Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  I tweaked last week's meal plan a little bit in order to use up the rest of the green cabbage without having to make chilli garlic noodles again this week.  My fridge is currently packed with food, thanks in part to getting takeout from a new local Indo-Chinese restaurant and in part to my not paying much attention to what was already in there when I went shopping last week.  I'm aiming to use up as much as possible in this next week to clear it back out.  I currently have the following to use up:  3 lbs baby red potatoes, too many carrots, a crown of brown cut into florets, the better part of two celery hearts, a can of chickpeas I opened thinking it was cannellini beans because I wasn't paying attention, two hearts of Romaine lettuce, half a green cabbage shredded, almost a pound and a half of fresh baby spinach, and three avocados.  Here is what I'm planning to make:

Vegan Mashed Potatoes and Vegan Fried Chicken and Sauteed Cabbage and Crudites with Homemade Ranch Dip
This is what I'm making tonight.  I made mashed potatoes out of all three pounds of the baby red potatoes, leaving the skin on because they're organic and tiny and it saves time and nutrition.  The sauteed cabbage will use up the last of the green cabbage, as well as prepare any leftovers for tomorrow night's Bubble & Squeak.  I already made the ranch dip, and can serve it with some of my broccoli and numerous carrots.

Bubble & Squeak and Vegan Sausages
I really like this dish and haven't made it in years.  It'll be extra easy since I'll have leftover mashed potatoes and sauteed cabbage from tonight.  I like Bubble & Squeak with a fried egg on top.  I've been meaning to try this vegan sausage recipe forever. 

Vegan Shepherd's Pie and Vegetable Barley Soup
This will be a good Halloween meal since I can make it all in advance and just heat it up when we're ready to eat -- no need to miss any of the trick-or-treat action.  The shepherd's pie will use up any remaining mashed potatoes from the previous two nights (hopefully there will be enough), some of the carrots and some of the celery.  The soup will use up the chickpeas and again some of the carrots and celery.

Rigatoni alla Anthony  
This is a quick and easy dish that will use up about a pound of spinach, as well as some of the pasta in my pantry. 
  
Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Spinach & Goat Cheese and Wild Rice Pilaf and Sauteed Carrots
I haven't made these mushrooms in awhile, and they will use up some of the spinach.  There is WAY too much wild rice in the pantry, so I'll make a pilaf.

Zucchini 'Crab' Cakes and Cheese Fries and Green Salad with Homemade Ranch Dip
I have some French fries in the freezer that this will use up, as well as the Romaine and a good part of the ranch dip.

Avocado Grilled Enchiladas with Red Chile Pesto with  Black Beans
I'm going to try making my own chipotle salsa this time around.  I haven't seen the Morningstar chik'n strips meal starters in awhile, so I'm going to use the leftover seitan from tonight's vegan fried chicken (I won't have enough batter to fry all of it anyway).

Spaghetti & Veggie Meatballs in Marinara
This is just instant food I have in the pantry and freezer.  We've had so many leftovers lately and gotten takeout at least once a week for a few weeks that I don't want to go overboard on shopping.  This is my "just in case" meal.

Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars

I saw some pumpkin spice granola at Trader Joe's last week and thought, "I could make that."  I glanced at the ingredients section and came home and made this.  I am very proud of it because it's pretty tasty and incredibly healthy.  It seems to be Simran's new favorite thing, and it's sweet and chewy enough that you can't really tell there is no sugar or oil.

Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
14 oz. pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling, just the pumpkin part)
15 medjool dates, pitted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. 

3. Toast sesame seeds and chopped pecans in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Make sure to keep them moving so they don't burn.  When they start to smell toasty (1-2 minutes), remove from heat.

4. If you have a high-speed blender, I recommend putting the pumpkin puree and pitted dates and vanilla in it and blending them up.  If not, chop the dates as finely as you can and add them to the puree and vanilla.

5. Combine rolled oats, nuts, salt, and spices in a large bowl.  Add pumpkin mixture, and stir in raisins.

6. Pour granola into prepared baking pan and smooth out evenly.  Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.  Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Meal Planning

Vegan Shepherd's Pie 



Seitan & Veggie Stirfry and Brown Rice

Bean Bolognese and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Chilli-Garlic Noodles  

Vegan Mashed Potatoes and Vegan Fried Chicken and Crudites with Homemade Ranch Dip

Enchiladas Verdes and Red Cabbage Slaw and Slow Cooker Black Beans  

Nachos and Red Cabbage Slaw

Meal Planning

Vegan Shepherd's Pie 

Cheese Pizza and Crudites with Homemade Ranch Dressing

Seitan & Veggie Stirfry and Brown Rice

Reubens and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Crispy Breaded Tofu Strips and Winter Squash Mac 'n Cheeze and Collard Greens with Almonds    

Rigatoni alla Anthony  

Saag Tofu and Brown Basmati Rice and Naan 

Meal Planning

Time for meal planning.  I currently have the following in the fridge:  a yellow bell pepper, a pound of whole white mushrooms, two zucchini, some baby spinach, half a package of corn tortillas, and some Greek yogurt.

Vegan Green Goddess Dressing with Grilled Veggie Kabobs and Cilantro-Lime Brown Basmati Rice and Tandoori Tofu
This will use up the yellow bell pepper and most of the mushrooms, as well as one of the zucchini.

Chilaquiles Casserole and Green Salad with Cucumber-Avocado Vinaigrette
This will use up most of the remaining corn tortillas and the remaining zucchini. 

Curried French Lentils and Brown Basmati Rice
I just discovered this website straightupfood.com last week when I tried the kichari recipe.  Sameer and I both thought it was good enough to make again (this is a higher compliment than it sounds like -- this was not my first kichari recipe), it was filling enough we didn't eat other snacks afterward (our biggest pitfall when eating "clean"), and it even had leafy greens in it. 

The curried lentils will use up the leftover cauliflower florets I tossed in the freezer after making vegetarian korma last week.  It will also use up some of that spinach in the fridge and -- it sounds like -- pretty much whatever else I want to toss in there.

Pineapple Stir-fry
I make stir-fry about every other week, and I'd like to try something new.  This should use up most of the remaining mushrooms, and I already have a can of unsweetened pineapple chunks in the pantry.  I'm considering getting brown rice noodles to go with this since I've served exclusively short-grain brown rice with stir-fry for months.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie
This recipe is a lot of work just because of the mashed potatoes, but it will use up a lot of random vegetables from my freezer, as well as any remaining mushroom slices.

Lentil & Rice Loaf and Creamy Mushroom Gravy and Mashed Potatoes
I've tried many a lentil loaf and never found one worth making a second time, but lentils are so healthy and cheap and I love things I can eat with mashed potatoes and gravy, so I keep trying.  I figure any mashed potatoes leftover after I make the shepherd's pies can go with this meal.

Cheese Pizza and Crudites with Homemade Ranch Dressing  I already have at least one more pizza dough in the freezer, and I just remember I have a crown of fresh broccoli too.
 

Meal Planning

A lot of last week's meal planning got thrown out the window, and I'm going grocery shopping a day earlier than usual, so I have a whole lot of carry-over for this week.  Here is what I'm making:

Vegetarian Korma and Brown Basmati Rice and Fresh Naan

Kichari and Mixed Vegetable Raita

Seitan & Veggie Stirfry and Brown Rice

Fresh Veggie Tacos with Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas and Slow-Cooker Refried Beans and Red Cabbage Slaw  

Vegetable Barley Soup and Black Bean Burgers

Bean Bolognese and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Crispy Breaded Tofu Strips and Winter Squash Mac 'n Cheeze and Collard Greens with Almonds

Vegan Green Goddess Dressing with Grilled Veggie Kabobs and Cilantro-Lime Brown Basmati Rice