Recipe Round-Up: Vegan Lunch Box

Several years ago, the blog Vegan Lunch Box was all the rage, and the book Vegan Lunch Box was released. It was full of cute lunchbox menus and spawned a wild craze for adorable bento-style lunch boxes. I don't really have such an adorable lunchbox system, but I make do with various containers around my house. I should note that these menus were designed for a school day, my work days are considerably longer, so I often had to add extra snacks.

Quick & Easy Menu Page 28

• Nut Butter & Jelly Cut-Outs
• Banana
• Carrot and Celery Sticks
• Easy Ranch Dip
• Soy Smoothie

I skipped the fun-cut option for my PB&J (strawberry jam is always my choice) and took it as a regular sandwich. The ranch dip was a bit meh and runny if you use all the soy milk. And I took a mango smoothie that I made at home.
Rating: Overall :), Dip :|

Quick & Easy Menu Page 36

• Bagel with Cream Cheese
• Green Beans and Carrots in a Tarragon Vinaigrette
• Red grapes
• Animal crackers

This was meant to be mini-bagels, but again I went with a full sized bagel slathered with Tofutti cream cheese. The carrots and beans had a bright, tangy dressing which were nice with the bagel. The animal crackers were an accidentally vegan brand that I bought, but I can't remember what they were!
Rating: Overall :), Beans and Carrots :)

Quick & Easy Menu Page 46

• Veggie Burger
• Sweet Potato Oven Fries
• Wheat-Free Apple Crisp
• Extra snack: Carrot sticks and hummus

The veggie burger is a construct of pre-purchased goodies - a Fry's burger patty, Toffuti cheese slice, soy mayo and salad. I love the sweet potato fries on the side, they include garlic powder that gives a great flavour. The crisp was nice, but there are nicer topping recipes out there. I added an extra snack for this. It was also meant to have amazake as a beverage, but I couldn't find any.
Rating: Overall :), Burger :), Fries :D, Crisp :)

Ready & Waiting Menu Page 145

• Veggie Tea Sandwiches
• Blueberry Lemon Mini-Scones
• Fresh strawberries and purple grapes
• Kid's Iced Tea

The book gives a range of filling choices for your dainty tea sandwiches - I used cucumber, cream cheese and dill and also Nuttelex, radish and salt. I love little tea sandwiches! The scones are super quick to make and super delicious to eat! The iced tea is a combination of apple juice (make sure to get cloudy!) and tea - I used the Red Green Dreamy mix from T2. I skipped the sugar.
Rating: Overall :D, Sandwiches :), Scones :D, Tea :)

Ready & Waiting Menu Page 151

• Pizza Shop Breadsticks
• Sneaky Momma's Tomato Sauce for Dipping
• Frozen vegetable and bean medley
• Fresh blueberries and plums

The breadsticks are made from scratch, and they are twirled around a filling of nooch, sesame seeds, salt, garlic and granules. The sauce is nice, with basil, kale and carrots in it. It is meant to be blended until smooth, but as I don't need to hide my vegetables I left it chunky. The medley was literally some four bean mix and some frozen peas and corn (they thaw for a pretty delicious snacks).
Rating: Overall :), Breadsticks :), Sauce :)

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I know you want to see more of Abbey in her birthday hat!