What To Eat For Vegan School Lunches

by Jada Vasquez
(Orange Cove, Ca)

Question:
I'm 13 and recently became vegan:) But the only problem is my school lunches! Once in a blue moon they'll serve salads and I'll eat, but otherwise I will go throughout the WHOLE Day without eating and I get really hungry! I try to chew gum to take away the hunger but it dosn't seem to work! What should I do?!?!?! HELP

Answer:
Congratulations on becoming vegan... but I do have to warn you to be careful. You should definitely, definitely not stop eating food at lunchtime simply because the school lunches are inadequate. That's really dangerous for your health and can cause your body a lot of serious issues.

I understand that it can be difficult to find food in the vast wasteland of the school cafeteria, so my best suggestion is to start packing some lunches. It can actually be really easy and quick to make lunches. If you're in a worst case scenario, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich will do just fine. Throw in an apple, a bag of crunchy rice chips/any chips you like, and you have a pretty decent lunch that will keep you fuller than gum:)

If you are up for getting creative, you can cut up some vegetable slices and pack a small container of hummus for dipping. Or, throw hummus on some bread and stuff it with spinach or lettuce, and that makes a nice sandwich.

You could also check out Jennifer McMann's amazing Vegan Lunch Box, which is chock full of creative, nutritious vegan lunch ideas. It would help to get some of your family on board with eating healthier lunches so that you could all work together to prepare your lunches.

I hope that helps! And please do eat all three full meals. Not only are you doing the right thing for your body, but you are now representing the vegan community as a whole. You have a chance to show people that vegans are healthy, happy, and we never go hungry!!

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