Fresh & Tasty Vegan Lunch Box Recipes

Hey everyone, it's Caitlin. In today's video, I'm going to show you three different vegan lunch ideas that are perfect for meal prep or on the go. Before we get into the video, if you're new here, feel free to give this video a thumbs up if you think you're gonna like it, or, you know, if you like it already, and subscribe to my channel so you can see more awesome vegan recipe content. So today's video is sponsored by Monvento. I've worked with them in the past, but if you're unfamiliar, they make these cute, adorable lunch boxes, or bento boxes, in a variety of sizes, colors, styles, so there really is something for everyone here. This is their Monvento original. I'm using the ginkgo pattern today. And we also have the Monvento square bento box, which is a little bit larger. This has some pretty Japanese cherry blossoms on it. And then last but not least, we'll be using the MB Element, which can keep your food hot or cold for up to 10 hours, which I think is pretty frickin' cool. If you wanna learn more about Monvento and look into their products more, they do have international shipping. Their website will be linked below. But for now, let's get on to the lunchbox ideas. First up, we are going to make some quinoa tabbouleh for our Mediterranean-inspired bento box. The full recipe will be linked below if you wanna check it out. But first, we're going to start by cooking one cup of quinoa. You guys should just follow the package instructions. You know the drill. And then we just mix everything together to make the tabbouleh. So we're starting with some fresh lemon juice, as well as some lemon zest, and some extra virgin olive oil and salt. I also have a recipe on my blog where you can use tahini instead of olive oil. It's a little bit less traditional. But yeah, just mix it until it's well combined. Then we're going to add everything in. So we have our cooked quinoa, some finely diced tomato, red onion, cucumber, parsley, and mint, and then just mix everything together. This recipe is very easy and simple. The most time-consuming part is chopping everything, but you can also just use a food processor if you want. You do just want to make sure it's as finely chopped as possible so you get that nice little bite of everything in every bite. So I put that into my bento box, and I decided to top my tabbouleh with some white beans to give it a little bit of extra plant-based protein. I'm using the MB Original here. So because tabbouleh has a very Mediterranean or Middle Eastern-style flavor profile to it, I decided to continue that with my snacks. So I used the cup that already comes with the MB Original to fill with hummus. Then I'm also pairing it with some sliced cucumber. And then I'm using an MB Extra Cube to have some pita chips as well. This comes with a lid that you can also use, but it's optional. It would also just stay completely in the bento box as well. So then you're just going to seal everything up. I love the MB Original because it is the perfect smaller-sized portion, and the lids have a great vacuum seal with those levers that you can see there. And then you just top it off and pack it to go or put it in the fridge and take it with you the next day. This little elastic band helps keep everything together. So if you are using both of the two containers, everything will stay nice and tight and secure and leak-proof. And the ginkgo pattern also comes in a cute little bottle. So I used some of my leftover cucumber and mint from my tabbouleh to make an infused water to take on the go with me, which I thought was really cute. And this set just looks so nice together. I think it's both kid and adult appropriate. Next up, we are going to be making a kimchi ramen salad with some crispy tofu for an Asian-inspired bento. The first thing we're going to do is make some crispy tofu. This recipe is very popular on my blog. I've made it several times, but I'm going to show you again. So first we're going to start out by cutting a block of extra firm tofu. I have pressed the tofu, which gets some of the extra liquid or moisture out of the tofu, which will make it more crispy when we bake it in the oven. So here, as you can see, I cut the block in half, and then I cut each half into, what is that, 16 pieces. So you cut it in half, then in half again, in both directions to get some nice, even-sized cubes. So then in a large bowl, you're going to add your cubed tofu to it. And then we're going to pour some low-sodium tamari over the top, about a tablespoon, and then use a rubber spatula to gently toss the tofu until all of the liquid is absorbed. It doesn't have to be totally even here, but you just want to make sure that it absorbs some of that flavor and the salt. Then we're going to top everything with two tablespoons of nutritional yeast. And again, give it a good stir. A lot of the nutritional yeast will sort of dissolve with the liquid, but the tofu should look roughly like this, so it's nice and coated in the nutritional yeast. So you're going to place your tofu on a lined baking tray, then place it in the oven at 425F for 30 minutes. Then flip it, bake it for another 20 minutes or until it's crispy, and then take it out of the oven, and this is what it should look like. The outsides will be nice and browned and crispy, and this is so delicious, I use it all the time. So now we're going to move on to the kimchi ramen salad, and first thing you're going to do is cook some ramen noodles. I'm using gluten-free ramen noodles. I'm just following the package instructions, but you could also use regular ramen as well. So once those are cooked, you're going to slice all your veggies, and it's time to just combine everything together, kind of like the tabbouleh. So we have some tamari, some minced garlic, and some sesame oil. We're going to make our dressing in the base of the bowl first by sort of just gently mixing everything together. Then we're going to add in some chopped Napa cabbage, some thinly sliced carrots, some green onions, and a lot of chopped kimchi, plus our cooked ramen noodles and some toasted sesame seeds. Then you're just going to mix everything together. I love this salad because it has a lot of crunchy and fresh elements, but the noodles also add a nice hearty bite, and the toasted sesame seeds and kimchi really up the flavor profile and take everything to the next level as well. So I put it in my MB square, and then I'm serving my crispy tofu on the side just so it stays crispy and doesn't get soggy and some of the moisture from that kimchi salad. And then I'm also adding in a mandarin orange for some fruity goodness, and I'm keeping my toasted sesame seeds that are supposed to garnish the salad on the side in a little extra cup so they stay nice and fresh. So then after that, again, you're just going to seal everything up. And the MB square also has nice plugs that create a nice vacuum seal. And then you're just going to put the lid on, and this box actually comes with two straps. So the one I'm using is big enough so it will hold both compartments together, but it also comes with a smaller one so you can just use the top compartment if you wanted to take some sex or a smaller meal with you. And this one also has a nice matching water bottle. So if you're very type A and like to coordinate, I think this is a very cute combination. Then last but certainly not least, we're going to be using the MB element to make a vegan taco salad. First, we're going to start by making the chipotle mayo for our salad, which is going to serve as the dressing and some nice creaminess. We'll add a cup of soaked cashews to a blender with one chipotle pepper in adobo that comes from a can, plus a clove of garlic, a pinch of cumin, some salt, and some lime juice. Then you'll also add a splash of water and blend everything together until it's nice and smooth. I'm just using a bullet blender here, but a high-speed blender will work as well. So the texture will be pretty thick. If you want your dressing to be thinner, you can add more water if you want, but because this is supposed to be sort of a mayo substitute, we're looking for that thicker texture here. So now that that's done, we're also going to prep some tortilla strips in the oven. Instead of using tortilla chips, you could buy those if you want, but I just decided to make my own with corn tortillas. As you can see, I'm slicing them pretty thinly here because I didn't want any large chunks, and I'm trying to keep them about roughly the same thickness so they all cook evenly in the oven. So after you've sliced your tortilla strips, you can just transfer them onto a baking tray, and you can drizzle them with oil if you'd like. Personally, I'm using a spray. It's sort of like a, it's called a misto. You pump it up with the oil, and it comes out in a spray, and I just find that it coats the tortilla strips more evenly. So you're just going to toss those, and then spread them out on the baking pan. Give everything a good sprinkle of salt, and bake those in the oven until they're nice and crispy. And then while those bake in the oven, in the meantime, we can go ahead and make our seared corn. So we're going to heat about a tablespoon of oil on a pan over medium-high heat. Then add in some frozen corn and one diced jalapeno. I removed the seeds so it would be less spicy. And then we're just going to essentially cook this until the corn starts to sear. As you can see here, it's getting some nice brown bits. We want to let the corn sit, actually, for about a minute or so before we move it around. So that's how you're going to get that dark flavor on the corn, and it will have a flavor almost as if it was grilled. So you're going to keep cooking this until there's no more liquid on the pan, and the corn is pretty evenly seared on both sides. Then you can give it a good sprinkle of salt, mix that in, and take it off of the heat. And around this time, your tortilla strips should be done cooking. This is what they look like. They might feel a little bit soft when they first come out of the oven if you bite into one, but as they cool and come to room temperature, they will get crispy. You could bake these a little bit more if you'd like. I did about 10 minutes, but you just want to make sure you don't burn them. So now we're going to move on to our taco salad, which again, we've made all of our components. So now we're just going to assemble everything. So for this recipe, we're going to be using the MB element to hold our taco salad, which can keep food hot or cold for up to 10 hours. So to assemble our salad, we're going to start with a base of a finely chopped romaine lettuce, then add in some cooked black beans, plus a few spoonfuls of that seared corn we just made. And then I'm also going to add some diced tomato. You can really add whatever you want here, but this is what I personally enjoy in my taco salad. I'm also adding some thinly sliced red onion for a little bit of crunch and kick, and some sliced cilantro because I love cilantro. Then last but not least, I'm giving it a drizzle of some salsa. I actually am using chipotle salsa, but you could use regular salsa. Then we'll top everything off with a nice drizzle of that chipotle mayo, plus a lime wedge, and that completes the taco salad that will be going into this bento. Everything will stay nice and fresh and crispy if you put it in the fridge and then take it on the go, like I said earlier, for up to 10 hours. And I didn't add the cooked tortilla strips to my salad because I didn't want them to get soggy, so I'm using this MB Extra container just to add a few of them, and then I'll just carry it along with my element if I'm taking it on the go, or just keep it on the counter. You don't need to refrigerate these. And then add them to my taco salad when I'm ready to serve and dig in and enjoy. So we have our taco salad and our tortilla strips, and now the only thing left to do is to seal everything up. And I like to keep the taco salad, obviously, in the fridge until I'm ready to take it on the go with me, but you can keep the tortilla strips at room temperature. They don't need to go in the fridge. And that's it for this video. I hope it gave you some vegan lunchbox inspiration. Honestly, you could also enjoy these for dinner as well. I know a lot of us are working from home or staying at home, but I still think that the act of preparing or packing a lunch can be really beneficial to having a productive workday. And the nice thing about these bento boxes is that they don't take up any more space than a Tupperware container would in your fridge. So you could even pack these, put them in your fridge for meal prep, and enjoy them throughout the week. So big thanks again to Monbento for sponsoring this video. And as always, all of the recipes that I referenced in the video are linked in the description below, so check those out too, as well as the Monbento website. And I think that's it. So I hope you guys are having an awesome day and continue to have one, and I look forward to virtually seeing you in the next video. Bye.