Lunch, second to breakfast, is the most essential everyday meal which you can fully enjoy while refueling your system. And it also happens to be the meal that people enjoy exploring options over. If you always have to buy lunch at the office and feel bored with the same lunch options, it’s time to switch to a vegetarian lunch. This is not just inexpensive but also appetizing and healthy, too. Since vegetarian foods are popular these days, you also have an unlimited choice of healthy recipes that are designed for people who want to live healthily and have a longer life (and help save the planet, too!).

Eating lunch renews your energy and increases your blood sugar levels to keep you focused and full for the next several hours. If you feel dull or heavy because of stressful work, eating a small amount of veggie lunch can make you feel refreshed and ready for any task. Eating a healthy lunch will also keep your metabolism active, especially if you have eaten a moderately-sized breakfast and snack. Studies show that if you skip large meals like lunch, it creates gaps in keeping your metabolism functioning well.

So no matter how busy you think you are, you need to make time for lunch. A nutritious lunch will keep your body active and healthy. It should have a combination of carbohydrates and protein to fuel you for the rest of the day. There should be a balance between the five primary food groups: vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and protein.

Here are some great and nutritious vegetarian lunch ideas that are quick to prepare and will only cost you a few bucks:

Sandwiches

This is one (if not the most, because you really can’t have too many sandwiches) of the favorite foods of vegetarians. There are various choices of vegetables you can include in your sandwiches like eggplant, mushrooms, spinach, lettuce, onions, zucchini, olives, bell pepper, pickles, and more. You can also add a bit of low-fat cheese to bring in some taste to your veggie sandwich. It’s a cheap but yummy food that will keep you full for the rest of the day. Talk about getting a real bargain!

Salads

You can either choose to prepare a macaroni salad or vegetable salad. You can mix black olives, celery, spring onion, and sweet pickle for macaroni salad and top it with mustard and mayonnaise. It wouldn’t take over a few minutes to prepare this delicious and healthy lunch. 

Add all the leafy vegetables, grapefruit, cranberries, beans, bell peppers, and mushrooms for your vegetable salad and top off with mayonnaise or your favorite vinaigrette. This would not just keep you full for hours but also leave you feeling light and less drowsy.

Wraps

Tofu, cheddar, spinach, ranch dressing, and parmesan all rolled in a flour wrap or a tortilla is a great option, too. This will be loved even by tofu-haters, given the scrumptious taste it has.

Stir-fry

Mix green beans, broccoli, and pepper in small cuts for a nutritious stir-fry. You can also add tofu, but make sure to coat it with cornstarch to give it a light crust. This way, you would not end up biting into tofu that has a raw taste to it.

Soups

A warm bowl soup is perfect for winter days. A creamy squash soup can refuel you, along with spicy sweet potato and butternut. The spice level depends on your taste so make it as hot as you like it to be.

You could explore several different kinds of soups to suit your mood and taste. It’s easy to make and a very healthy meal too.

Egg Salads

This is a delicious and nutritious lunch and snack all in one – egg salad on top of lettuce and side dishes like cocktail bread and some veggies. That’s one salad you could never say no to!

For your dessert, you can have blueberries and banana with yogurt. You can also add other veggies that you like.

Eating the right food is important to keep your stomach full, and your body functioning at 100%. You can have a veggie plan for a week so you don’t have to repeat the recipe twice. You have wide choices of veggie foods to choose from so you can come up with a more delicious and satisfying lunch, and some of them only take a few minutes to make!

So before you leave for your office, make it a habit to prepare your vegetarian lunch every day. And when you go home after a day’s work, you’ll have the same energy as when you left.