Time for meal planning. I'm baking the pie crust for tonight's tofu pot pie right now. Sameer has been having trouble with his intermittent fasting (either he's just too hungry to function or it's the problem he's had before of being so cold and hungry he can't sleep at night), so he's decided to just eat "green light" foods on what were previously fast days. This means whole, plant-based (no animal products) foods with no added salt, sugar, or oil. To aid in this goal, my goal is to cook green light dinners on those days, which will be a bit of a challenge since those were previously lazy dinner days for me, but it's good for all our health (not to mention my weight), and I have two cookbooks full of exclusively recipes that qualify (The How Not to Die Cookbook and The How Not to Diet Cookbook) for when I need help coming up with what to make. I think my Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook and most of The No Meat Athlete Cookbook also fit these criteria.
For last night's green light dinner, I just made Creole Red Beans & Rice again because I already had the ingredients, this time omitting the oil and salt. The flavor barely even changed (I admittedly use a lot of hot sauce). The oil really adds nothing, so I will be omitting it going forward (my rice pot isn't non-stick, so I just used a couple tablespoons of water in place of the oil to cook the veg and garlic powder).
It's been a nice cool spring, but in a few days the temperature is supposed to jump into the 80s, so I want to plan some meals that involve little to no heating for those days. I still have some celery, carrots, grape tomatoes, and another rogue green bell pepper I just discovered in my fridge. Here is what I'm planning to make:
The next two days are supposed to be chilly and rainy still, so I'm making this tomorrow. It's one of Sameer's healthy days. The idli contains white rice simply because I've never seen brown idli rice and I'm not confident enough yet with idli to try a new recipe (I was bad at idli for a long time). The entire rest of the meal is lentils and vegetables though, so I personally think it's close enough. I can also try to use up the last of the cashew yogurt on top of my soup. I can also dump all the fresh veg I need to use up into the sambar.
I just now put the urad dal and idli rice to soak so it'll be ready to blend into batter tonight (it has to ferment, so this one takes some planning). The ice cream maker core is already in the freezer, so I can make mango sorbet from my last can of unsweetened kesar mango too.
Baked Potato Skins and Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Whole Grain Mustard Sauce and Various Veggie Sides
Friday night. It's going to still be cold, so it'll be a good day to spend baking potatoes. Also it'll be a good way to use up some of the potatoes I'll have leftover after making sambar.
I want to make these again Saturday. They are such delicious junk food, I have leftover homemade "Taco Bell chipotle sauce" from last time, and they're really quick to assemble once I have the rice and beans cooked, and that is my top priority on a Saturday night.
Tofu & Veggie Stir-fry with Brown Rice
Sunday is the last reasonably cool day, so I'll make this then. It's a Healthy Day. I've made this recipe completely oil free in the past by sauteing everything in a small amount of water and then sort of simmering it all in the sauce of water, Bragg's liquid aminos, and corn starch. Sameer had said it was better than when I cooked it in oil (the tofu seemed to absorb a lot more flavor from the other ingredients), so I'll just do that.
Vegan Garlicky Korean Mac and Cheese and Veggie Sides?
Monday. Because I still have all that garlic I roasted.
I'll make this Tuesday when it's supposed to be 87 degrees because it involves no heating of anything. There is some sesame oil in the sauce, but again, I personally think this qualifies as a Healthy Day meal.
Fresh Veggie Tacos and Red Cabbage Slaw
Wednesday because it's no-cook and delicious, and Wednesday is another projected 87 degree day. I just started soaking some broccoli seeds in the hope that I'll have fresh sprouts by then.
They sprouted right in time! One week from soaking.
I'm going to try to find whole grain buns for these and serve them on a Sameer Healthy Day. I used to get Ezekiel brand sprouted grain flourless buns from the freezer section, but I haven't seen them in awhile. I already have the burgers pre-made in the freezer, and I can heat them using just the toaster oven (it'll still be in the 80s).
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