What do vegetarians actually eat? Part two: Lunch
I thought it was about time for part 2 of my ‘what do vegetarians actually eat?’ mini-series. It’s lunch time! If you missed all my breakfast inspiration, check that out first – then come back for lunch.
As I mentioned last time, this series will hopefully be useful for two reasons:
Firstly, if you’re a vegetarian and you’re constantly asked ‘what do you actually eat?’, you now have a place to send people! It’s a pretty obnoxious question (depending on context, obviously – I’m sure there are some well-meaning people who are genuinely curious, and that’s fine!), and it’s one that’s asked all too often, so hopefully these blog posts will give you an easy response.
Secondly, I hope this little series will help out any vegetarians (or anyone else!) who need a bit of new inspiration. If it wasn’t for this blog, I’d probably eat the same ten meals on rotation – it’s nice to not have to think too much when cooking. But it’s also nice to eat a varied diet! So hopefully you’ll find some new ideas here.
The idea of this post isn’t necessarily that you come away with specific recipes in mind – more just that you get some new ideas for the kinds of things you could make / eat for lunch, and feel inspired to try something different this week.
Let’s get right down to it! I’ve split this post up into a few sections to make it easier to navigate.
What do vegetarians actually eat for lunch?
Sandwiches etc
There are lots of sandwich filling ideas in this post! Here are a few more:
– cheddar cheese with anything – salad, Branston pickle, Marmite, apple slices, hummus, etc (probably not all together!)
– chickpea salad sandwiches, which I make differently every time – any combination of veggies works nicely. Avocado chickpea salad is a favourite too, as is this creamy lemon version.
– tofu is great in sandwiches, especially if it’s fried until really, really crispy – try my tofu bacon BLTs
– hummus and thinly sliced veggies (cucumber, carrot, radishes)
– green goddess sandwiches
– fresh mozzarella with sliced tomatoes and basil
– if you’re feeling naughty, add a few crisps to your sandwich for an extra bit of crunch, like in my epic avocado sandwich
– and one of my favourite sandwiches ever – halloumi with sun-dried tomatoes
– wraps – use your favourite sandwich fillings, but with a bit less bread.
– bagels, croissants, baguettes, baps, muffins (this kind not this kind!), or any other kind of bread you fancy, filled with your favourite sandwich fillings. Some combinations will work better than others!
– tortilla roll-ups – little bite-sized nibbles that you can fill with whatever you fancy. These are definitely one of my favourite options.
– or if you want to avoid bread altogether, my low-carb cauliflower tortillas are a great alternative and work with all sorts of fillings.
– cheese on toast / Welsh rarebit
Soups
Soups are a great way to use up whatever you have in the fridge. Make a big batch each weekend, and eat it through the week – you’ll have no more wasted veggies, and a healthy lunch ready to go every day.
– Veggie soup – just fry up whatever veggies you have in the fridge, then add vegetable stock and simmer until they’re cooked. Add herbs and spices for extra flavour, and grains for bulk. Blend (or don’t!) and serve. A few examples:
– creamy leek and potato soup
– 15 minute tomato soup
– creamy spring vegetable soup
– creamy coconut corn chowder
– kale and asparagus Asian broth
– creamy cauliflower cheese soup
– quick red Thai curry noodle soup
– Bean soup – chickpeas, beans and lentils are a great way to make soup more filling and protein-rich. Use the same method as above, and make the soup smooth or chunky. Some ideas:
– 15 minute black bean soup
– spicy three bean soup
– Thai green curry spinach soup with chickpeas
– smoky coconut butternut squash soup with lentils
– Slow cooker soup – same as above, but throw everything in the slow cooker. The low, slow cooking will break everything down and give maximum flavour for minimum effort. For example:
– veggie-packed slow cooker black bean soup
– slow cooker French onion soup
– slow cooker wild rice and mushroom soup
– slow cooker loaded baked potato soup
Salads
Start with a leafy green – lettuce, kale, spinach, etc. Add beans or nuts for protein, plenty of other veggies for flavour, and grains for bulk. Finish everything off with a tasty dressing. Depending on your ingredient choices, they can also be served warm or cold. The possibilities are endless! Here are a few.
– superfood kale salad
– artichoke and feta quinoa salad
– wild rice and kale salad with smoky sweet potatoes
– avocado caprese salad
– cheese and onion salad with walnuts and grapes
Other lunches
– Ploughman’s lunch – a lump of cheddar cheese with chunks of apple and bread, a bit of Branston pickle, and some salad
– sausage rolls (vegetarian of course) – made either with vegetarian sausages, or with something totally different, like my lentils rolls
– a slice of quiche or tart, served with salad
– beans on toast
– frittata or omelette, served with a bit of bread or salad
– savoury flapjacks (great for lunch boxes!)
– hummus, guacamole or another dip (I like spinach dip), served with veggies, tortilla chips, pitta bread, etc. for dipping
– tikka mushrooms, served in pitta with salad
– crepes stuffed with your choice of filling
– lettuce wraps – a great low-carb option!
– roasted chickpeas – great with salad or just as a snack. My favourite is pizza roasted chickpeas!
– fritters, which can be made with all kinds of veggies and are great served with salad (e.g. corn and avocado fritters, or broccoli and feta fritters)
– tortilla pizza – just top a flour tortilla with whatever you fancy, and pop it under the grill
– pasta salad, with loads of veggies and a dollop of pesto
Do you have any other easy vegetarian lunch ideas? I’d love to hear, so feel free to share your ideas in the comments below! Tell me – what do vegetarians actually eat for lunch?
Ooh tikka mushrooms is new to me! Looks a lot like chicken from the photo so I’d never have known. Must try that dish out for myself :)
They’re so tasty, you definitely should try them!
This is a great post full of so many cool recipes!! Thanks for sharing.
I’m not a vegetarian, but I enjoy good and healthy food :)
Soups are completely brilliant for when we are having meat free days. Of course, beans on toast is a favourite in this house – I can’t imagine how other people with 3 kids manage if they don’t do Beans on Toast!
Beans on toast is so underrated! Need to make it more often.
What a great vegi round up. Some really yummy meals there I could eat over and over.
i do love how theres a variety as people always assume they just eat salads all the time
Haha I barely ever eat salad! Not a fan :)
I spent 6 years vegetarian and made just as wonderful meals, I would make 2 versions.
One with meat and one without and always created such gorgeous meals, even the vegetarian option everyone loved!
Such a gorgeous array of dishes
You perfectly demonstrate how vegetarian food is NOT boring! I usually eat beans, chickpea or lentils for lunch with salad or quinoa :)
I love this post as it shows just how much variety there is without having to eat meat. I’ll definitely try out some of your ideas as I’m trying to incorporate more veggie meals into my diet xxx
Going to check all of those salads out and I always get stuck on what to have for lunch x
Mmmm yum! A gorgeous collection of recipes! I really ought to eat more vegetarian meals.
Ooh, there seems to be a lot of delicious vegetarian meals. I’ve considered becoming a vegetarian a few times.
OK these all look absolutely amazing – I want to try them all. I have to admit I’m not a huge meat fan so it’s great to find new things to try! x
Such a great all round post! Included so much! I’m not a vegetarians but I do often eat a lot of no-meat lunches although most of these seem a lot more extravagant than what I eat, can’t go wrong with cheese on toast!
I do love a good cheese on toast! ;)
Lovely looking dishes for vegetarians here. So handy.
So many wonderful vegetarian dishes! I’m not a vegetarian but I don’t eat meat often, I really prefer eating vegetarian dishes!
the pics look delicious I would eat any of them! I have friends who are vegetarian and they say its the healthiest way of life!
xx
lau
http://www.malibluemymind.com
I really struggle with how to serve vegetables or eat more vegetables in a unique way. These are such great ideas and sound so tasty too!
Well with these ideas I’m ready to sign up to be a veggie! H x
Haha it’s a great idea to eat veggie, even just once a week or something – great for the environment, not to mention your bank account :)
Great series, there’s so many silly misconceptions surrounding what we eat!
All that food looks and sounds so delicious! x
What a great series! I hate when I get asked that question!!
I eat veggie most days (not by conviction, just because it is tasty and also better for the environment), and this post just gave me so many new ideas. I can’t wait to make food later!
Thanks Elodie, so glad you’ve found some inspiration here! :)
I love this Becca – I often get into a rut with the same meals and there’s SO MUCH inspiration here!
SO much choice here. I don’t understand how people don’t know what vegetarians eat haha.
It’s such a bizarre thing to have trouble with, but I really do get asked this quite often! I guess if people are used to meat and two veg, it can be hard to figure out what to make when you take the meat away.
i love all the veggies in here (esp the sesame kale!). and the double hit of protein from the edamame and tofu sounds perfect; i end up hungry an hour after lunch if i don’t get enough protein.
I want those tortilla rollups in the top photo. Like right now.
They are one of my absolute favourite lunches! They’re dangerous though, it’s so easy to say ‘just one more’!
I absolutely love this! I often try to go meatless for a day and have such a hard time! Thanks for the suggestions…perfect!!
Keep an eye out for the dinner round-up then, coming soon :)
What a fabulous list! I’m definitely bookmarking this to share with all our vegetarian friends. We’re not vegetarians ourselves, but we’re preeeettty close to it with the ratios, so there’s heaps here I’m looking forward to trying. But seriously? You had me at haloumi with sun-dried tomatoes. Epic combo! :D
It’s SUCH a good combination! Seriously my favourite ever, it never gets old :)
My go veggie lunch is hummus with carrot sticks. I love these ideas for changing up my mid day meal!
All of these are lovely and delicious! I was vegetarian for 8 years and I was constantly asked “what do you eat?” (it was hard not to be sarcastic). I practically lived on Indian food, it’s a wonder I didn’t turn into a chickpea!
It can be hard to know what to reply without being rude can’t it! Hopefully this post will help :D
I am literally bookmarking this post for inspo because I always eat peanut butter sarnies and I want to change it up a bit!
To be fair I do love a bit of peanut butter! ;)
Bean based soups are a real lunch fave around here – that hit of protein and fibre is so great at the middle of the day!
Such a great list of vegetarian lunches Becca! My favourite vegetarian lunch is probably hummus and cheese sandwich but I also love chickpea salad.
I’m actually not that keen on hummus, which is weird considering how much I love chickpeas! I do like it, but would rarely choose it if there’s another option. Bad vegetarian! ;)
I meant fantastic of course in my comment above:))
This is a faintstic roundup of vegetarian meal options!!! Great post
During the school year when I am working, a typical lunch is pea pods or carrots and hummus and a frozen Amy’s burrito. Plus some chocolate. If I have leftovers from the weekend, that is welcome, too. All this looks good, though, but I have no ability to prep anything during the week. :)
Ooh I think we can actually get those Amy’s burritos in the UK – are they worth trying?
Well, I do like them! I usually put some hot sauce on them, but they are pretty good! Really nice to have something yummy and fast!
Will pick some up next time I spot them :)