School Lunches

[kittydove]

Hey everyone!

I just joined today, and am hoping to revive this forum....by asking a question of whether any of you face what I face, as a pretty new member of veganism. I have the worst time figuring out what to pack for lunch, and was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions? Oh...and for future references, does pizza dough have any dairy in it?

Thanks!!

<3 Kate

[annie7]

It depends. Some are vegan, some contain whey (dairy). For instance... at Pizza Hut , the pan and thin crust contain whey, but the hand tossed does not (it's vegan). I'm not sure about other restaurants. Store bought dough, just read the ingred. If you like to make homemade there are really decent ones in How it all Vegan and The Garden of Vegan. You might try the recipes at www.vegweb.com too. Hope that helps.

[Casey]

Annie, I'm so confused! I thought the Pizza Hut "Thin 'n' Crispy" dough was vegan - am I wrong about that?

As for what I pack for lunches - fruit, veggies, dip (black bean or hummus or baba ghanouj), pita bread, salad (leafy greens or beans or quinoa, etc), nuts, sandwiches (peanut butter, vegan "deli" slices like "pastrami" or "smoked turkey", lettuce, tomato, etc), veggie wrap, baked tortilla chips, popcorn, sometimes something sweet like vegan brownie/carrot cake/banana cake or granola bars. If you have access to a microwave you could take leftovers or heat up a bean burrito, other favorites include lasagna or any pasta dish, veggie soup or stew. If you have access to hot water you could take instant soups, just add hot water. And although I do eat a lot, I don't take all of the above at the same time! :D

[Erin Pavlina]

Read our article about lunch ideas:

http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-children/lunch-ideas.htm

[PikkuMyy]

Hi,

I'm not a teen anymore but I am a college student and often bring my lunches.

-sandwiches with various fake meats, lettuce, etc.
-salad if it doesn't have to sit too long with dressing in small tupperware
-if I can heat it up, leftovers from when we make tacos or burritos
-pasta with pesto - good at room temp.
-paste with sauce - better heated
-cup a soups
-muffins
-baked potato (when I make them for dinner, I throw in an extra) - but you really should heat it up to kill bacteria if its been out of the fridge for more than a few hours
-crackers and veggie pate

Snacks
-cliff or luna bars
-instant oatmeal

[annie7]

Casey,
I got the 800 number off of a PizzaHut carry out box and called to ask various questions. It's the nationwide access, so it's not just our local restaurant. The representative on the phone pulled up the computer account of all places that supply pizza huts and all ingredients in products...I was told the "original pizza sauce" (not meat sauce) is vegan, but the "marinara" contains whey. The breadsticks contain a non-vegan (unspecified) dough conditioner and the veggie cheese contains casein. The only vegan pizza would be a "veggie lover's hand tossed with no cheese and original pizza sauce"...

That is what I order (whenever we do get pizza,which isn't often) and get extra sauce to help hold the veggies on.

[Casey]

Annie, thanks for the info about Pizza Hut crusts and sauces. I haven't eaten at Pizza Hut in years, but we have family visiting next week and their diet is pretty much limited to pizza so it's good to know what's vegan so I know what I can eat when they get here.

[annie7]

we should start a thread called "what to know" and post our experiences and what we've found out.