Summer outside | For fun lunches all summer long

Who said you can’t enjoy healthy dishes that are just as easy to prepare as they are to take away?

Laila Maalouf
The Press

Sonia Lizotte founded L’Escouade Culinaire in 2006, a team of chefs who offer cooking classes, culinary workshops and conferences, in addition to a home chef service. She agreed to prepare two colorful, playful and above all super nutritious lunch boxes for us to take advantage of the good weather and picnic in the park all summer long.

The recipes she chose are taken from L’Escouade Culinaire’s brand new book, Everything for lunch, which should be published in early August by Saint-Jean Éditeur, just in time for the start of the school year. She chose them expressly for their ability to withstand the heat and the blazing sun of these hot days.

Entirely vegetarian — because “everything veggie can be transported everywhere,” she says — they are nutritious, satisfying, easy to make and inexpensive, while being surprisingly tasty.

“Eating healthy is fun. And it can taste good too,” says Sonia Lizotte.

Go for the vegetables!

Box contents

• Rice noodle salad
• Raw vegetables
• Lentil granola bars
• Coconut snack mix

Rice noodle salad

Yield: 4 servings

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: none

Storage: 5 days in the fridge, not recommended in the freezer

Ingredients

• Salad
• 370 g (2 cups) cooked rice noodles
• 160 g (1 cup) frozen edamame, cooked
• 60 g (2 cups) fresh spinach
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 70 g (1/2 cup) shelled sunflower seeds
• Vinaigrette
• 3 tbsp. sunflower oil
• 3 tbsp. tamari sauce
• 2 tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Preparation

• 1. In a large bowl, place all the salad ingredients.
• 2. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and mix well.

Lentil granola bars

Yield: 24 bars

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking: 25 minutes

Storage: 7 days in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer

Ingredients

• 400 g (2 cups) canned lentils, rinsed and drained
• 2 eggs
• 60 ml (1/2 cup) canola oil
• 150 g (3/4 cup) brown sugar
• 200 g (2 cups) quick-cooking rolled oats
• 130 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
• 70 g (1/2 cup) shelled sunflower seeds
• 50 g (1/2 cup) ground flax seeds
• 90 g (1/2 cup) dark chocolate chips
• 1 C. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

Preparation

• 1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Take out a rectangular non-stick pan or line it with parchment paper.
• 2. In a food processor, blend the lentils, eggs, canola oil and brown sugar until smooth.
• 3. In a large bowl, combine all other ingredients. Gently stir in the lentil mixture using a wooden spoon. Pour into the mould.
• 4. Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the mixture comes out clean. Let cool before cutting into bars.

Coconut snack mix

Yield: 4 cups

Preparation: 5 minutes

Storage at room temperature: 1 month

Ingredients

• 60 to 80 g (2 cups) of cereal of your choice
• 60 g (1/2 cup) sliced ​​dried coconut
• 5 g (1/2 cup) plain popcorn
• 70 g (1/2 cup) dried apricots
• 90 g (1/2 cup) caramel chips

Preparation

• Mix all ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

A rainbow of vitamins

Box contents

• Mealtime Feta and Olive Muffins
• Carrot Spread
• Raw vegetables
• Homemade fruit puree

Mealtime Feta and Olive Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking: 25 minutes

Storage: 5 days in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer

Ingredients

• 195 g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 C. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 C. tablespoons dried oregano
• 3 eggs
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
• 3 tbsp. tablespoon milk (or more if needed)
• 160 g (1 cup) feta cheese, diced
• 30 g (1/4 cup) sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 70 g (1/2 cup) green olives, sliced

Preparation

• 1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Take out a 12-cavity non-stick muffin pan.
• 2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and oregano.
• 3. In another bowl, combine the eggs, olive oil and milk. Add the dry preparation to the liquid preparation. Add remaining ingredients. Add milk if the texture is too thick. Pour the mixture into the mold cavities.
• 4. Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Carrot Spread

Yield: about 3 1/2 cups

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 5 minutes

Storage: 6 days in the fridge, not recommended in the freezer

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 240 g (2 cups) carrots, grated
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cans of 540 ml white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) mayonnaise
• 1 C. curry powder
• 1 C. sugar
• Salt and pepper from the mill

Preparation

• 1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the carrots, onion and garlic for 5 minutes.
• 2. In a food processor, blend the vegetables with the rest of the ingredients. Add a little olive oil if needed if the texture is too thick.

fruit puree

Yield: 4 servings

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cooking: none

Storage: 4 days in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer

Ingredients

• 25 g (1/4 cup) rolled oats
• 300 g (2 cups) fruit, thawed

Preparation

• 1. In a food processor, grind the oats for 1 minute. Add the thawed fruit and blend until smooth.
• 2. Pour the puree into reusable pouches.