Onigirazu

This is the perfect lunchbox food. Try it if you don’t believe us!

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup sushi rice, cooked according to package directions
100g mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 spring onion, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 red bell pepper (if following the plan, then take the slice from from the side of the pepper and leave the rest of the pepper uncut; we’ll be using it tomorrow), sliced thinly
4-5 sheets nori

Optional: 
2 tbsp vinegar (rice vinegar, preferably, but cider is also acceptable)
1 tbsp liquid sweetener (we used maple syrup)
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
Sweet chilli sauce
Soy sauce

Method: 
1. If you wish to season the cooked rice, heat together the vinegar, sweetener, and salt. Stir through. 
2. To cook the mushrooms, fry over a low heat with the garlic until the liquid that they release has been evaporated. You can also add ginger and some soy sauce if desired. 
3. To assemble the onigirazu, lay a sheet of nori on a piece of cling film. Spread with a little sweet chilli sauce if desired (although they taste great without!)
4. Moisten hands to put a square of rice in the middle of the nori. Top the rice with some of the cooked mushrooms, carrot, spring onion, avocado, and bell pepper. 
5. To fold, bring opposite corners in to just past the centre point, keeping the parcel nice and tight. Repeat with the remaining two corners. 
6. Wrap the parcel in cling film and leave for a few minutes to allow the nori to soften. 
7. To serve the onigirazu, cut through the centre with a sharp knife, cutting through the cling film. 
8. Unwrap to serve, and enjoy.

Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Want an easy sandwich filling? Try this Chickpea Salad Sandwich with Date and Mustard Dressing quick and cheap dish.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
2 tbsp sweetcorn
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
Suitable-for-vegans bread

For the Dressing: 
1/2 cup soy yoghurt (I used sweetened; if you have plain, you can use that too)
1 tbsp suitable-for-vegans Dijon mustard
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp miso paste
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion granules
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 
1. Lightly mash the chickpeas. Mix with the sweetcorn and tomatoes. 
2. Mix all of the dressing ingredients. 
3. Mix about 2/3 of the dressing, or more if you desire, into the chickpea mix. Season to taste. Serve.

Herbed Tomato and Bread Salad

Heirloom tomatoes are wonderful for this simple yet flavoursome Herbed Tomato and Bread salad, but any tomatoes will do. The measurements are merely approximations; you don’t have to be exact. This serves 4 as a side or 2 as a main.

Ingredients
8 large heirloom tomatoes, cut into eighths 
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
7g fresh Greek basil, roughly chopped
3g fresh mint, finely chopped
4g fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
120g crusty suitable-for-vegan bread, cubed

Directions
1. Mix the tomatoes and herbs in a large bowl. 
2. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, oil (if using), salt and pepper. 
3. When ready to serve, add the bread to the tomatoes, pour over the garlic mixture, and toss. Season to taste.

Peavocado Toast

Peavocado Toast! It’s our new favourite lunch: the peas give a creamy sweetness to the dish and contrast with the acidity of the balsamic vinegar. This is a filling lunch, and a great post-workout refueller! It serves 2.

Ingredients: 

For the peavocado purée:
2 avocados
1 cup peas (defrosted if frozen)
1 large bunch basil
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Pinch chilli flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice

For the tomatoes: 
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp olive oil (optional) 
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 large tomatoes, sliced

Everything else: 
4 slices bread, toasted

Directions: 
1. Purée all the peavocado ingredients in a food processor or blender.
2. Meanwhile, mix the garlic, salt and pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar, and pour over the tomatoes. Heat a large frying pan over a medium low heat. Add the tomatoes and cook each side until slightly softened and coloured. 
3. Make the toast. Top with avocado and tomatoes, and enjoy.

Tomato and Basil Beans

A really easy addition to your salads and sandwiches throughout the week. Simply mix, refrigerate, and use as desired.

3 cans butterbeans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp suitable for vegans pesto
1 small bunch basil, torn or chopped
6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Salt and black pepper

Air-Fried Watermelon

Watermelon can be air-fried for a delicious sandwich topper. If you want your fruit crispier, cook it on 80C for several hours, checking every hour or so. We sprinkled thinly sliced watermelon strips in a little sea salt and cracked black pepper and cooked them at 180C for 15 minutes until lightly dried and still soft. You could also use the oven and a parchment-lined tray to cook the melon.

Toffles

If you haven’t tried a Toffle, you’re missing out. This is tofu cooked in a waffle iron; it’s easy to prepare, and its texture is both crispy and chewy. This recipe is incredibly simple, but you can vary the flavours as you wish.

Ingredients: 
1 block tofu, pressed and cut into 3/4 – 1cm slices
2 tbsp suitable-for-vegans tomato ketchup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp water
2 tsp Jerk spice mix

Directions: 
1. Mix the ketchup, soy sauce, water, spice mix. Coat the tofu in it, and leave to sit for about 10 minutes while you preheat the waffle iron. 
2. When the waffle iron is hot, spray with cooking spray and add the tofu. Save the remaining sauce. Cook until really crispy–depending on the temperature of your iron, this could take between 5 and 15 minutes. 
3. Brush with the remaining sauce and serve.

Sweet Chilli and Lime Yuba

A very easy, quick, and cheap lunch that serves 4. If you don’t have a spiraliser, you can use a vegetable peeler to create ribbons with the vegetables and cook them in the same way. 
 
Ingredients:
500g yuba (tofu skin, fresh or rehydrated)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece ginger, grated
4 courgettes, spiralised
2 carrots, spiralised
1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
 
Directions:
1. Heat a nonstick frying pan over a medium heat, and coat with some spray oil. Fry the yuba until it starts to brown.
2. Add the garlic, ginger, and spiralised vegetables, and season the mixture lightly with salt. Continue to fry until the noodles are soft.
3. Meanwhile, mix the sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, five spice, and cornflour.
4. When the noodles have softened, add the sauce to the pan and cook until thickened. Serve hot.

Tortilla Pinwheels

These Unfried Black Bean Tortilla Pinwheels take just minutes to make. If you want the pinwheels to be more firm, though, leave them in the fridge to set for an hour or two. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 red pepper, roasted (I used one from a jar)
1 can black beans, drained and mashed
1/4 cup broth or water
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground chilli pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp lime juice
3 cups spinach
1 avocado
2 corn tortillas

Directions:
1. Preheat a sauté pan over a medium low heat, and sauté the onion until it starts to take on some colour. Add the garlic and and stir for 30 seconds.
2. Stir in the jalapeño and red pepper, black beans, broth, herbs and spices, salt, tomato purée, and lime. Slowly add the spinach, a handful at a time, and allow to wilt. Cook the mixture until the spinach has completely wilted and all of the liquid is absorbed.
3. Mash the avocado and divide it among the corn tortillas. Spread the filling into the tortillas, roll up, and then cut into pinwheels using a sharp knife.

Mushroom-Sauerkraut Pierogi

These Pierogi have a dough that’s very easy to roll and an incredibly simple, yet flavoursome, filling. This recipe makes 20 pierogi. We served ours with Savoy cabbage, and a cauliflower and carrot purée.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

For the filling:

250g mushrooms, finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup sauerkraut
1 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and white pepper

Directions:
1. Make the dough by mixing the flour and the salt. Make a well in the centre and add the oil. Add 1/2 cup warm water, and bring the dough together. Knead, adding the rest of the water as needed until the dough is smooth and not sticky. Allow to rest while you make the filling.
2. Dry sauté the mushrooms and onions until they have released their liquid. Add the sauerkraut, paprika, salt and pepper, and continue to cook until the liquid is absorbed. Allow to cool while you roll out the dough.
3. Sprinkle work surface with a little flour, divide the dough into two, and roll out one piece until very thin. Cut out circles of dough with a large cooking cutter and repeat with the other half of the dough, re-rolling the scraps as required.
4. Spoon a heaped tsp filling into each circle of dough. Moisten the edges of the dough, fold, and pinch to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat until all circles of dough have been filled and folded, placing the raw pierogi onto a floured silicone sheet as you go.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pierogi a few at a time and cook until they rise to the surface. Remove and drain.
6. When all pierogi have been boiled, lightly shallow fry them in a little oil in a preheated pan. Serve warm.