Lunch Ideas

[Raynne413]

I'm trying to eat as raw of a lunch as I can and I'm looking for ideas. I work 10 hours a day, so I need something that can be prepared the night before, and sit in the fridge for awhile, and something that doesn't require a TON of effort. Any ideas or suggestions would be great!

[sport]

If I need to take lunch with me somewhere I usually take a bag of mango chunks and a bag of papaya chunks.

[Raynne413]

Well, normally for lunch, I prefer something more savory and less sweet. My breakfast is all fruit, and if I eat too much fruit, I get this odd taste in my mouth, so I try to offset it at lunch.

Thank you though!

[MysticTree]

i make up a big bowl of finely shredded red and white cabbage, grated carrot, celery, white or red onion, sweet peppers and dressing it with my raw dressing. I marinate some sliced portobello mushrooms in a little more of the dressing in a separate bowl and then when the mushroom juices run, I add them to the main salad. Thyme and lemon thyme sprigs are good tossed in too.

That is my base. It is good just on it's own but then I take a small selection of sprouts and some cucumber and tomatoes which I add on top if I want extra. To make it a really big evening meal type meal I add an avocado.

It is very filling. Today I just had the basic salad.

Georgina

[Raynne413]

I love mushrooms! I think I may try making some raw sauces and putting it over veggie noodles! Thanks!!

[laura-jane]

Well, this isn't revolutionary, but I do this quite frequently when I'm in a rush.

I pack a big, nice tomato, an avocado and some carrots (baby if I'm really lazy). I throw them in the fridge at work.

When lunch rolls around I chop the tomato, avocado and carrots and sprinkle with pepper and sea salt and mix together in a bowl.

It sounds boring but it's actually quite tasty and pretty filling too. I would then finish off with some fruit--probably two oranges and a few nuts, like brazil nuts or almonds. There, lunch!

Of course, this only works if you have access to a knife and cutting board at work during lunch.

[Mary Kay]

Lately I've been doing fruit smoothies for breakfast, and am trying to make lunch my heavier meal of the day, then just juice and a light snack for dinner (I'm trying to lose weight)

So my heavy lunch meal is sometimes chia pudding:

3 parts Coconut milk (you could strain it or not)
to 1 part chia seeds and a little ground or milled flax.

a couple raisins or dried blueberries
cinnamon
vanilla
a pinch of salt

I make the coconut milk the night before and throw it all together in the a.m. You could also make the whole thing the night before and have it chilled in the fridge, and not chill it at all during the day, so it's not real cold by lunchtime.



Mary Kay

[Zennifer]

When I was working, I LIVED on salads for lunch.

My favorite "go to salads" were
- Strawberry spinach salad with raw pine nuts
- Kale salads - marinated in lemon juice, tiny bit of EVOO and himalayan salt
- Kale salad with a dressing made from raw tahini, garlic, nama shoyu and EVOO

If I ran out of time, Whole Foods has a raw kale salad that I'd pick up or a Lara Bar type food and whole fruit.

Many times I came here for recipes for salad dressings or even raw soup ideas. It kept me raw and healthy during a 3 month stint where I was constantly racing from work to classes.

[LaniB]

Mine is similar to Laura-Jane's except instead of carrots I use zucchini pasta.

I make a batch on Sunday night -enough to last me about 3 days. Then I bring some in a bowl as well as a tomato and an avocado. I chop up the tomato & avocado and stir it in with the zucchini along with a little sea salt and cayenne pepper. Very tasty. :-)

[RawLibrarian]

I just posted this on a thread about what people ate today:

"Taco" salad without nuts (here is the basic recipe: chop a couple of tomatoes, about 1/2 of a red or yellow pepper, a couple of stalks of celery, 2-3 green onions, 1/4 of a jalapeno pepper (or to taste), and 1/2 a cucumber into a 'salsa', then add cumin and salt to taste). Put on top of greens of choice (I am using romaine lettuce). Top with 1/2 to 1 whole avocado mixed with some lime juice and mashed into a guacamole texture, and some fresh cilantro. Stir everything well together, then eat. (You could also add raw pepitas as well, or raw corn.) This is one of my very favorite meals--quick, nutritious, tasty, and every ingredient is readily available at the grocery store except the raw pepitas.

You could make everything ahead and have it the next day, but it might be better to make everything ahead except the avocado topping and make that right before you wanted to eat. If you have a fridge at work, this could easily be done.

A wrap (big romaine lettuce leaf) filled with home-made hummous and home-made tabouli (chopped parsley and cilantro, some tomatoes, some sliced olives, some green onions, EVOO, lemon juice, and hemp seed in lieu of cracked wheat). You could pack the hummous and tabouli in separate containers and bring some romaine or collard leaves with you and assemble the wrap right before you eat it, so it doesn't get soggy.

I also bring savory green smoothies to work with me in a steel bottle.

There are several recipes for not-tuna salad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK4EdmliApM) available; you could make that ahead and bring it, with some crudites, for lunch.

[Raynne413]

Raw Librarian, I have a question for you. I recently tried making raw hummus with zucchini, but all the recipes I've found call for 1/2-3/4 cup tahini, and that makes it SOOOOO bitter. What recipe do you use?

I'm starting to lean towards salads. They are simple to put together, and you can vary the ingredients a lot, and just make my own dressings.

[RawLibrarian]

Raw Librarian, I have a question for you. I recently tried making raw hummus with zucchini, but all the recipes I've found call for 1/2-3/4 cup tahini, and that makes it SOOOOO bitter. What recipe do you use?

Here is the recipe I use from Jenny Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy--as you can see, it calls for drastically less tahini than you are using. This recipe makes 1 cup of hummous:

1 zucchini, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups--she says to peel the zucchini but since I use organic, I don't bother.)
2 tablespoons raw tahini [my emphasis]
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt

Process all ingredients with the S blade of a food processor until smooth. You will probably have to stop and scrape down the sides of the processor bowl with a spatula.

I am sure you could also use a high-speed blender; I use my food processor. I make this all the time and it is not bitter--probably because so much less tahini is used.

Hope this helps.

[Raynne413]

Thanks! I can't wait to try this one! Now I just have to make it through my bitter recipe! I hate wasting!

[Lady Green Jeans]

Nine hour days here. Salads are a staple with a variety of toppings and different lettuces to keep shaking it up as to not get bored.

I also have been doing raw hummus with cucumber rounds as the dippers.

One of my favorite lunches--esp. in warmer weather is the pineapple cucumber gazpacho.

Wraps with any of Alissa's fillings are also very good. A little assembly effort would of course be needed.

Coudl alternately stuff one of the fillings into a tomato or hollowed out bell pepper.

I am going to use the taco salad idea submitted. Didn't think of doing that before.

[MysticTree]

Can you advise as to the best way (if possible) to make raw "breads" without a dehydrator. I think I miss bread.

[LaniB]

RE - Bread recipes - I made the Rawvolution onion bread last week ... super tasty & easy!! And great to have with a salad at lunch to make it a little more substantial.

Google and you'll find the recipe posted online.

Slice the onions super thin though. I did mine too thick so ended up putting the whole mix in the Vita-Mix ... still turned out great though. One of my SAD co-workers tried it and said it was amazing!

[MysticTree]

thanks I'll take a look later when I get my lunch break

[MysticTree]

sadly it needs a dehydrator :(

[myndzai]

Yummy. Some great ideas; both for me and to accompany my bf's otherwise SAD work lunch (he gets lots of raw recipes as side dishes). I like to make Alissa's vegetable nori wraps. Make everything the night before and refrigerate. I even slice the avocado and squeeze a little lemon or lime on them -- but I don't mind a bit of brownness. As for the nori however . . . I just assemble the wrap in the morning. I like to slice it into sushi size bites to make it easier to eat (nori can tear kind of funny).

Then if I want a little larger meal, I bring along kale chips (I've made them with other greens too, like chard), onion bread, or crackers. If I have a sweet tooth (which isn't unusual) I take an oatmeal cookie, brownie, or some dessert. Maybe even a healthy apple ;-}

[MyRedPanda]

I mostly do salads or either I will soak oats and chia seeds the night before and bring that to eat with some protein powder that I mix in at lunch time. Also on some days just fruit, fruit, and more fruit. And I know this is horrible but some days I don't eat lunch.

[LaniB]

sadly it needs a dehydrator :(

Sorry - I should have reread the beginning of your post - I didn't realize that was a restriction. :(

But when and if you do get a dehydrator, that onion bread is so super simple!! I might make more tomorrow. :eat

Tomorrow I am planning to have a simple salad with avocado & tomato for lunch. I also keep bottles of apple cider vinegar & olive oil at my desk, so if the salad needs dressing I'm all set. :-)

I also eat fresh fruit as snacks at work.

[DandelionPuff]

I always pack my lunch for school the night before.
I usually have a salad or some mixed leftovers.

Here are some of my favorite recipes:

2-3 grated carrots
Some chopped broccoli
Kale
Sunflower seeds
pepitas
raisins
apple
olive oil
lemon juice
salt

Chop the broccoli and kale and massage the olive oil (around 1 T) and lemon juice (1/2-1 lemon) into them. Add the grated carrots, seeds, raisins, and chop up the apple and add it. Salt to taste. This is great because the flavors really meld overnight :)

I also like having any marinated veggies. I just marinated some chard and broccoli in olive oil, salt, lemon juive, red wing vinegar, and oregano, and it tastes wonderful!! Any herbs work great, I really like using tamari too. As long as you have enough oil and salt in there, the veggies will turn out soo yummy! Again, this tastes better as it chills more, but I usually shake the tupperware violently to get the oils in the veggies.

Here's one of my favorite meals too:
http://dandelionroots.blogspot.com/2011/05/macarawne-and-cheez.html

Ohh! And if you blend 1/2 head cauliflower with about 1/2 C soaked cashews (4 hours) with some cumin, paprika, curry, salt, tumeric, and cayenne, you get a really tasty Indian mash. I'll add whatever veggies I have to that with some raisins.

I probably look like a freak most the time when I eat these things in school since I eat during class, but whatever. Gotta love being healthy! :throwhearts:

Just to tell you, the cauliflower mash can smell pretty strong. I think it smells alluring, but to the typical American, it's not :p

[Raynne413]

Ohh! And if you blend 1/2 head cauliflower with about 1/2 C soaked cashews (4 hours) with some cumin, paprika, curry, salt, tumeric, and cayenne, you get a really tasty Indian mash. I'll add whatever veggies I have to that with some raisins.

I probably look like a freak most the time when I eat these things in school since I eat during class, but whatever. Gotta love being healthy! :throwhearts:

Just to tell you, the cauliflower mash can smell pretty strong. I think it smells alluring, but to the typical American, it's not :p

Mmmmmm. . . I love curry!

[Nini]

i make up a big bowl of finely shredded red and white cabbage, grated carrot, celery, white or red onion, sweet peppers and dressing it with my raw dressing. I marinate some sliced portobello mushrooms in a little more of the dressing in a separate bowl and then when the mushroom juices run, I add them to the main salad. Thyme and lemon thyme sprigs are good tossed in too.

That is my base. It is good just on it's own but then I take a small selection of sprouts and some cucumber and tomatoes which I add on top if I want extra. To make it a really big evening meal type meal I add an avocado.

This is a great idea!

[T-Bird]

today I made walnut taco meat and salsa, bought the guac premade....

going to do romaine taco boats....yummy!

and portable.....

[MysticTree]

today I made walnut taco meat and salsa, bought the guac premade....

going to do romaine taco boats....yummy!

and portable.....

sounds really good. I don't make salsa often enough.

Flavour of the day here is Florence Fennel.

[Raynne413]

Mmmmm. . . the tacos do sound good!

[Shona]

Hi everyone, I am new to this but wanted to share my new chia cereal product with you. Its a great lunch and snack.

Read the response I posted in your other thread and please stop spamming. Thanks. :)

And for what it's worth, chia cereal/pudding is one of the easiest things ever to make at home. Probably much cheaper to make your own as well.

[January Noir]

Here is the recipe I use from Jenny Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy--as you can see, it calls for drastically less tahini than you are using. This recipe makes 1 cup of hummous:

1 zucchini, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups--she says to peel the zucchini but since I use organic, I don't bother.)
2 tablespoons raw tahini [my emphasis]
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt

Process all ingredients with the S blade of a food processor until smooth. You will probably have to stop and scrape down the sides of the processor bowl with a spatula.

I am sure you could also use a high-speed blender; I use my food processor. I make this all the time and it is not bitter--probably because so much less tahini is used.

Hope this helps.

I love Jennifer's book. Next to Alissa's it's my go-to suggestion for people who want to prepare raw dishes. Everything is so easy to make and delicious too.

[kjduf]

I have the lazy man's lunch right now. I bought the brocoli slaw in a bag, added some more carrots, put salt and pepper on it and squeezed a lemon on it. Took all of 5 minutes to prepare this morning. I work 9 hours and it holds me over. You could forgo the lemon and add a avocado, thats sounds good too!