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vegan lunch

Chickpea No-Tuna Wrap with Avocado | Vegan Lunch Box

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Looks like tuna, tastes like tuna, must be tuna?

But nooooo.

There were no fish harmed in the making of this lunch.

The mighty chickpea mashed up with whole food ingredients like seaweed, capers, celery and avocado (instead of the typical mayo), give this no-tuna salad an A+ in the nutrition department.

One of the trickiest questions to wrap my head around going plant-based was ‘what do I fill the lunch box with’?

Sandwiches used to be centred around the meat, and always had to have cheese.

What kind of sanny do you want today? Tuna? Turkey? Ham? … These were the normal go-to’s.

So, turning plant-based brought on a lunch box challenge. How do we keep it quick, simple, tasty, satiating and, most importantly, above and beyond just carrots and lettuce (because that’s all vegans munch on, right)?

Now, I realize how easy and delicious plant-based lunches can be.

These days the sandwich’s best friends are:

Tempeh

Chickpeas

Hummus

Guacamole

Shredded veggies

Seared Tofu

Cauliflower wings

Rice & beans

Jackfruit…

And today, the spot light is on the versatile little chickpea turned ‘tuna salad’.

I can whip this up on the morning of in just 10 minutes, then have enough for 3 lunches.

Benefits:

~ Chickpeas are packed with easily digestible plant-protein and insoluble fiber, which is great for digestive health and controlling your blood sugar levels.

~ Seaweed of any kind is more nutrient-dense than any land vegetable! It packs tons of micronutrients like folate, calcium,, zinc, iron, selenium, magnesium and iodine.

~ Avocado in replacement of mayo (vegan mayo or not), gives you the benefits of using a whole food. Minimizing oils from processed ingredients like mayo, and replacing them with a natural source of fat from a plant food will allow you to receive the whole package of goodness. Vitamins, minerals, water content, and fibre all come with the avocado.

Why reduce seafood consumption?

  • if we don’t drastically reduce our demand for fish, we could be seeing fishless oceans by 2048 
  • 80% of all fish stocks are in a state of collapse
  • Mercury, toxins and heavy metals are stored in the fish flesh that can lead to memory loss, tremors, fatigue, birth defects…
  • Farmed fish are polluting the ocean with waste, pesticides and antibiotics
  • Wild fish are getting harder to come by each day
  • Bycatch is the term for the millions of tons of unintentional marine life each year that is caught and discarded back to the sea, dead or wounded. This represents 40% of global marine catches, that are just thrown back into the ocean, dead or wounded.
  • A fisherman will catch 20 pounds of by catch for every 1 pound of targeted fish (dolphins, whales, porpoises, sea turtles, sharks, seals, stingrays, other fish)
  • Invasive fishing methods (trawl nets and explosives) destroy the ocean floor and coral

On the bright side?

  • You could save 225 fish per year by ditching seafood, or make a difference by reducing your consumption
  • By removing fish from your diet (including supplements) you can help marine animal populations make a come-back, plus minimize unhealthy toxins to yourself
  • Plant-based food is delicious and mega nutritious

 

Chickpea No-Tuna Wrap

with Avocado

Time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 2-3 lunches worth

Ingredients:

  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1-2 celery stalks, minced
  • 1 green onion, minced
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp tamari
  • 1/3 cup mixed seaweed flakes or dulse flakes (or 1 nori sheet made into flakes either minced or ground with a coffee/spice grinder)
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • juice of 1/2 lemon (or one full small one)
  • 1-2 pinches cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1/2 avocado

Directions:

  1. Strain, then in a big bowl, mash the chickpeas with a potato masher, fork, or pulse them in a food processor
  2. Mash in the avocado
  3. Mix in the rest of the ingredients evenly
  4. Serve it up in a wrap, a romaine boat, collard green wrap, in a sandwich, on a salad, or on an open-face toast with melted vegan cheese!

Crunchy Quinoa, Sweet Potato Salad with Lemon Maple Tahini Dressing

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It’s always good to have a batch of quinoa salad kickin’ around. It’s especially good to have one packed with raw veggies and sweet potatoes, drizzled with a glorious dressing.

Impress your friends and the next potluck, or just impress yourself on your next camping trip.
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This passed weekend was filled with quinoa salad and the Best Soba Noodle Salad as we Stand Up Paddled the Thompson River on our Kahuna Paddle Boards for 3 days, finding beautiful camping spots along with way. These salads pack away in the cooler easily in a big zip lock bag (so gourmet, I know).

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These salads plus a couple heads of crispy romaine…What more do you need for dinner on the river?

I don’t know about you, but I thoroughly enjoy wrapping everything in romaine leaves. Lettuce wraps all the way.

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Benefits:

Quinoa, AKA the ‘Mother Grain’ contains all essential amino acids (what does essential mean? Well, in this case it means that the only way you can get these amino acids- the building blocks of protein- is to eat them. This is because your body can’t produce them on it’s own. These building blocks are great for  hair and nail growth and tissue healing).

Sweet potatoes are the staple of the ‘centenarians’ (people who live passed the age of 100) of Okinawa. Include lots of these in your diet to get beneficial, complex carbohydrates, plus a magnitude of vitamins and minerals. Another benefit? So delicious.

Celery not only adds a nice crunch to this salad, but it also brings a natural salty taste. Any time you want to avoid the salt in recipes (to minimize water retention and puffiness), just throw in some celery. It’s also packed with fibre, water content, antioxidants, potassium, folate, and vitamins C, K, and B6. Your liver will thank you, and so will your skin.
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Makes 6 servings

Prep time: 1 hour (unless you pre-make your sweet potatoes!)

Ingredients:

For Salad:

  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, diced into bite sized squares
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 stalks of celery, minced
  • 2 red bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 cup black beans (either use a can, or pre-make your own by soaking 2-3 hours or overnight in water, rinsing, then bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours)
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • Sprouts (your choice – I used mung bean sprouts)
  • 1/2 cup parsley, roughly chopped

For Dressing:

  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

  1. Roast sweet potatoes: pre-heat oven to 400 F. Toss the diced sweet potatoes with garlic powder. Lay out on parchment paper covered roasting pan (or use a non-stick re-usable cooking sheet on your pan). Roast for 45 minutes.
  2. Cook the quinoa: throw the quinoa and water into a pot, bring to a boil, give it a stir, then simmer it for 15 minutes. Fluff with your fork.
  3. Make dressing: blend all ingredients together in a blender or mini food processor. OR use your hand power – just whisk tahini and lemon together, then mix in the rest of the ingredients.
  4. Mix all salad ingredients with dressing together in your favourite bowl! Garnish with extra sprouts and parsley.

Cacao Mint Black Bean Hazelnut Brownies | Vegan

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Melt in your mouth, oil-free, plant-protein packed with that feeling of decadence. Yup, these brownies pass the test.

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Pasta Salad with Creamy Green Sauce (Oil-Free|Vegan)

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Picnics, potlucks, and parties. That’s what this pasta salad is perfect for. Take this dish anywhere and have you will have an uber-satisfying dinner that scores high on the health-o-meter.

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