Category Archives: Brown Bag Vegan

365 Organic Lentil Soup

When I go to Whole Foods these days, it’s usually because I’m on the hunt for something very specific that I can’t find anywhere else, or because it’s the most convenient place to go for certain items. Examples include Chicago Diner vegan desserts (which are available in Whole Foods stores throughout the Midwest) or a Field Roast or Tofurky frozen pizza (I want it when I want it). One really nice thing that Whole Foods does is offer coupons that are actually very decent deals. I end up trying new things because I have a coupon. One new thing that I tried recently was 365 Organic Lentil Soup.

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I bought a 2-serving size “juice box” style package of the soup. The box isn’t resealable like most other soup boxes I had seen, so I had to split the contents into two containers which equaled two lunches. That was mildly annoying. It would have been nice to keep the box in the fridge at work. I will say that the packaging does have a clever way of being opened that results in zero to minimal mess and easy pouring.

The soup itself tasted OK. One serving size was a perfect lunch portion for me. It had a decent amount of lentils with some carrots and celery in the mix. No extra seasoning was needed. All I had to do was heat it in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. It was a good meal, but nothing spectacular. It’s nothing more or less than what one would expect from a pre-packaged soup.  I didn’t pay much attention to the ingredients but I did find myself wondering what preservatives were in there in order for the soup to stay fresh while it was sitting in my pantry for a month.

If these are on sale or I come across another coupon, I will likely buy a box or two. It makes a really easy lunch when I have zero time to cook or prepare anything. It’s also cheaper than buying soup at a restaurant or in the cafe, and that’s if I can even find a vegan soup. When I do have time, and I should really make time, I’ll follow Christie’s lentil soup recipe which looks and tastes much better. Homemade is best! –Melissa

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Brown Bag Vegan Lunch: Tofu & Tomato Salad

I’m really proud of myself, you guys, because I brought coffee, breakfast, and lunch to work everyday this past week. It’s a huge deal for me because I had grown accustomed to buying coffee and lunch everyday (I would buy coffee or soy lattes twice a day most days) and either skipping breakfast or eating junk from the cafeteria. So, here’s what I know about myself: while I don’t mind leftovers, I don’t want to eat the same thing for lunch and dinner for a week, which is pretty much what happened when I made the pasta bake, and I still had some left after that. In order to keep this up, my challenge will be to prepare and plan ahead so that lunch can be easy and not boring.

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One of the lunches I brought this week was a tofu and tomato salad. It took minimal effort, but did require some planning ahead. Here are the ingredients I used:

1 block extra firm tofu, cut into cubes
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
dill (fresh is great but I keep a bottle of Litehouse Freeze-Dried dill which is the next best thing)
salt and pepper to taste

I’d like to note that if I was eating this at home, I would have added some onion, but I didn’t want to offend anyone with my onion breath. Also, hot peppers or red pepper flakes would be a nice addition to this.

First, I had to make sure to press a block of tofu. I put my tofu in the TofuXpress before going to bed one night. Then, the next night, I drained it, cut it into cubes, and put it in a bowl with the chopped tomatoes. Then I mixed in the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dill, and salt and pepper. I then placed all of it in my lunch container and put it in the fridge. In the morning, I grabbed the container, put it in my reusable lunch bag, and took it to work. All I had to do when it was lunchtime was grab a fork and chow down!

Not only was this really easy and about as effortless as lunch can be, it was totally vegan, raw, healthy, and a perfectly substantial lunch. It was also a lot cheaper than anything I would have bought for lunch. Yay! –Melissa

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