easy vegan lunch recipes

International vegan cuisine, oil free vegan recipes, one pot recipes, Plant Based, Salads, Vegan

Crispy Vegan Potato Salad Recipe

Posted on June. 2024June. 2024 by writinstuff

You know how much I love testing out new vegan recipes. If it looks delicious and there’s already a recipe, chances are good that I want to test it out, and that goes double when it’s something I already love like vegan potato salad.

Potato salad, for me, is one of those nostalgic recipes that reminds me of hanging out with my family during the summer for backyard barbecues, family gatherings and pretty much just summer. Each of my grandmother’s has a different recipe for the perfect potato salad and over the years–before and after becoming vegan–I’ve played with the ingredients, combined them and omitted the things I didn’t like to come up with my own version.

And then along comes this viral Instagram vegan potato salad recipe. Okay, full disclosure: I don’t remember if this was a vegan potato salad recipe or not but when I look at anybody’s recipes, I’m always in search of ways to veganize them.

This viral vegan potato salad recipe is quite easy, especially if you already know how to make potato salad. The key to making this recipe a crowd pleaser is two fold; you need crispy potatoes and fresh herbs. Everything else is up to you but these two are a must.

It’s easy and the best part about this vegan potato salad recipe is that you can make a big batch and add a few more veggies to turn it into a one pot meal, or you can add your favorite vegan meat alternative.

Take your time with the potatoes and the rest will fall into place, easy peasy.

Promise.

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Bar Food, International vegan cuisine, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Sandwiches, Vegan

Fancy Vegan Sandwich Recipe ~ Pickled Carrot & Vegan Pesto Feta Sandwich

Posted on February. 2024February. 2024 by writinstuff

It all started with a caprese salad.

Sounds like the beginning of a wild story, doesn’t it? Unfortunately this isn’t one of those stories but I’ll try to think of one for next time.

So like I said, it started with a caprese salad. By ‘it’ I mean this riff on a traditional caprese salad. Long story short, I was watching an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives and Guy was at a restaurant where they served a sandwich called a Carrot Caprese that was full of animals. But it gave me an idea.

I liked the idea of a carrot caprese salad or sandwich and I started with that idea and ran with it. I have yet to find a vegan mozzarella that mimics the fresh mozzarella found in the traditional caprese salad so I decided to just play around with the simplicity of a caprese salad (sandwich).

And that’s how today’s vegan sandwich came to be.

It’s simple and flavorful and totally delicious and a very distant step-cousin of a vegan caprese salad. Does it matter what its called when it’s so good?

Nope. And that’s my final word on that.

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Grains, oil free vegan recipes, one pot recipes, Plant Based, Sandwiches, Vegan

Vegan Tuna Sandwich Upgrade ~ Tapenade Vegan Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe

Posted on May. 2023May. 2023 by writinstuff

The good news is that my book is off to the editor! The not-so-good news is that means there are still about a thousand different things that I need to do to prepare for book launch.

But I still have to eat which means another vegan sandwich recipe…of sorts.

Did anyone else love a good tuna salad sandwich as a kid? My favorite was made with Miracle Whip, celery, mustard and diced pimento. It was simple and went really great with crackers. But recently I was in the mood for a proper grown up vegan tuna sandwich but with a twist.

Tapenade.

If you’ve been around a while you know that I love pesto of all varieties and I will put it on absolutely anything from Vegan Eggs to Tabbouleh Salad and yes, my favorite Pizza Brot recipes! If you love vegan pesto as much as I do, click here to get started on pesto basics.

But the truth is that I love tapenade just as much, I mean what’s not to love about an olive centric dish? But it can get salty and I’m searching for more ways to add tapenade to dishes without making it salty AF.

Anyway, let’s jump right in!

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Bar Food, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Sandwiches, Vegan

Vegan Sandwich Recipes ~ Spicy BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich Recipe

Posted on April. 2023April. 2023 by writinstuff

I’ve been really lazy in the kitchen lately and by that I mean that me and the Hubs have been living on two things: sandwiches and one pot vegan dishes. I’m trying to finish off Green St. Girls book #2—which is thisclose to being complete—and getting everything settled for a much needed break next month, and making one meal to eat for both meals is a great time saver.

But when I really need a break but not too long, sandwiches are my jam. A good vegan sandwich recipe requires some work but not the kind of work where you make a whole meal.

With a sandwich half the work is done by the bread so you just have to work in the sandwich filling, and today’s filling is spicy jackfruit.

This is an easy vegan sandwich recipe that you can fancy up or play it down, depending on how much time you want to spend in the kitchen and how many ingredients you want to use. And I find that adding a small bowl of fresh, raw veggies—also called a salad for you healthy food haters out there—can complete pretty much any meal.

You can use store bought vegan barbecue sauce or make your own with a few simple ingredients you probably already have in your cabinets.

So let’s knock this vegan sandwich recipe out so I can get back to my writing cave, shall we?

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Sandwiches, Vegan, Vegan Food Products

Childhood Classics Revisited ~ Vegan Fish Stick Sandwich

Posted on February. 2023February. 2023 by writinstuff

Okay so today’s recipe isn’t so much of a recipe as it is just sharing a childhood favorite among friends.

Things have been so busy lately with my clients keeping me busy and trying to edit my back catalog (shameless promo here if you love romance books and small town romance in general: ), that I haven’t been doing a lot of cooking. Okay, that’s not true either. I have been cooking but mostly things I’ve made thousands of times before.

Vegan salads and Noodles. The end.

But we decided to try out a new vegan food product, more fish sticks. Why do I keep trying these recipes when they inevitably disappoint me? The honest answer is that my husband is responsible for this latent sense of hope that I feel, always with my fingers crossed that I’ll find some I like.

But the truth is that I’m not a fish sticks (fish fingers for my UK friends and readers) fan. Back in my childhood days I would suffer through it because it was that or nothing but I’m just not a fan and these new vegan fish sticks? They taste just like I remember.

So instead of wasting them by tossing them out, I did what I used to do back in the day, turned it into a sandwich! It was my own homemade kiddie version of a filet-o-fish and this time, it was veganized.

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International vegan cuisine, Mexican Dishes, Plant Based, Potatoes, Salads, Vegan

Lazy Vegan Meals ~ Vegan Tortilla Pie

Posted on August. 2022August. 2022 by writinstuff

The good news is that we all have those lazy days when it comes to whipping up something healthy and delicious in the kitchen. The better news is that with every passing month, every other day there are more options to allow you to be a lazy vegan cook.

Today I have one such vegan food find, the vegan tortilla pie by Vemondo. This company is a German company and the products are sold exclusively in Lidl, probably wherever Lidl stores exist, but certainly here in Romania.

Are you one of those grocery shoppers who just makes a beeline for only the things they need? That is totally my husband while I go up and down the aisles that are likely to have some kind of new vegan food products. He can usually be found waiting for me at the end of any particular aisle, protecting the cart with his life as if all the Romanians in the store actually want our veggies and vegan food products!

Anyway, my browsing skills are how I found this particular food. Vegan potato, onion and chickpea tortilla pie or cake, however you’d like to classify it.

However you call it, this was perfect because what I thought was just a one week heatwave has entered its fourth week, making too much time in the kitchen totally unbearable.

I kept it simple and sweet and vegan, because that’s how I roll.

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Bowls, Grains, Herbs, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Salads, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

(Mostly) Raw Vegan Cabbage Salad Recipe

Posted on August. 2022August. 2022 by writinstuff

With the heatwave sweeping through both the United States and Europe, now is the perfect time to revisit one of my favorite lunch time recipes; salad.

I love salad because it is a low calorie dish that is packed with wonderfully colorful vegetables, nutrients and fiber. It’s a win-win-win for my tastebuds and my palate and better than that, it doesn’t require you to use the stove at all…unless you need to rehydrate some TVP, which I used for this recipe.

Some people might quibble over my use of the word ‘salad’ when this recipe lacks any form of lettuce, and the use of cabbage might prompt some to think its a slaw, but I promise that it is a salad. The problem is that here in Romania there seems to be a fresh salad shortage. If you want any type of leafy green that’s (allegedly) been washed for you and packed, you have some options but I prefer my salad with some dirt on it that I wash off myself and that, has been sadly lacking for the past few weeks, maybe a month.

So I’ve had to get creative with my salads because it’s too dang hot for stoves and ovens and all that jazz.

For today’s vegan salad recipe, I decided to use a mix of green and red cabbage, keeping it 95 % raw and vegan.

You can forego the protein altogether or replace with chickpeas or quinoa, or any type of vegan meat alternative you choose.

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Plant Based, Sandwiches, Vegan

Vegan Smoked Salmon Bagel Sandwich

Posted on July. 2022July. 2022 by writinstuff

I just wanted to drop in really quick today to share with you another new vegan food product find.

Revo is a new-to-me vegan food company and I don’t know much about them, however I tend to trust German vegan foods company simply because that’s where I lived when I first became vegan and they’re products have always been up to par.

Smoked salmon. That’s right, you heard me. Vegan smoked salmon. And it’s not even made from soy/tofu if you can believe it.

I’ll tell you right up front that I am and never have been a fan of smoked salmon. When I ate animals I didn’t care for the smell or the taste of it and I can’t say why only…blech. But my husband? He was a huge fan of it so I knew the moment he spotted this he would fangirl out and insist on getting a package.

And guess what? He did.

There was just one thing to do with it, in my opinion. Vegan smoked salmon sandwich on a wheat bagel. Duh.

Revo brand vegan smoked salmon/lox/lachs

As you can see, they’ve gotten it pretty spot on with the color if that matters to you. Even the texture is pretty close without all the white membranes going through it, which I think is a good thing.

And best/worst of all, depending on your viewpoint? They do a bang up job of making it taste like smoked salmon. For me that was a total bummer but my husband gobbled up his open-faced vegan smoked salmon sandwiches like they were going out of style!

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Breads, Sandwiches, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Vegan Reuben Deli Sandwiches & Homemade Russian Dressing

Posted on June. 2022June. 2022 by writinstuff

So today’s post will be a quick-ish one but I just had to share another new find from Filgud…vegan pastrami!

I found this on the day I found the vegan caviar and as soon as I saw it, I made a beeline to the bread section to find some type Rye or Pumpernickel bread. I have very fond memories of this sandwich at real delis in Chicago and Boston and I couldn’t wait to recreate it and–cross my fingers–hope the pastrami had that delicious herb-y, pepper-y pastrami flavor.

I have to say that the Filgud vegan pastrami did not disappoint. It had the exact right flavor profile and my only complaint, if you can call it that, was that the strips were a little too thin. I ended up tearing a few strips which made for less pretty photo.

So, let’s get this sandwich party started!

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Asian Food, Bowls, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Easy Vegan Lunch Recipes ~ Mushroom & Snow Pea Bowl

Posted on May. 2022May. 2022 by writinstuff

Whether you work at home like me or you have to head to an office each day, lunch is inevitable. By the time noon rolls around, your belly might rumble with hunger or maybe you skipped breakfast, or maybe you just practice intuitive eating and lunchtime is when your hunger kicks into overdrive.

Enjoy some of these vegan lunch recipes:

Veggie Ramen & Miso
Smoke Tofu Bahn Mi
Soul Food Lunch Plate

Whatever the reason you need to eat lunch and you have choices. Will you head to the nearest drive-thru to satisfy your hunger with something greasy and delicious but that won’t provide you for much energy to get through the day? Or will you load up on something healthy and full of vegetables and nutrients to keep you going?

I know which choice we all want to make. The easy choice and that’s a given since our brains are hard-wired to maintain the status quo, to avoid doing anything that might cause the smallest amount of pain or discomfort. But with a few seconds of thought and good decision making you’ll reach your health, work or life goals much easier.

And all of that was just my way of introducing my latest dish, Mushroom & Snow Pea bowl. So simple, right?

Darn tootin’!