It’s back to school time and that means parents, teachers, coaches, and so many other adults are scrambling to get all the needed supplies together and watching as their calendars fill-up with activities and errands. Since many school cafeterias don’t offer adequate vegan options for students, this also means vegan caretakers will need to do lots of meal-planning and backpack packing. Chances are you find it difficult to stay creative and keep variety when packing kid’s vegan lunches. As a parent, I tend to fall back on PB&J and Tofurky Deli Slices more often than I care to admit. Below are three fun ideas you can add to your repertoire right now. These ideas are simple (who has time to make cute little star shaped sandwiches or veggie creations that look like animals?) and use common pantry ingredients (the last thing I want to do right now is research ingredients I’ve never heard of before).
DIY Lunchables Lunchables have been a favorite among kids and parents alike for decades. They’re effortless, yummy, and it is surprisingly easy to make vegan versions at home. Since most crackers are vegan, all you need to do is find a vegan deli “meat” that your kids like, add sliced vegan cheese (optional), throw in fresh fruit and/or veggies, maybe a dip like hummus or vegan ranch, and you’re good to go! Delicious vegan meats that I recommend trying in your Lunchables include Tofurky Deli Slices, Yves Veggie Pepperoni, and Field Roast Deli Slices. You can also try tofu or tempeh—some stores sell tofu that’s already baked and flavored. When looking for ideas and inspiration for your homemade Lunchables don’t feel like you must look at only vegan lists and recipes— look at any lists and recipes and then make unfussy vegan subs and swaps to create your own vegan version. Mini Bagels I can put virtually anything on a mini bagel and my kids just love it. Who am I kidding? I love mini bagels too! One fun idea is mini pizzas that your kids assemble themselves (sort of like the pizza Lunchables): add marinara sauce to the mini bagel and top it with vegan cheese (such as Go Veggie Shreds). You can also make mini sandwiches with hummus and cucumber (our kids love these). It’s easy to be creative with what kind of mini sandwiches or fun things you can do with mini bagels. For the most part, any bagels you find in the store will be vegan by default (just do a quick check of the ingredients to be sure). Homemade “Hot Pockets” When I was a kid, I loved taking Hot Pockets for lunch. There are a few plant-based products available that are similar to Hot Pockets, but you can very easily make your own at home and make any flavor combination your heart desires. You’re probably thinking it can’t be that easy but let me assure you—it really can! You can make a quick and easy dough from scratch that only takes 10 minutes, then make the dough into squares, add the filling in the middle, fold the dough over and pinch the sides closed, bake, and you’re done! To make it even more quick and easy, you can skip making the dough and use crescent sheets or crescent rolls—they’re accidentally vegan. More Resources Hopefully this list gets your creative juices going so you can come up with new ideas. For even more ideas, recipes, and inspiration check out our Back-to-School episode of our Teach Me How To Vegan podcast where we share dozens of ideas for lunches and snacks. For even more recipe ideas check out our recipes page on our website.
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