(More) Lenten Lunch Box Ideas

Inspired by Sylvia at Orthodox Mom, I'm adding a few more ideas. 

When I packed a lunch as a teacher, I often posted what I brought on Wednesdays, so you might find something there -- although those are maybe more geared towards an adult palette and depended heavily on using up leftovers. Another trick is to make a big batch of soup and save it in the freezer in glass mason jars. This works if you have a microwave at work or school.

You know, right, that quesadillas freeze beautifully, if you had a block of time to whip up a dozen or so. These were gluten free home-made tortillas with black beans, diced cooked sweet potatoes, sauted onion, roasted red pepper, and Daiya shreds. 

Sylvia offers an entire menu-planning post, and if you scroll down there you'll find some yummy recipe ideas-- surely some of those would make good leftovers lunches! My kids would eat these sliders for lunch and I really want to try this frittata.

Vegan Lunch Box has some ideas, and Anna at PleasantViewSchoolhouse offers these salads: Broccoli Sesame, Fruit & Avocado,  Radicchio Slaw, Pear & Hazelnut, Roasted Beets & Orange, Orange & Olive.

In the archives, you can find this Spinach Queso recipe, which you could serve with tortilla chips. You could even make your own "Lunchable" with shredded veggie cheese, chips or mini pizza crust, and a chocolate chip blondie.  

photo courtesy of Chocolate Covered Katie

Taking advice from Melissa, who wrote Fasting as a Family, I try to keep some sort of spread on hand at all times, and then use it in pre-stuffed celery boats, tortilla roll-ups, quesadillas, etc. The idea is to have pre-made veggie boats & roll-ups for a week, already prepped in your fridge, along with prepped fruit too, and in one special place. Then you only have to open that drawer and pull out a few items to stick in your lunch box.

Spreads?

Hummus

Beany-Cheeze Spread

Cool Ranch Dorito Spread

Baba Ganoush

White Bean Italian Spread

Spicy Lima Bean Lemon Spread

 or this more simple version but leave out the bacon.

We love hummus at our house - so much so that I've taped the recipe to the inside of the cabinet because I make it so often. And yet, sometimes one wants something different, so I like to have a few options up my sleeve.

Lenten Lunch Box

If you would like a chance to win some Orthodox Children's Books, Sylvia is hosting a give-away.

What you have to do is submit a Lenten Lunch Box recipe for her Presvytera to use in a cookbook. Sounds fun!


On another note. Coming soon... "the man cave" dun dun duhhh!

Lenten Lunch Box

I know I usually post these on Wednesdays, but I couldn't help it. Today's lunch box was so much more interesting, really demonstrating those strange and exotic combinations Orthodox pilgrims turn to on their fasting journey. I suppose having leftovers from Wednesday meals and Thursday side dishes helps...

Cocunut Tofu & Pineapple
Spanish Rice
slice of Zuchinni Bread


Note: no peanut butter indclued.

Your turn! What is the strangest combination you've ever put together?

Lenten Lunch Box

Spinach
Peas
Oven-roasted Potatoes

Yawn.

Served in my nifty Laptop Lunchbox.

Looking for inspiration? Browse through their ideas for lunches, or look through their photo gallery. Of course, all of these are not "fasting", but Vegan Lunch Box offers all fasting ideas.

Lenten Lunch Box

Today my lunch was sitting on the kitchen counter at home.

While I was at work.

So I ate in the school cafeteria. The bag on the counter at home had green bean-honey-mustard cous cous salad and blackberries.

Lenten Lunch Box - Spinach Queso Recipe

spinach "queso" leftover from wednesday
tortilla chips
celery boats with peanut butter



Spinach "Queso"

1. Make a white sauce by melting 1TBS of oil and stirring in 1 TBS of flour, until bubbly. Add 1 cup of rice milk, stirring so as to avoid lumps. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

2. Add 1/2 can of diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes, a pinch of cumin, a pinch of chili powder, and 2 TBS of nutritional yeast flakes. Nutritional Yeast does NOT have candida and does have protein. I'm not gonna lie... it looks like orange fish food.


Buy it from the local health food store. You can add more unless you don't end up liking the flavor. I've also been known to use rotel tomatoes or salsa, as well as onion dip mix.

3. Cook and stir and adjust seasonings until it seems like good "cheese" sauce.

4. Mix in cooked chopped spinach (I used a box of frozen spinach, cooked in microwave).

5. Serve the first night over rice - yum! Eat leftovers with chips.


Or, use the base for a Pasta Primavera:
Omit the cumin, tomatoes, and chili powder but add broccoli & carrots, then mix in cooked bow-tie pasta.

Has anyone ever tried this book?
I saw it advertised when I found the nutritional yeast link on Amazon. Sounds interesting, though I'm not really wanting to repeat the "cheese" I made my first lent, which involved grinding cashews and gelatin and nutrional yeast and making my own fake block of cheese. But more reasonable ideas are welcome! Like this one for Tofu Pot Pie.

Lenten Lunch Box

Greek Lentil Soup, a slice of bread, and an orange.

And I totally cheated when I made the soup Wednesday! I both

1) did not feel like cooking and
2) did not have a ton of time

...so I cheated by using a can of diced tomatoes that already had garlic, onion, & oregeno added. No chopping. No sauteeing. Just dump in the lentils and tomatoes, add water and season to taste later. Oh yeh, and a bay leaf. The fast-forward version of Greek Lentil Soup.

Lenten Lunch Box

This will be Friday's Fare:

Banana Bread (I'll post the eggless recipe if anyone wants it)
Refried Bean, Corn & Spinach in a Flour Tortilla

What will you have?

Lenten Lunch Box

We're having:

steamed green beans
apples w/ peanut butter for dipping
crackers


What are you having Wednesday?

Lenten Lunch Box

We had:

Split Pea Soup in a keep-warm container

Cabbage, shredded with sesame ginger dressing and roasted peanuts

Red Grapes


What did you have today?