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• For a vegan Bolognese sauce, add 8 ounces of finely chopped tempeh when adding the remaining ingredients. For Sloppy Joes, serve the bolognese sauce in a whole-grain bun.

CHAPTER 6

Uplifting Lunches—Wraps, Rolls, Bowls, & More

This chapter highlights some of the all-stars of the quick and easy vegan lunch: wraps, bowls, and sandwiches. If you prefer to have your largest meal of the day at lunch, with a lighter meal at dinner, consider this your dinner chapter.

The beauty of these dishes is that you can quickly combine your favorite ingredients to create a satisfying meal. Since they lend themselves to infinite variations, rumor has it that you can create a different wrap or bowl every day and never have the same meal twice.

The wraps and sandwiches are ideal meals on the go. You can create them before leaving your home, or pack up the separate components and assemble them at your destination. It’s also fun to have a wrap night where family and friends can design their own dish.

Create your own designer bowl by choosing different grains, greens, and protein such as beans, tofu, or tempeh. It’s the most frequent meal we enjoy at our home, especially when combined with a large salad. Give ’em a try and you may discover that you, too, are drawn to this simple form of dining.

RICE NOODLES WITH MIXED GREENS

When you know you need to eat some leafy greens but you want a little more than that, this is the dish for you. It’s a salad with an Asian noodle stir-fry effect. This is low-fat, bursting with flavor, and full of vegetables with the extra fun of rice noodles.

MAKES 2 LARGE BOWLS

4 ounces uncooked rice stick noodles

2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger

2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon diced red chile, or

½ teaspoon cayenne (optional)

3 cups organic mixed greens or

thinly sliced Swiss chard

1 medium-size carrot, grated (1 cup)

¼ large cucumber, cut into

thin half-moons

Handful of sunflower or

mung bean sprouts

2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion

½ cup minced fresh cilantro

½ cup minced fresh Italian parsley

¼ cup minced fresh mint

Sea salt

1. Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions.

2. Combine the vinegar, agave, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and chile, if using. Whisk well.

3. Place the greens, carrots, cucumber, sprouts, green onion, cilantro, parsley, mint, and salt in a bowl and toss with half of the vinegar mixture. Toss the rice noodles in the remaining vinegar mixture.

4. Layer the noodles down on the plate or bowl first and top with the vegetables. If you are storing this dish for later, it would be a good idea to add only enough dressing to the noodles as needed to keep them moist, so they won’t get sticky. The rest should be stored separately from the vegetables, or the greens will become soggy and wilted.

Variations

• Experiment with other flavors for this dish by substituting freshly squeezed lime juice for the brown rice vinegar or basil for the parsley.

• Any combination of your favorite vegetables would also be good in this dish. Sautéed mushrooms, eggplant, and zucchini are but a few suggestions.

• Top with toasted sesame seeds for an extra yummy crunch.

Wraps 101

For the uninitiated, there are two or three components to every wrap. The first component is the filling, or that which is wrapped. The second is that which wraps that which is wrapped, or the wrapper. The third and optional component is the sauce in which the wrap may be dipped, or which may be poured or spread in the wrap itself. Make sense? If not, pretend you are at a Chinese restaurant and choose one item from column A and one or more from column B and column C.

These are but a few suggestions. Let your imagination run wild as you design your own innovative and delectable wraps. Of course in many instances, you can use this same method