Can anyone recommend some good veggie lunch ideas?

[StudentHelp]

Hi,
I piled on the weight over summer due to illness and would now like to lose it. I’m doing my best by meal planning 4/5 days in advance for evening meals but keep skipping lunch as I don’t know what to have.

I need something that’s easy to eat cold at uni, is vegetarian and is not overly wet e.g. a curry, soup etc as I have some sensory issues.

I made a pine nut, rocket, tomato and mozzarella pasta salad this week which worked well but would like some other ideas please!

My mam suggested making some savoury muffins with seeds etc in, which I’ll try, but I was looking for a few more ideas. When I searched on all the normal websites (BBC good food etc) a lot of the recipes I liked the look of seemed to be for eating when warm.

Sorry I know it’s a bit of a stupid question!

[getupgonow]

Can you get a soup flask and take in soup? There are loads of good soup recipes out there.

Otherwise I take crisp bread/pita bread and hummus/dip of some kind, cold risotto or similar

[tealady]

Hummus and salad/veggies in a wrap?
Make a frittata for dinner (easy to make) and have a slice cold with salad for lunch.

Its not a stupid question by the way - we all need inspsiration sometimes!

[maxelly]

Not a stupid question at all. I try to have light vegetarian lunches but get really bored of endless soup and sandwiches! I really like 'salads' made with grains e.g couscous, quinoa, bulgar wheat. I say 'salad' as I tend not to include any lettuce in them so not really what most people think of as a salad. Basically cook your grains to packet instructions (you can either buy them dry and cook or buy the pre-made packs which are next to the microwave rice in the supermarket usually, easier but more expensive), then add your veg. I usually do a mixture of roast vegetables, so peppers, tomatos, courgette, aubergine, onion are all nice. You can buy these pre chopped and ready to go in the oven from frozen if you need a quick fix. Sometimes I add some wilted green veg e.g. spinach if you like that. It's also nice to chop in some fresh herbs e.g. mint, parsley, coriander to pep it up a bit as the grains can be a bit bland alone. If I have some I throw in some olives as well. Then I either have a small amount of strong salty cheese e.g. feta or a dressing made of a little bit of olive oil and lemon juice to finish (would this be too 'wet' for you?), or both if I am pushing the boat out! But really you can add loads of different combinations of flavours, whatever works for you. It keeps fine in tupperware overnight in the fridge and then in my bag until lunchtime, I quite often make up a big batch at the start of the week to save time...

You could also try the same vegetable mix in a pitta bread, bagel or wrap perhaps with some cheese as a bit of a different style of sandwich? Add some falafel or hummus for extra protein?

Do you like veggie pies/quiche/tarts? This would be more of a make at start of week or buy in rather than knocking up in the morning before work/uni, but I enjoy doing an easy 'tart' using pre-made/shop bought puff pastry, rolled nice and thin and then topped with a tiny bit of tomato puree or pizza sauce plus my favourite veggies and some cheese, good combos are spinach and ricotta or Mediterranean veg, olives and feta (seeing a theme here?) or red pepper , cherry tomato and chilli with mozzarella. It needs to be baked in the oven for 20 mins ish and will then keep in the fridge for 2-3 days (may be going a bit soggy by day 3!). I usually make a big one, have a slice for dinner and then save the rest for lunches - it's a bit like a mini (cold) pizza!

[Ricekrispie22]

Couscous salad www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10minute-couscous-salad
Pesto pasta salad www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/9040/tortellini-with-pesto-and-broccoli
Greek pasta salad www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2317/greek-pasta-salad
Rice and bean salad www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1897721/mexican-rice-and-bean-salad
Lentil salad www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/puy-lentil-salad-with-feta-mint-and-tomatoes/
Tomato tart www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tomato-tart