Packed lunch ideas for a new vegetarian 15 year old?!
Packed lunch ideas for a new vegetarian 15 year old?
My daughter has recently commited to a new meat-free diet. What are some good foods to pack for her lunch at school?
Answers:
If she's only veggie and not vegan, your task is easy - yogurt, cheese sandwiches, hummus and pita, baba ganoosh and pita (pack it as a dip not a sandwich), lentil soup (very high protein), fresh vegetable sticks, egg salad, rice, miso soup (very high in B vitamins) with tofu cubes, bulgar wheat salad with onions and nuts, etc.
Middle eastern and asian cuisines have lots of vegetarian dishes.
I would suggest a copy of the Moosewood cookbook for good lunch recipes. I would also suggest a good bento box to pack it all in (Mr. Bento is a very cool lunchbox, with separate compartments for soup, rice, and an entree. You can find it on Amazon).
Source(s):
Veggie in high school too.
pasta in tupperware
Honey carrots...they go off........
tell your daughter to get real,.....and eat meat,.....no reason to be a vegetarian,.....
I am a 15 year old vegetarian too. I normally pack a water bottle, PB sandwich, a bag of Planter's Nuts, rice cakes, mixed fruit in plastic tupperware, or edimomi.
pasta salad and a bread stick.
cheese and crackers.
peanut butter sandwiches.
celery and peanut butter.
fruit.
raw veggies and dip.
raisins
trail mix
PBJ's!!! I'm having a craving.. Hummus and salad sandwiches are also really tasty. Pasta salad, quinoa salad, black bean salad. Vegetarian soups or chili in a thermos are good. Bagels with cream cheese. I like bean and rice burritos cold. Fruit, of course. Yogurt and granola is a good treat. You can try the fake lunch meats, but they're a bit expensive, and not to everyone's taste. Try these sites:
Mmmm, I have a few delicious ideas...
Salad wrap: cheap and easy to make. Use a tortilla wrap and put in spinach, cucumbers, sprouts, dried cherries and hummus. Put some vinaigrette on it right before you eat it...soooo good.
Falafel Sandwich. Buy the falafel mix near the rice at the grocery store...its quick/easy to make. Many ways to have a sandwhich...the tastiest is in a wrap with cucumber dressing.
Salads. There are a million ways to make a tasty salad that has protein too (very, very important for young vegetarians). Use romain lettuce or spinach for maximum nutrition. Sources of protein include beans (buy canned, easy), nuts (almonds are awesome), tofu (might be a stretch for 15 y/o), falafel (easy to make), etc...
Grilled Vegetables: you can make this at night when you're cooking out on the grill. Cut up red potatoes, yellow onioin, summer squash, peppers and some garlic salt. Drizzle olive oil on it and grill it for a 1/2 hour.
What a smart 15 year old! Meat, especially red meat has a ton of harmful hormones. Good for her.
i think one of your answerers means edamame. served at Japanese restaurants, you can just buy the peas in a frozen food sec. of grocery store.
One of my vegetarian friends makes me this dish I'm craving right now & could be made in advance for school lunches.
It's tofu w/ onions, garlic & potatoes,, it is soooo gooood
I think she just puts it in a frying pan w/ some Pam or maybe some virgin olve oil to toss it around in, crumble or crush up the tofu like you would scramble an egg, cut up the onion into little pieces
& add that in too, use some Christopher Ranch garlic (so it's not so strong & potent like fresh garlic) (she is at school afterall & doesn't want to smell too garlicky around friends & boys :) )
then cut up a potato into "bite size" pieces , of course boil it or microwave the potato first to get it softer, then throw it in the pan to cook through & lightly brown.
add some pepper or garlic pepper..
can put in tupperware bowl add plastic fork & off she goes.
sooooo yummy,,, i'm going to go make some right now!!
Humus wrapped in a tortilla or pita with veggis for a sandwich.
If she can get to a microwave, bean burritos.
Fake lunchmeat sandwiches
1. MAKE DIFFRENT CHEESE SANDWICHES, WITH 7 GRAIN BREAD, OATMEAL BREAD,SOME DIFFRENT CHEESE LIKE BRIE, SWISS, OR FRESH MOZZARELA,ADD LETTUCE, AND SUNDRIED TOMATOS.2.MAKE DIFFRENT PATES OF BEANS LIKE HUMMUS WHICH IS MADE FROM CHICKPEAS, TAHINISAUCE,AND SALT PEPPER, DRIZZLE WITH OLIVE OIL,AND DIFFRENT CRACKERS AND VEGGIE STICKS LIKE CUCUMBER, CARROT, AND ZUCCIHINI,ANOTHER GOOD BEAN DIP IS A CAN OF WHITE BEAN 1 CLOVE OF GARLIC 1/2 ONION,SALT PEPPER,PUT IN PROCESSOR AND A LITTLE OLIVE OIL,.3 SIMPLE PASTA DISHES WITH VEGGIES,4.THEY SELL VEGGIE BURGERS FROM MORNING STAR FOODS CALLED GRILLERS,AND ADD HER FAVORITE TOPPING'S.5.WRAPS THAT ARE MADE OF DIFFRENT FLAVORS, SAUTE , TEMPH OR TOFU, WITH 1/3 OF CHOPPED ONION,ZUCCHINI,A LITTLE BBQ SAUCE,AND SHE COULD PUT TOGETHER IN SCHOOL, SO IT WONT BE SOGGY.6. QUACOMOLE AND CHIPS . HOPE THIS HELPS NAMASTE
i'm fifteen and have been vegtetarian for 5 days. i didn't eat meat at lunch before, only at dinner.
my mum still makes my lunch (i know, i know!) so i just get a sandwich (always on brown or multigrain bread). i love hommus, lettuce, cheese, tomato, mustard. any combo of them is awesome.
occasionally mum makes me salads with chickpeas or some other legume. also, cous cous or tabouli is good.
for snacks to go with lunch, can't go past a piece of fresh fruit, a low sugar muesli bar, some nuts or a yogurt.
congratulate your daughter on going veg!
sandwiches with veggies and hummus, you can get hummus in jars, it is sold as dip and is good for sandwiches.
Contrary to the belief that vegetarian diet is nutritionally poor, meeting energy requirement is not usually a problem in a vegetarian diet (Lacto vegetarian diet) because of the high energy content of dairy product. In India almost all vegetarians take dairy product along with vegetable products.
Proteins: Body's protein needs can be provided by either animal or plant sources. Mixed protein diet obtained from various plant sources is better than animal protein and is recommended in diabetes, renal diseases and liver diseases. Mixed protein diet from different plant sources has been the pattern of diet in India for all vegetarians.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are mainly found in plant foods; like cereals, grains, fresh and dry fruits, legumes, vegetable, greens, nuts etc. plant carbohydrates include' large amounts of starches, sugar and fibers which are important for gut functions. The body is better suited to a high carbohydrate diet than a low carbohydrate diet. In fact 55% of the food intake should be carbohydrate. All animal products do not contain carbohydrate which is essential for body.
Fat: Plant fats differ from animal fats in two different ways 1) they are cholesterol free 2) they generally contain more polyunsaturated fat and less saturated fats. Plant fats usually have higher polyunsaturated fat value than animal fats.
A diet which is low in cholesterol and which contains fat of a high PIS value is associated with a lower incident of coronary health disease.
Vitamins and Minerals: plant foods are rich in many vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D is obtained by exposure of skin to sun light and this is not a problem in India.
Calcium: The vegetarians can meet their needs for calcium from dairy products. Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Dark green vegetables are good sources of Riboflavin as are legumes and whole grain cereal.
Iron: The problem of iron deficiency is relatively common but vitamin C significantly enhances absorption of iron hence it is advisable for vegetarians to include with each meal a food high in vitamin C which as lime, citrus fruits or juices.
Zinc: Zinc is found in large number of plant foods.
Fiber: Fiber is found only in vegetarian food like whole grain cereals, legumes, greens, fruits, vegetable etc.
Thus in vegetarian foods all requirement of nutrition for body growth and maintenance is fulfilled. One can have a complete and balanced diet provided we take enough food which is as close to nature as possible in maintaining sturdy and disease free body. It is equally helpful in curing many diseases.
ADVANTAGES OF VEGETARIAN DIET:
More & more evidence is surfacing that directly links a prolonged non- vegetarian diet to diseases as cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, asthma just to name a few.
1. LOGEVITY: Vegetarian can expect to live 4-10 years longer then the non-vegetarians.
" Source: Seventh day Adventists study
2. LESS HEART DISEASE: Because of low fat, saturated fat and cholesterol content of the vegetarian diet the risk of heart disease is lowered. High blood cholesterol levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease.
3. LESS CANCER: Up to 40% of all cancers are diet related. Cancer death rates have been associated with obesity and high fat / low fiber diet. Vitamin A & C are thought to be protective against colon cancer. Low fat diets protect against prostrate and breast cancer. Indoles, lignans, isoflavones, protease inhibitors which are present in plant foods and shown to be potent anti carcinogens.
4. LESS BOWEL DISEASE: Diverticular disease and appendicitis occur more frequently with low fiber intake as in meat diet.
5. LEES OBESITY & LESS INCIDENCE OF DIABETES: It is easier to plan a low fat diet for a vegetarian then for a meat eater. The fiber in plant food dilutes the energy & provides a satisfying meal without all the calories. Diabetes over the age of 40 seems to be related to obesity.
CONLUSION:
When activists like M.K. Gandhi, sports personalities like Martina Novratilova & Carl Lewis, beauties like Brooke Shields & Kate Winslet, physists like Edison, Albert Einstein & A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, religious leaders & mystics like Jesus & Osho can be legendaries in there respective fields taking the advantage of being vegetarian, Is'nt it more prudent on our part to switch over to vegetarianism & enjoy better quality & longevity of life.
Simple vegetable sandwich or fruit or vegetable pizza or any kind of nutritive food that made by vegetable.
I'd suggest a fruit salad with a cup of yogurt and bottled water.
Cheese strings/sticks.
Quesadillas with whole wheat tortillas?
Tostidos w/ organic chunky salsa.
Boca burger with sun chips.
Luna Bar
PB & J
Pasta Salad (many recipes for this online)
egg salad if she still eats egg
Salad with lots of veggies
I pack a hot thermos lunch for my 12 year old veggie daughter every day. She likes curried cous cous, mac and cheese, potato and leek soup, veggie soup, mushroom soup, spanish rice, stir fried rice, brocaroni (brocoli and mac and cheese) falafal, bean stew, veggie kebabs, tabouli, quinoa pilaf, baked potato, spagetti, alfredo, etc. I pack some crackers, quinoa muffins, or bisquit to have with her meal, and some fresh fruit with yogurt dipping sauce. The thermos keeps the food hot for about 8 hours. I make her meal the night before, then just reheat it-I preheat her thermos with hot water while her food reheats. She says all of the kids and teachers are always curious about whats in her lunchbox. Good for you for supporting your daughters healthy choice-so many parents dont. Feel free to email me if you need more ideas.
Im 11 and ive been vegi for almost 4 years!! My favorite sandwich EVER is this vegetarian cold cut thinf called this conpany named "yves" they have veggie ham, salami, turky, balogne..... Its awesome then i just put some mayo and some cheese... YUM its really good!! tell ur daughter congrats on going veggie!!