Meal Planning

It was lack of leafy greens that precipitated my last grocery store trip.  This time it'll be lack of fruit (though I'm also nearly out of greens).  It's currently Sunday and I'm planning to go shopping tomorrow, just over a week and a half after my last trip.  Meal planning has been going fine.  We ate all the vegan methi chik'n, summer rolls, penne alla vodka, saag paneer, tofuna salad (which Sameer has requested henceforth just be called tofu salad because even the suggestion of fish freaks him out but the recipe was really good) sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta primavera with pesto alfredo, and a brinner of egg and cheese biscuits with hashbrown patties (still have some biscuits leftover from last night).  Meals have been yielding 1-2 servings of leftovers if any, which can easily be finished off for lunches the next day, so that's a pretty appropriate amount of food. 

Here is what I plan to make from tonight onward:

Vegan Shepherd's Pie
I'm making this tonight with the intent of using up the half-and-half in the fridge on the potato topping and using up some frozen veg.  It yields one smallish serving of leftovers or none depending on how much Sameer eats.  It's also very easy to scale.

Idli-Sambar
Monday.  I was going to make it earlier but realized too late yesterday that I hadn't started soaking the rice and dal.  This yields more leftovers than almost anything I make, though I have been halving the idli recipe, which helps.  I'll end up eating this for lunch most days this week, so I don't want to make anything else that creates a lot of leftovers.  It's healthy though and helps me not to gain weight.

Tofu Po'Boy Sandwiches and Zucchini Cakes 
Because I like these dishes and there's lots of fresh veg in them, which I want to utilize early in the week while it's all still fresh.  I'm thinking Tuesday.

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls and Garlic Bread made from leftover baguette and Leftover Zucchini Cakes
To use up leftovers Wednesday so they don't get too vast.

Black Bean Burgers on Pretzel Rolls with Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Loaded Tater Tots
I've been wanting to make loaded tater tots ever since my BFF Jackie posted a photo of some she got from a local restaurant last week.  It'll be tater tots (the component I'm currently missing), nacho cheese (which I'll either buy in a jar or just make from the last of my American cheese slices), sour cream, and chives.  The black bean burgers I'm mostly just making because I already have them in the freezer ready to go and they're healthy.  This time when I make the pretzel rolls, I'm going to let them rise again for 40 minutes after rolling them into balls and see if they fluff up better.  They were a little denser than I wanted last time.

Fruit Pizza
A special springtime dessert in honor of Easter, though we'll probably make it mid-week and eat it through the weekend. 

Red Chile Enchiladas and Red Cabbage Slaw
Because red cabbage takes forever to wilt, so I can buy it tomorrow and just leave it in the fridge untouched for a week with no negative repercussions.  The timer starts once you make it into slaw, so I want to make sure we have no other leftovers left when I make this.

Grilled Avocado Enchiladas with leftover Red Cabbage Slaw and Black Beans

Vegan Beef & Broccoli
We made this once from Morningstar veggie beef tips (or similar Morningstar beef product) and leftover wonton dipping sauce, but it was more vinegary than the sauce from beef & broccoli, so I'm going to try the sauce from the linked recipe this time.

Other Dishes that Could Be Made from what's on hand:
Creole Red Beans & Rice
Tofu Pot Pie
Veggie Dogs
Vegan BBQ Ribs
Green Bean Casserole
Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup 
DIY Sandwiches with fresh bread

My goal is not to go out again until a week from Friday or later.  Simran's birthday is two weeks from Tuesday, so I want to be well stocked again by then.