One of the hurdles to overcome when following a vegan lifestyle, is the workplace. I don't work somewhere with a cafeteria but from friends who work for big companies I've heard they rarely cater to 'other' diets. I once worked for a restaurant which included cooked meals as part of our job however the menu wasn't even vegetarian friendly let alone vegan friendly. And unless you just happen to work near a health store or a vegan café you're probably going to struggle.
I am lucky that my full-time gig is near the Finnieston Strip so if needed I can still find something to eat. However being a bit of a Budget Barbara I also prefer to make my own food rather than spent £5 a day (adding up to £100 a month). If you follow me on Instagram you might have spotted that I regularly upload my packed lunches, which can range from exciting to downright boring (if I'm honest). Today I'm sharing the vegan cheese salad which you might have seen me upload from time to time.
I do realise that most adults will have a working knowledge of how to put together a cheese salad, so I'm not going to throw myself into full on recipe mode. I'm only posting so that other vegans can gather ideas on what they can take into work as well. I also tend to keep my packed lunches simple so I'm not spending ages making them, because aside from being a Budget Barbara, I'm also a Busy Barbara, so I dislike cooking anything flamboyant on a weeknight.
The salad is a combination of rocket, spinach, tomatoes, green olives, cucumber and spring onions. Then I throw in some cooked macaroni which I have allowed to cool down. My cheese of choice is Violife, and if you've been on the circuit a while you'll know of many vegans who speak incredibly favourably of this vegan and soya-free cheese. I used to love cheese and a lack of a good vegan alternative was preventing me from making the switch. When Violife came in my life I was able to cross the bridge into 100% veganism. Some other vegan cheese are okay in a cheese sauce but are horrid on their own, Violife is a cheese I can eat on it's own, or in a salad, or wrap. I then finish it up with a vegan condiment, which I switch up depending on my mood (vegan mayo, piri piri or a Nando's sauce).
Usually I also make a wrap to go along with this. Which is sometimes a cheese wrap just like this (without the pasta, obvs).
What do you like to make in your packed lunch?
