No, I’m not a vegan (not even close) but I am a big fan of  the Vegan Lunchbox blog by Jennifer McCann. Jennifer, makes these extremely elaborate vegan lunches for her son and then blogs about them.  Right now she is having “fill in the blanks” contest where she asked her readers to submit their own vegan lunchbox.  This is my entry.

I am not a food photographer but it looks good doesn’t it ?

This is what’s in it.

Whole wheat Pita Pockets from trader Joe’s filled with plain and tomato basil hummus. (I also bought  basil hummus but when I got home I was disappointed to discover that it was NOT vegan.) Yellow bell pepper, carrot sticks, and cucumber with Vegan Tzatziki dipping sauce.

Quinoa salad with plum tomatoes, cucumber, mint, parsley and a lime and olive oil dressing. Blueberries and strawberries for dessert.

This Quinoa (pronounced KEE-wah)salad is seriously delicious! I got the recipe from Hayven. I know a lot of people are not that familiar with Quiona, it is a South American grain that is very high in protein. You cook it like rice though it must be washed first. (Yes, I know a lot of people wash their rice too but they shouldn’t).

Here are the recipes

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

1 average jalapeño pepper(s), minced

1/2 cup Roma tomato, cup, diced (I used plum tomatoes)

1/4 cup fresh mint, cup, diced

Preparation:

Cook Quinoa, drain and let cool. Mix together oil, lime juice and pepper
and add mix together with other ingredients.

Vegan Tzatziki

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain soy yogurt
• 2 cucumbers, diced small (it helps if you have a Kitchen Aid slicer attachment)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• dash salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped mint leaves
• 1/4 tsp paprika

Preparation:

Mix together all ingredients. Chill for at least an hour before serving to allow flavors to mingle.