Shadowing Practice: VEGAN SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS » healthy + easy (bento box) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hi, I'm Sadia, a dietitian and nutritionist.

Welcome to Pick Up Limes.

Here we go with round two of bento box meal ideas.

Today's theme: lunch.

Now, you don't need bento boxes to make these.

Any lunch containers will do just fine.

And if you see this little recipe alert sign, it means that the recipe already exists up on the Pickup Limes blog.

So I'll leave the link to that in the description box below for you to go and check out.

Now keep in mind, these are just ideas.

For me, it was enough for both lunch as well as my afternoon snack.

But everyone's so individual when it comes to how much they can eat, so portion it out in any way that feels right to you.

For now, let's just dive right in, shall we?

Alright, here we go with lunch number one.

We're gonna start off by making this hummus and avocado sandwich.

I have this on most days of the week.

It's just so easy and so delicious.

I start off by cutting up some veggies.

I chose to use cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and some green olives, and about half of a very ripe avocado that I then sliced thinly.

Then on two pieces of whole grain toast, I spread on this roasted garlic and red pepper hummus

that I batch make on weekends but you can use any store -bought hummus too.

I top this with some fresh chives and basil, but you can use any herbs you have or just skip it if you don't have any.

and then I added the veggies that I just prepared.

you And I sprinkled on some freshly cracked black pepper, which I feel goes really well with the avocado.

And finally some arugula, but you can use any greens you'd like here spinach works especially well too.

Oh, Then on the side I included two chocolate fudge brownie bites.

These are so good and ridiculously easy to make.

All I do is blend together some nuts, dates, and cocoa powder until a fudge -like consistency is formed.

Now on to making this raspberry and almond salad.

I just thinly sliced a quarter of a red onion and coarsely chopped some roasted almonds.

I placed some mixed greens into the bento box

and added some fresh raspberries as well as the almonds and onions just prepared.

Now to make the dressing, I just added equal parts of olive oil and red wine vinegar, but any vinegar like balsamic will do.

some pepper, and a touch of garlic powder, and then mixed it to combine.

You really don't need much dressing at all

because the raspberries themselves act like little packets of dressing that release their flavor when bitten into.

And so that's the completion of lunchbox number one.

For lunchbox number two, we begin by making this brown rice and green bean miso salad.

I always soak my brown rice overnight first, which cuts down the cooking time by half.

But if you don't have time to do this or want to know how long it takes to cook the rice, check the blog post for this recipe.

Now when cooking this half cup of rice, I also crush in half of a vegetable bouillon cube to give it some extra flavor.

Then, when it comes to a boil, I reduce to a simmer and partially cover with a lid.

While the rice is cooking, I make the dressing.

Here I added 2 teaspoons of olive oil 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar,

but you can use any vinegar you'd like, 2 teaspoons of miso paste, you can find this from any Asian supermarket and it adds a real depth of flavor,

a chunk of fresh ginger, some black pepper, and half of a freshly squeezed lemon, although if you have a lime it works really well really well with this recipe too.

And now blend it on high until it's completely well combined and set it aside while you prepare the veggies.

For this, I diced two medium red bell peppers

and chopped about 10 long green beans although any beans will work here and mince half of a red onion too.

After this, the rice should be done cooking.

Add the rice and veggies to a large bowl and drizzle on the dressing and toss it all to combine.

Now I should mention this entire recipe makes about two servings, so enough for two days worth of lunch.

Enjoy it warm or cold, it's super delicious either way.

And then for my afternoon snack, I enjoyed this fruit salad and trail mix.

I just started off with some fruits I had at home, a plum, a kiwi, orange, and some fresh raspberries that I prepared and made ready to eat.

but feel free to use any fruits you have on hand.

The amount I made here was also enough for two servings, so I've included half of what I just prepared in this bento box.

And then on the side, I served it with this homemade trail mix, which was just almonds, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds.

I also included a couple squares of dairy -free dark chocolate because Well, chocolate.

And then I sprinkled on some hemp seeds for the healthy omega fats and extra protein that this offers.

A super simple and incredibly filling snack.

This was actually enough for both my morning and afternoon snack on this day.

And finally, lunchbox number three: We'll start by making this Mediterranean roasted veggie and mashed lentil wrap.

To begin, I prepare the vegetables to be roasted, which are three red bell peppers, cord and sliced, two red onions sliced, and one zucchini that I cut into cubes.

you them.

Then add these vegetables to an oven safe baking dish lined with baking paper

and drizzle on about half a tablespoon of olive oil.

toss until the vegetables are coated and then add about half a teaspoon of garlic powder, half a teaspoon of onion powder and some black pepper or use any herbs you'd like.

They would be delicious either way.

Toss it again and then bake it at 350 Fahrenheit or 180 Celsius.

Now while the veggies roast, we prepare the lentil mash.

For this we'll need 1 1 /2 cups of cooked lentils to heaping tables of tahini, half of a lemon that's freshly squeezed,

and one teaspoon of ground cumin, half a teaspoon of paprika powder, and a sprinkle of salt because I made my own lentils from scratch

but if you use canned then you can omit the salt if you'd like.

Then mash it until you get a desired consistency and set it aside.

Now the veggies should be done after about 30 to 40 minutes depending on how roasted you like them.

To make the wrap, I first added some garlic chili hot sauce

and then the lentil mash followed by the veggies that we just roasted.

I also like to add a few green olives and some baby spinach but you can add any greens you'd like.

Then wrap it up.

Now I would use a whole grain wrap if you can but they're really hard to find here in the Netherlands.

I'm still on the hunt.

you Now these roasted veggies and lentil mash make enough for about four wraps altogether.

So enough for two people to enjoy over two days.

On the side, I included these one bowl peanut butter and chocolate oatmeal cookies.

You won't believe how healthy these are based on their taste.

There's no added oil or sugar in this recipe and it takes only 15 minutes to make from start to finish.

You can enjoy it as a dessert after lunch or as a snack.

I batch make it on the weekend and freeze to enjoy throughout the week.

you So the wrap is delicious just as it is, but I like to serve it with a little bit more of this garlic chili hot sauce on the side.

And most Asian supermarkets carry this or you can use any hot sauce you like, if you like it spicy that is.

Now let's move on to making the afternoon snack.

This is just a veggie and hummus dip.

No rocket science here.

Just use any veggies you have on hand or any veggies that you enjoy.

Chop it up and add it to your lunchbox.

Now this again was enough for two lunchboxes.

I served it with this homemade classic garlic and lemon hummus

that I also batch make on weekends to enjoy throughout the week but any store -bought hummus will work too.

I also added some cherry tomatoes.

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And that's a wrap for lunchbox number three.

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you Alright, three lunch ideas in the bag.

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How easy was that?

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And as I mentioned in the video, there are more than two servings for a lot of these recipes, so you could easily use this video as inspiration for the whole week.

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Now if you liked this video, be sure to give it a thumbs up.

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And if I feel enough love, I'll be sure to make more videos like this in the future.

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Also subscribe if you haven't already.

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Alright, thanks for watching.

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I'll catch you later.

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you Thank you.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 109 sentences and 1556 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:37. The speaker talks fast, about 181 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 74% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

roast /ɹoʊst/ (verb) — To cook food by heating in an oven or over a fire without covering, resulting in a crisp, possibly even slightly charred appearance.
recipe /ˈɹɛs.ɪ.pi/ (noun) — Any set of instructions for preparing a mixture of ingredients.
wrap /ɹæp/ (verb) — To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper.
pepper /ˈpɛp.ə/ (noun) — A plant of the family Piperaceae.
garlic /ˈɡɑɹlɪk/ (noun) — A plant, Allium sativum, related to the onion, having a pungent bulb much used in cooking.
snack /snæk/ (noun) — A light meal.
powder /ˈpaʊ.dɚ/ (noun) — The fine particles which are the result of reducing a dry substance by pounding, grinding, or triturating, or the result of decay; dust.
olive /ˈɑ.lɪv/ (noun) — A tree of species Olea europaea cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil obtained from it.
onion /ˈʌn.jən/ (noun) — A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
mash /mæʃ/ (verb) — To convert into a mash; to reduce to a soft pulpy state by beating or pressure
delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/ (adjective) — Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty.
slice /slaɪs/ (noun) — That which is thin and broad.
vegetable /ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bəl/ (noun) — A plant raised for some edible part of it, such as the leaves, roots, fruit or flowers, but excluding any plant considered to be a fruit, grain, herb, or spice…
vinegar /ˈvɪnəɡɚ/ (noun) — A sour liquid formed by the fermentation of alcohol used as a condiment or preservative; a dilute solution of acetic acid.
almond /ˈɑ(l).mənd/ (noun) — The seed within the drupe of a small deciduous tree in family Rosaceae, Prunus amygdalus, considered a culinary nut.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

go with (verb) — To choose or accept (a suggestion).
have on (verb) — To be wearing.
start off (verb) — To begin.
check out (verb) — To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
cut down (verb) — To cut downward.
cut into (verb) — Synonym of cut in (to include)
cut up (verb) — To cut upward.
followed by — And then, and after that.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 22 contractions and reduced forms, such as you'd, don't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: altogether /ɔl.tuˈɡɛð.ɚ/, thumb /ˈθʌm/, thinly /ˈθɪnli/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: mash /mæʃ/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, freshly /ˈfɹɛʃli/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, completion /kəmˈpliː.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: consistency /kənˈsɪs.tən.si/, supermarket /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, altogether /ɔl.tuˈɡɛð.ɚ/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like roast, recipe, wrap.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is formed · should be done · be roasted
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	mix, which was · roasted, which are

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: VEGAN SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS » healthy + easy (bento box) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?