Each of these meals are vegetarian or vegan and contain about 400 calories. (The calories in these meals range from 347 calories to 450 calories.) I created this set to show that meatless, low calorie meals do not need to be boring.
I used EasyLunchboxes and Mini Dippers (when applicable) for each of the meals in this article.
I am not temperature sensitive with food. I often enjoy cooked food at room temperature. When I want to heat part of a meal I use silicone cups to make removing an item easy. Sometimes I put the item to be heated in a silicone cup. Sometimes I put the item I don’t want to heat in a silicone cup. I also use silicone cups to separate items.
Rice and Beans
I used a cookie cutter to cut a heart shape from a green bell pepper. It added a fun element to this vegan meal.
This recipe makes 6 servings. I halved the recipe so that it made 3 servings.
1 serving Low Calorie Rice and Beans (259 calories)
11g TJ’s Freeze Dried Cranberries (40 calories)
10 (14 g) Pecan halves (100 calories)
Total: 399 calories
Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread Muffin
I used a cornbread recipe to make cornbread muffins. The muffins were delicious with the vegetarian chili.
The cornbread recipe makes 16 servings. The optional ingredients in the recipe were not counted in the calorie count so I did not use the whole corn but I did use some jalapeno pepper. I halved the recipe and divided the batter into 8 muffin cups. I baked the muffins for about 10 minutes.
I made a few changes to the chili recipe. I only used yellow bell pepper, did not use the brown sugar, and did not use pinto beans.
1 cup Chunky Vegetarian Chili (257 calories)
1 Cornbread Muffin (86 calories)
1 Orange (60 calories)
Total: 403 calories
Dijon Lentil Salad
This meal could easily be vegan if you replace the chocolate with something else.
The recipe included Dijon mustard in the directions but not the ingredient list. I did not measure but put in quite a bit of Dijon. It added an robust flavor to this salad.
1 1/2 cups Dijon Lentil Salad (326 calories)
14 small (40 g) Grapes (30 calories)
1 square Ghirardelli Dark 60% Cacao (53 calories)
Total: 409 calories
Assemble Your Own English Muffin Cream Cheese Pizza
I enjoyed making and eating this vegetarian non-traditional pizza meal. Assemble these pizzas at lunch and eat it in any combination that pleases you.
3 English Muffin Halves (180 calories)
1 oz 1/3 Less Cream Cheese with dried dill and garlic powder to taste (70 calories)
1 oz Low Moisture Part Skim Mozzarella cheese (80 calories)
10 Snow Peas (14 calories)
1 Orange Bell Pepper (35 calories)
1/4 cup Freeze Dried Crunchies Blueberries (20 calories)
Total: 399 calories
Hummus and Pita
I purchased individual packs of Sabra hummus and whole wheat pita to make this delicious vegan lunch. The panda picks added a touch of whimsy.
Hummus (150 calories)
1 Wheat Pita (150 calories)
1/2 cup Spinach (4 calories)
1 medium Tomato (22 calories)
1/2 cup Mandarin Oranges (90 calories)
Total: 416 calories
Peanut Butter Sandwich
I do not often eat sandwiches with store bought bread but this vegan lunch was quick to make and satisfying. I used celery and star picks as garnish.
2 pieces of Wheat Bread (130 calories)
2 tablespoons Peanut Butter (200 calories)
80 g Celery (12 calories)
100 g Apple stars (53 calories)
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon (0 calories)
Total: 395 calories
Polenta with Spinach and White Beans
This vegetarian meal is one of my favorite meals from this article. Usually I make my own polenta but I followed the recipe and used packaged pre-made polenta. It made the recipe quick to make and was delicious.
2 cups Polenta with Spinach and White Beans (249 calories)
1 cup Raspberries (60 calories)
1/2 cup Snow Peas (21 calories)
7 Hazelnuts (70 calories)
Total: 400 calories
Quinoa with Dried Cherries and Pistachios
This vegan meal with quinoa made a fulfilling lunch.
I made a few changes to the recipe. I used onion instead of shallots, vermouth instead of the white wine, and did not use mint.
1 cup Quinoa with Dried Cherries and Pistachios (341 calories)
1 Kiwi (42 calories)
1 cup Spinach (7 calories)
2 Radishes (2 calories)
Total: 392 calories
Vegetarian Salad Shells
I developed the recipe for these vegetarian salad shells. It was a visually appealing and satisfying meal.
Cook extra pasta shells because some will break while cooking. Divide ingredients among pasta shells and place extra ingredients around the filled pasta shells.
4 cooked large Pasta Shells (140 calories)
1 cup shredded Lettuce (5 calories)
6 small Black Olives – sliced (25 calories)
1 oz Feta cheese crumbled (70 calories)
1 medium Tomato (22 calories)
3 (36 g) Strawberries (12 calories)
1/2 cup air-popped Popcorn (15 calories)
Pomegranate Vinaigrette (122 calories)
Total: 411 calories
Pomegranate Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon TJ Pomegranate Vinegar
Combine olive oil and vinegar. Put in a small container with lid. Shake to combine and then pour over salad shells before serving.
Persian Rice Stuffed Zucchini with Pistachios and Dill
Try this beautiful vegan meal for lunch or dinner.
2 Persian Rice Stuffed Zucchini (265 calories)
1 oz Pretzels (110 calories)
1 Kiwi (42 calories)
Total: 417 calories
Spaghetti with Broccoli and Cheese
This quick vegetarian meal was easily made with ingredients found in my house.
1.5 oz dry Spaghetti (cooked) (189 calories)
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (40 calories)
1 cup Broccoli (31 calories)
3 oz Carrots (35 calories)
1/2 Grapefruit (52 calories)
Total: 347 calories
Garbanzo Beans with Tomato and Peppers
I used a cookie cutter to cut a star shapes from a green bell pepper. You will feel like a star for eating this healthy vegan meal.
1 cup Garbanzo Beans with Green Pepper and Tomatoes (345 calories)
20 g Dried Apricot (55 calories)
16 Pistachio Nuts (50 calories)
Total: 450 calories
Garbanzo Beans with Green Pepper and Tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 small onion – chopped, 1 medium green pepper – chopped, 16 oz tomato sauce, 15 oz can garbanzo beans – rinsed
In a medium frying pan, heat olive oil until medium hot. Saute onion and pepper until tender. Add tomato sauce. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Add garbanzo beans. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes.
Sweet Potato with Spinach and Walnuts
This vegetarian meal contains many flavors. I created the star shape by filling a cookie cutter with with hot paprika.
6 oz baked Sweet Potato (146 calories)
Breakstone’s Individual Cottage Cheese (90 calories)
2 tablespoons chopped Walnuts (100 calories)
1 cup Spinach with 1 teaspoon Olive Oil pan fried until wilted (41 calories)
1 Kiwi (42 calories)
Total: 419 calories
Baked Falafel
I made baked Falafel for this satisfying vegan meal. When forming the falafel balls you do need to make them carefully as the recipe suggests. I used a small ice cream scoop to form the Falafel.
3 Falafel balls (154 calories)
1 Wheat Pita (150 calories)
1 medium Tomato (22 calories)
1 oz Sprouts (7 calories)
1/2 cup sliced Cucumber (8 calories)
1 tablespoons Hummus (25 calories)
14 small (40 g) Grapes (30 calories)
Total: 396 calories
Disclaimer:
I am not a nutritionist. I planned these meals based on previous knowledge and internet research. Since many sources have varying nutritional information for the same item, I do not guarantee the calorie counts.
For many of the recipes I used my food scale to weigh items. If you care about calorie counts I recommend buying a food scale. If you do not have a food scale, you can make the same meal in an EasyLunchboxes. You can then reference my photos for food quantities when making your meal.
Eclectic Lamb 
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