What did you have for lunch?

[betiPT]

Baked Potatoes with diced cucumbers and a side of salsa and Aussie mustard. A couple of veg wraps and peanut putter & jam wrap I was hungry

 

[VeganUnderstand.com]

I turned on the stove and as soon as that sizzle from the pan kicked in and yummy smells started wafting, I knew I was in business. Ready to spring into action (maybe even before the sun peeks through the trees?). This vegan Shamrock Breakfast Sandwich should do the trick. Spicy, sweet, toasty, green and pepper aromas coming to a kitchen near you...

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The Sandwich. Make those leprechauns super jealous...

Creamy chipotle jalapeno sauce drizzles and melts over top tender avocado, a pepper-chipotle spiced vegan sausage patty, buttery pan-toasted pepitas, shallot-infused kale and plenty of fine pepper. All on a toasted English muffin

 

[amberfunk]

Had an ethiopian inspired dish with red potatoes, carrots, mustard greens. onions, green beans and orange pepper.

 

[Nekodaiden]

Lazy lunch: tofu, carrot, more wombok cabbage, salsa, more wholewheat bread and more chickpea nuts.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Mediterranean sandwich with red pepper hummus, spinach, cucumber, olives, melted vegan provolone, onion, tomato, and balsamic vinaigrette. Side of fries, and this delicious hibiscus rosehip tea with lime.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Sourdough toast with Vegenaise, topped with sauteed mushrooms, spinach and onion with a little red wine vinegar, and a small plain avocado.

 

[amberfunk]

Made a huge pot of vegetable soup. It has kale, carrots, turnip, parsnip, celery, jasmine rice, white onion, shallot, leek and greenbeans in it. It tastes amazing. Been eating it on and off since it's been done. Still like half a pot left. No one else is eating it

 

[Nekodaiden]

Lunch was a few sandwiches filled with hash brown patties, some iceberg lettuce, ketchup, mustard, tomato slices and salt. I also had some homemade corn nuts I made last night.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Lunch today was a berry smoothie at a local grocery store (I guess kind of the inverse of the old fashioned soda counter, we have a juice counter in ours) and also a locally made wrap of some sort. I bought it from the same grocery store, I see them on campus too, it's like a tortilla wrapped around Mediterranean ingredients, all vegan or vegetarian, in different flavors. My favorite is the one with the olive tapenade, which is vegan, of course.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Made a huge pot of vegetable soup. It has kale, carrots, turnip, parsnip, celery, jasmine rice, white onion, shallot, leek and greenbeans in it. It tastes amazing. Been eating it on and off since it's been done. Still like half a pot left. No one else is eating it

D'aww...it might make you sad when no one else eats it, but you can freeze it for two months from now when you're either bored, broke, or lazy in the mood for soup. One of my roommates and I are both vegan but we eat kind of differently (which I hope is a reassuring example for our other two "flexitarian" roommates who shun red meat and nothing else, that we are both vegan but have individual diets) and sometimes she and I share food, but it's not always feasible so the freezer has really become my friend especially as a college student.

 

[Veganite]

I had a vegan pizza from a local bakery today. It was unbelievable. The toppings were yam, broccoli, red onion, and ground macadamia. I usually like vegan cheese on my pizza, but this one didn't have any, and wow, tasty! The macadamia nuts gave it a rich and delicious, cheesy flavour. Anyone else tried macadamia nuts as a cheesy topping?

 

[Forest Nymph]

I had a vegan pizza from a local bakery today. It was unbelievable. The toppings were yam, broccoli, red onion, and ground macadamia. I usually like vegan cheese on my pizza, but this one didn't have any, and wow, tasty! The macadamia nuts gave it a rich and delicious, cheesy flavour. Anyone else tried macadamia nuts as a cheesy topping?

Wow that does sound cool! I had never thought about macadamia nuts, except for in Hawaiin desserts. I've also never had yam on pizza. When I lived in LA I used to go to local pizza places a lot and they had all sorts of interesting toppings for vegans (and anyone else) but never yams or macadamia nuts.

 

[Veganite]

That was the first time I ever had yam on pizza, myself. The macadamia nuts really gave it a nice flavour. It was all nicely seasoned, which helps.

 

[Three Chickpeas]

A concoction of brown rice, kidney beans, mushrooms, nori (seaweed), topped with a sushi sauce.

 

[Emma JC]

my one pot lunch favourite - boil water insert lots of frozen baby brussel sprouts, after a few minutes add soft udon noodles and with two minutes left to go add greens (today was arugula) - pour over rinsed (1/2 can) lentils and then into bowl

topped with hot sauce, lemon juice, rice vinegar and a drizzle of tahini

yum! Emma JC

 

[Forest Nymph]

A spinach wrap with house-made hummus, tons of different veggies, and Thai peanut sauce. Then a salad plate of watermelon chunks, fresh blueberries, and a bit of light fruit cocktail. A small glass of papaya guava juice to drink.

A really delicious healthy lunch!

I get nostalgic for the cafeteria sometimes because it's the first place I ate a real meal when I moved here. I remember having salad, soup and refried beans and being so excited about being here looking out the big picture windows.

But this lunch is so expensive on campus if you don't have a housing plan that I may as well have gone to a restaurant in town. I'm talking $8 with meal plan versus $12 in cash, it's highway robbery. Lol. But buying an off campus meal plan is like a thousand dollars up front for the semester, even though you save long term if you eat here regularly. Nope.

 

[Forest Nymph]

A spinach wrap with house-made hummus, tons of different veggies, and Thai peanut sauce. Then a salad plate of watermelon chunks, fresh blueberries, and a bit of light fruit cocktail. A small glass of papaya guava juice to drink.

A really delicious healthy lunch!

I get nostalgic for the cafeteria sometimes because it's the first place I ate a real meal when I moved here. I remember having salad, soup and refried beans and being so excited about being here looking out the big picture windows.

But this lunch is so expensive on campus if you don't have a housing plan that I may as well have gone to a restaurant in town. I'm talking $8 with meal plan versus $12 in cash, it's highway robbery. Lol. But buying an off campus meal plan is like a thousand dollars up front for the semester, even though you save long term if you eat here regularly. Nope.

Also before anyone gets too shocked by the prices at my uni caf, I want to make a full disclosure that it's a very bougie cafeteria with the picture windows and a full salad and fruit bar that puts most restaurants to shame. It's really a medical cafeteria, the kind of cafeteria you see in nice hospitals. We got an A+ rating from Peta2 for vegan options because at every breakfast there's oatmeal and toppings like cinnamon and dried cranberries, fried potatoes, tofu scramble, fresh fruits and juices, coffee and tea, and once a week there's vegan sausages; at every lunch there's a sandwich bar on one side stocked with Tofurky, Vegenaise, some sort of vegan cheese, and avocado, and on the hot bar there's at least one vegan protein (beans or tofu) plus the full salad bar, and most days there's a vegan soup; at every dinner there's at least one steamed vegetable to add to the salad and fruit, plus a "make your own" stir fry complete with all the fixings, rice, noodles, and local tofu. That's not even mentioning the pre-packaged vegan yogurts, Luna bars, potato chips, soy milks, local vegan chocolate, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something, like the occasionally veggie burger nights, or special lunches where they make vegan spinach enchiladas by surprise, it's not always predictable, but often on "Meatless Monday."

They try to source everything as locally and organically as they can, compost all their food waste, recycle, give discounts for bringing your own cup or mug, and some items are literally made from scratch, like the school hummus and the vegan carrot-ginger curry soup.

There's also a way to budget your meal plan, obviously. Just have oatmeal, soy milk, and coffee for breakfast; a peanut butter sandwich or beans and rice for lunch; and splurge more on dinner. I got into a bad habit at one point a couple semesters ago of making tofu scramble burritos in the morning frequently, and boy that got pricey. You could be vegan in the school caf for less than 10 dollars for three meals a day with the meal plan, though obviously that's still more expensive than eating at home, which you can obviously do for half that.

I love their salad bar though, and I can't figure out what sort of voodoo they do to their vegan refried beans. I've never had anything like them out of a can, so it can't be that, some Taco Tuesdays I literally go get a plate of vegan refried beans for less than two dollars. The portobello mushroom tacos obviously have to be skipped sometimes, as they kick the price up a considerable notch.

 

[Nekodaiden]

Banana, date and raspberry smoothie, followed by a Vegan egg (premade chickpea nuts (as flour with onion and garlic flavor) crushed flax seeds, water, black salt.

 

[Three Chickpeas]

1/2 cup (dry) brown rice, 1/2 can of no-salt-added Pinto beans, 1 whole avocado, 2 sheets of Nori.

The avocado and Nori complement each other well.

 

[Nekodaiden]

I had homemade wholewheat wraps with these burger patties made from sweet potatoes and other ingredients, along with salsa and cos lettuce. The patties were nearly all whole food, but a little sweet when I was looking for savory when doing rush grocery shopping before work this morning. They were ok but I don’t think I’ll buy them again.