[tmjohn72]

Hello everyone.

I am about ready to jump off the cliff and go Vegan. In reality it will be more like a curb, but you all know how the brain likes to play tricks. I work at Panera and we are not able to bring items and store them for our lunches. I have heard that they have no vegan options short of their Classic Salad. This location is connected to a Target, Taco Bell, Subway and Charlie's Steakery.

I am trying to figure out meals that I can have quickly since I only receive a 30 minute break that doesn't require any preparation but is as healthy as possible. I can't survive on Bean Burritos without cheese for very long. Has anyone here been in a similar situation and have some tips or ideas. I am glad for the salad and Subway for the veggies but I will not want to eat those everyday either. The only other alternative is to eat nothing during the day but then I fear binging at night and I am trying to lose weight.

Any tips or website references would be greatly appreciated!

 

[luvourmother]

Panera has some vegan options: http://www.veganeatingout.com/panera-bread

peanut butter and jelly is a good standard, if you get bored use different nut butters like almond or sunflower and add fruit like sliced bananas, raisins, or apples

 

[PTree15]

The Mediterranean veggie sandwich is really good, so long as you get it without the cheese. I get it every time I go. It's tasty.

 

[Limes]

I used to bring a lot of Amy's canned soups to work. There's a large selection that are vegan, but many are vegetarian so read carefully. This isn't the healthiest option however, because canned soups contain a lot of salt. A couple times a week at most.

Good ol' PB and J works good too

ETA: You could also bring bags of nuts or muesli to help keep you going!

 

[runnerveggie]

Panera has multiple vegan options...I'm sort of surprised that you aren't aware of them. All their ingredients are listed on their website. The mediterranean veggie sandwich without cheese is great. The black bean soup is vegan, as is the garden vegetable soup if you get it without the pesto.

Plus since you work there you could probably make your own creations - vegan panini with mushrooms, tomatoes, and artichokes, etc..

Can't you just bring an insulated lunch bag with an ice pack? They must have a place for you to store some personal belongings. Taco Bell also has a lot of vegan options (I like the 7 layer burrito with no cheese and no sour cream).

 

[tmjohn72]

Thank you everyone! I found out today that there are tons of vegan options there by looking at a lot of the ingredients. I just started and am still learning the menu. I'm glad I picked a good place to work that has so many options.

 

[LittleOne89]

You said it's connected with a Taco Bell. Obviously you don't want to be eating fast food every day for lunch, but if you're ever strapped for time and aren't able to pack yourself a lunch, a ton of things at Taco Bell can be vegan-ized by having them leave off the cheese, meat, and sour cream. There's the chance of cross contamination but honestly, that's everywhere. EVERYWHERE. So if you're kind of iffy about other people making your food, packed lunches is definitely the way to go.

Any sandwiches that don't need to be kept extremely cold will do. You can even get a thermal, heat up some soup or chili at home and bring that for lunch. Or instead of doing the typical type of lunch, you can choose a variety of snacks to have for lunch. Chex-mix, trail-mix, fruits, juices and smoothies, the possibilities are endless. Even a pumped up salad with dried fruit, nuts, different types of greens and veggies. I'm not a big fan of salads, but they're easy to toss together and keep pretty decently as long as they're sealed up tight.