"VeganLunchBox" news and stories

Do you like to sweeten baked goods with maple syrup? It can be a wonderful way to give your cakes and quick breads flavor and sweetness. If you use dark maple syrup, you also add some vitamins to your finished product. However, in the current economy, real maple syrup can sometimes be out of reach for daily use.

Happily, Jennifer McCann of Vegan Lunch Box fame comes to the rescue, with an improvised, homemade "maple syrup" that can take the place of the real stuff in your baking. It's especially good for vegans who are avoiding honey. She combines brown sugar, maple flavoring, water and cornstarch and gets something that is similar to the the real thing.

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Each day, I pack up some food to bring along with me to work. Some days it's a complete meal, whereas other days, I just bring a snack (knowing that either we're having lunch at work or I'm going to run out and grab something). One consistent thing about my to-go food is that it nearly always includes a whole piece of fruit. However, I rarely feel comfortable just tossing an apple, pear or nectarine straight into my bag, for fear that it will get punctured or smashed. Instead I walk to work, clutching a piece of fruit. It's an effective protective measure, but not very convenient if I have other things to carry.

Lucky for me, Jennifer McCann of Vegan Lunch Box fame has devised a clever way to keep your lunch time piece of fruit unscathed. She has whipped up a pattern for an apple cozy and is making it available on her blog (she's also got patterns available for orange and banana cozies). So get out those crochet hooks and dress your fruit in style.

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The day I first discovered the blog Vegan Lunch Box, I sat at my desk and read every single word of the archives. This was back in early spring of 2006, so there weren't too many months to sort through (Jennifer started the blog in September 2005), but I imagine I spent at least three hours reading while I should have been doing work. Even though I'm not a vegan (nor have I ever eschewed the animal products) I loved seeing all the creative ways Jennifer McCann packed innovative and delicious meals for her son to eat while at school.

I remember when she self-published the first version of this book (those copies are now in collectible demand by Vegan Lunch Box fans) and later I was thrilled to hear that she had gotten a deal with a publisher to make the book more widely available. Happily, a copy of the new, De Capo Press version of Vegan Lunch Box landed in my mailbox earlier this week and I delighted to say that all the charm and appeal of the Jennifer's blog translates well into print.

Parents, especially ones with vegan and vegetarian kids, will adore this book. It's also great for anyone who packs a lunch and is trying to cut animal products out of their diet. It is full of creative recipes and inspiring lunch time serving suggestions. If you're trying to shake off the lunch box doldrums this is just the book to help you do that. It's divided into two sections. The first offers up lunch time menus and the second contains all the recipes. The menus always reference the page number where the suggested recipe can be found, making for easy prep.

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I've always enjoyed the energy and care that people put into packing bento box lunches. I love checking out the stuff that Biggie creates on Lunch in a Box and Jennifer McCann's Vegan Lunch Box was once one of my daily blog stops (she doesn't update as regularly as she used to). Today's bento image comes to us from Kate, a regular commenter and photo uploader around these parts. She's packed up a delicious and abundant lunch that has me wishing she'd come to my house and pack me a mid-day meal.

Thanks for adding your image to the Slashfood Flickr pool, Kate!

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