For the first time, every American, (who isn’t an essential or health care worker) is home for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day. Rather than fretting or complaining about what to constantly make for you and your family, be first grateful that you have the ability to provide well in the first place. Then, allow yourself to let some things slide right now. Planning almost every single meal in may seem daunting but there’s plenty of affordable, easy options, especially when it comes to lunch. Even if you’re vegan, vegan-ish, or meat free, like myself. (At least, mostly. I never eat red meat, but I do sometimes eat turkey or chicken.) I’ve been whipping together various things in my kitchen to create different meat free lunch bowls. They’re easy, made with inexpensive ingredients, and always fill me up.
If you’re already someone who embraces one of the aforementioned food lifestyles, then this is nothing new. If you’re trying out a meat free thing, try to take small steps. Maybe one new recipe a week. Before you know it, you’ll be creating your own.
6 easy meat free lunch bowls to make at home
1. Kale bowl – Kale, sweet potatoes, goat cheese, walnuts, cranberry. I copied this one from a salad bar option at Whole Foods that I love. It’s the only salad bar I ever trust, but that feels like a far off memory, never to be experienced again. That’s ok though, because as I found out, it’s super easy to recreate.
2. Greek bowl – Orzo, peppers, olives, spinach, feta. Top it with balsamic vinaigrette or the dressing of your choice, or just olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Tuna bowl – Tunafish, diced cucumbers, olives, chick peas. Not everyone is a tuna lover, but in the words of Elaine Benes, “they’re putting a little lemon in the tuna, I Loooveee that”. In this case, the “they” being me. This is one of the easiest meat free lunch bowls to make, it only has four ingredients but packs a tasty punch.
4. Cava imitation bowl – Falafel balls, olives, diced cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, feta and crispy noodles. This Cava bowl is one of our Friday night favorites. But since that’s off limits right now, I decided to try and make my own. It came out surprisingly well. If you’re looking for a great lunch or dinner bowl, give this a whirl. It’s delish and you can find all the ingredients, like falafel ball mix and crispy noodles at grocery stores online.
5. Health Bowl – Apples, dried cranberries, apples, carrots, pine nuts, candied pecans. (goat cheese optional.) I made this recipe for a get together several years ago, back when entertaining used to be way more frequent. Then it became a staple for my annual oscars party. Now, it’s just one of my favorite lunches to make, my go-to salad. It’s super healthy, incredibly tasty, and requires little prep.
6. Beet bowl – Shredded beets, grapes, pomegranates, apples. If you’re a beet fan, you’ll love this concoction. Meat free lunch bowls have to make sure to add lots of flavor, and this one, while not for everyone, has a unique taste that pleases the palate.
What meat free lunch bowls would you make for yourself?
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