Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  It's supposed to be hot this week, so I have the conundrum of wanting to make food that doesn't require heating up the oven, but also needing to serve meals to a 1-yr-old without molars for serious chewing.  I think I managed to pick a few things that won't require the whole oven, but mostly I'm just avoiding soups because those don't sound appetizing in 90-degree weather.

Here is what I currently have that needs to be used up:  one bunch dinosaur (lacinato) kale, a whole bunch of green onions, one red bell pepper, one zucchini, some carrots, several tomatoes, about a cup of baby arugula, about a quarter pound of baby spinach, a few tortillas (some whole grain, some "home style") and four mini pita pockets.  Here is what I'm planning to make:

Engine 2 Sweet Potato Lasagna
I watched "Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue" on Netflix last week, and Rip Esselstyn's vegan lasagna recipe looked pretty good.  I think it bodes well that it's something they eat regularly at his firehouse.

Thai Green Curry and Brown Rice
We haven't had this in awhile, and it will use up the zucchini in the fridge.  It also contains enough green vegetables I don't have to make a green side dish, which is nice.

Tomato Walnut Basil Pasta
This is a new-to-me recipe I found on OhSheGlows.com, a vegan recipe site I now frequent.  If I remember correctly, we've all (Sameer, Simran, and me) liked every recipe we've tried from that site so far, including breakfast oats and a dessert.  This looked like a relatively easy spaghetti sort of dish that contains leafy greens but also looks like something Sim would willingly eat.

Hummus Paninis and Three Bean Salad
The panini recipe is based loosely on the paninis Rip Esselstyn made in that kitchen rescue documentary.  It will include the no-tahini hummus Simran likes so much, as well as any vegetables that seem appealing.  I'm thinking some of the fresh tomatoes we need to use up, the baby spinach and arugula currently in the fridge, maybe roasted red bell peppers if we already have some, and maybe even the mushrooms Rip recommends.  Sameer and Simran can always omit the mushrooms from theirs, though I am slowly training them both to eat mushrooms.  The three bean salad comes from OhSheGlows.com and seemed a decent, if bean-heavy, supplement to the sandwiches.

Vegan Enchiladas with Cilantro Avocado Cream Sauce
I made this enchiladas a couple weeks ago and they were really good.  I made the cream sauce less of a sauce and more of a whipped guacamole with just avocados, cilantro, and garlic salt, and we've been putting it on pretty much all our Tex-Mex meals.  This dish will also use up some of the green onions and red bell pepper currently in the fridge.

Veggie Summer Rolls and Green Banana Power Blended Salad
I'm not sure how well Simran is going to be able to chew up all the raw vegetables in the summer rolls, but they sound so good and so summery that I plan to cut them really finely and hope for the best.

Roasted Tomato Tortilla Pizza and Kale in Walnut Sauce
I've been wanting to experiment with vegan pizzas that don't contain disgusting fake cheese, and this one sounded pretty good.  It will also use up some more tomatoes (including any cherry tomatoes currently ripe on our cherry tomato plant) as well as leftover tortillas and/or pita pockets.