What do you like for lunch? (soy, bottles, dinners, food)

[JustJulia]

My husband and I decided to transition to a pescetarian diet. I would like to eat meatless five days a week. My oldest child likes beef, not fish, so I don't know how that's going to go. My middle child is the least picky of the three. My youngest drives me up the wall with his pickiness. A year ago, he would have happily lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but lately it's a struggle to find anything non-junk that he will eat at all. He likes plain white chicken and some fish, but not vegetables except for green salad. He'll eat rice, plain with soy sauce, or maybe some noodles with butter. Anway ... I know there will be some adjustment and (maybe not too many) battles.

I have a fair number of recipes and meal ideas in mind. We like chilis and soups and stews, so legume-based dishes are fine, but we don't like meat-replacement foods and have not yet been able to successfully cook tofu (success being defined as "most of the family thought this was tasty"). Dinners are probably covered. But I'm wondering about lunches. I work from home and eat whatever's leftover in the fridge. My husband works at an office, and I make his lunch everyday--two sandwiches, yogurt, granola, and fruit. The sandwiches are usually different, and they always have lettuce or other produce. My husband prefers food that can be eaten right out of his lunchbox, but he can go to another floor for a microwave.

Can you please give me some ideas for lunches that I can pack for him? If it's a salad, I can make enough for two and eat the same thing. It can't be super bulky, so it has to be on the dense side, like bean salad with greens. I make a good cold lentil salad, so I'm thinking of that, but maybe something potato-based, like a cold potato salad? Egg salad? Or something based with beans in a wrap?

I welcome your suggestions.

[STT Resident]

The two best-selling salads at my restaurant which I created were these:

Mandarin Salad
Mesclun greens or similar with feta cheese, black olives, thinly sliced red onion, canned mandarin orange halves, canned artichoke (either hearts or bottoms) and pecan halves with a lemon herb dressing.

Lemon herb dressing: 1/2 cup vidalia onion dressing shaken with 1/4 cup virgin olive oil and 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice. Stores brilliantly without refrigeration.

Red Raspberry Salad

Mesclun greens or similar with crumbled chunks of blue cheese, thinly sliced red onion, frozen or fresh raspberries, artichokes as above, and chopped walnuts with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

Raspberry vinaigrette dressing: In the alcohol mix section of the supermarket you can find bottles of thick raspberry mix used in "slushy" drinks. 1/2 cup of that shaken with 1/4 cup virgin olive oil and 1/4 cup raspberry vinegar. Best refrigerated.

Both of these are incredibly tasty with great texture diversity and if extra "bulk" is needed, any kind of good crusty white bread is a great accompaniment.

Enjoy!

[JustJulia]

Thanks STT!

[JustJulia]

It seems like nobody here eats lunch ... that can't be true.

Here's what I have come up with so far.

Lentil salad (steamed lentils from Trader Joe's, green onions, dried cranberries, finely chopped walnuts, Italian dressing) with mixed greens

Deviled eggs over spinach with honey-mustard dressing (the deviled eggs are made with honey mustard too, very yum) and grape tomatoes

Deviled eggs over spinach with champagne-dill mustard dressing (sounds fancy but the mustard is prepared) and steamed red potatoes

Red potato salad with artichoke hearts and mixed greens (and white beans? not sure about protein)

Cheese tortellini salad with mixed greens and carrots, maybe olives


STT, both those salads look great too. I have to take it easy on the nuts with my husband (ahem), and he hates soft cheeses. But the dressings sound amazing, and I think I could adapt your recipes a little.

[jasper12]

I got a subscription to "Vegetarian Times", you might want to do that for some ideas. They had an awesome cauliflower mac n cheese that I made. Really great ideas for lunches, and veg recipes when part of the family is non veg.

[IlonaG]

Originally Posted by jasper12

I got a subscription to "Vegetarian Times", you might want to do that for some ideas. They had an awesome cauliflower mac n cheese that I made. Really great ideas for lunches, and veg recipes when part of the family is non veg.

Great Magazine! I have it on my Kindle

As for Lunch - I don't do big lunches. I am not Vegan and really love cheese, so sometimes I'll bring a small cheese, cracker, fruit and veggie mix. There are also many meatless 'cold cuts' available now so you can always make a sandwich. Or put it in a Pita and add veggies of choice.
If you like soup, you can make a nice Ramen (Asian supermarkets sell a meatless soup base) with veggies.

[AnonChick]

Tuna salad (for everyone except the son).
PB&J, PB&Preserves, PB&Fluff, PB&nothing, PB&celery
Hummus and pita.

One of my favorites:
Pita stuffed with green-leaf lettuce/romaine, feta cheese, bite-sized chunks of ripe tomato, calamata olives, (falafel also if a hot lunch is possible that day - chickpeas if not), roasted sunflower seeds, and glued together with fresh-made tahini dressing.

Bruschetta and garlic bread, with a small wedge of parmaseano reggiano.

Onion chutney on sesame wafers, and a side of plain yoghurt (yes, it's a weird combo, but it's delish).

[Cliffie]

You can make excellent cold meatloaf sandwiches with cold lentil loaf and a hearty bread, like Brownberry 12-Grain. Make a salad out of chopped apples and oranges and some cinnamon. Whip up a rice pilaf (Near East brand is vegan) with a can of veggies added for reheating in Tupperware. Big crock of soup!!!!

[SLCPUNK]

Hummus with whole wheat pita chips and veggies for dipping.

[Cliffie]

All week I've been eating whopping bug salads made of nothing but chopped navel oranges, chopped apples, and tons and tons of cinnamon.