meal prep ideas so you don’t get bored of your meals. For example, cooked pasta can be made into a pasta casserole, pasta salad, or pasta with red sauce. Cooked quinoa can be made into a grain bowl or salad. Make different fillings for your burritos or burritos.
For more quick and easy lunch recipes, check out my favorites:
Easy Vegan Tacos with Refried Beans and Corn Salsa
Double Chickpea Vegetable Pita
Chipotle Keto Rice Power Bowl
Best avocado toast
Vegan BLTA Sandwiches
Vegan California Burrito Bowl
Quinoa Corn and Bean Chowder
Mediterranean vegetarian meal preparation
Photo: Masala Cauliflower Rice Bowl, Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RDN via california vegetarian