Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  Autumn is finally here, or the weather has taken a cool turn anyway, so I'm looking forward to some heavy, saucy meals.  I still have to make things that appeal to Simran's senses and that she can feed herself though, if I want to avoid her giving me a hard time.  Therefore, any dishes that would be difficult for her to feed herself will ideally be accompanied by finger food side dishes.

I currently have the following items in my fridge/pantry that need to be used up:  one red bell pepper, one green bell pepper, two sweet potatoes, two avocados, one bunch lacinato kale, and some celery.  Here is what I'm planning to make:

Vegetarian Korma and Basmati Rice
I still have a lot of curry base in my freezer that I wouldn't mind using up.  I don't remember how well Simran ate this dish the last time I made it, but I remember it was really good and it's healthy, aside from the ghee.  If I serve the rice separately, she will usually eat it by the fistful. 

Vegan Chili and Whole Wheat Rolls and Kale in Walnut Sauce
This lentil-based chili will use up some of the bell pepper in my fridge.  The kale will use up the kale.

Shepherd's Pie and Kale in Walnut Sauce
I've based my shepherd's pie recipe on a mixture of Rip Esselstyn's from The Engine 2 Diet and Alton Brown's from "Good Eats," though it's pretty drastically different from the latter.  Hopefully it will be good. 

Tofu Scramble and Green Banana Power Blended Salad and Zucchini Muffins
This is a quick, easy meal Simran mostly likes.  And if she won't eat much of the salad, she'll scarf down plenty of zucchini in the form of muffins.

Vegetable Paninis and Curry Pumpkin Soup
For the paninis, I plan to try out a new, creamy white bean-based sort of hummus.  I'm not sure what I'll put in it yet, but it needs to render cheese completely unnecessary, and I want it to be creamier and more delicious than the no-tahini hummus I usually make.  It will definitely be a puree of white beans, fresh ground black pepper, nutritional yeast, fresh lemon juice, Bragg liquid aminos or maybe just vegetable broth, and fresh chives (because I have them).  Not sure what else yet, if anything.  The sandwiches will probably feature that, arugula, tomato, and maybe eggplant or zucchini or something like that, sliced really thin.  They'll also use up the rye bread I bought last week for Reubens.

Winter Squash Mac 'n Cheese and Vegetable Barley Soup
The vegetable barley soup will use up some of the celery and carrots in my fridge and barley in my pantry.  I discovered when I made it last week that the squash mac 'n cheese is really good with winter squash puree, and it even has the color of cheese.  The dish doesn't really taste like cheese, but it tastes good and everyone in our house likes it, unlike soy-based fake cheese.

Easy Healthy Veggie Pizza and Peas & Carrots