Update to This Week's Meal Plan

This plan gets us all the way through Christmas Eve dinner. It might be too much food, but we'll see. It's possible I'll push the Thai red curry or pasta primavera to after Christmas. I got started late today on cooking dinner, but we have some leftovers and I steamed the remainder of the sweet potatoes today, so tonight we're just eating whatever we can scrounge from the fridge.

Garlicky Vegan Korean Mac 'n Cheese

Tomorrow night. I was going to make this tonight when I realized I didn't start early enough. I already have all the ingredients.

Tofu Pot Pie

Tuesday night. I already have all the ingredients.

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

I already have all the ingredients.

Vegetable Barley Soup and Frozen Fake Meats

Yet again I require one zucchini. Last time I used buckeye beans from my Rancho Gordon Bean stash in place of the chickpeas. I'll probably use the same ones again this time.

Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup

Because the tofu pot pie only utilizes half a block of tofu, and this will finish it off. I just need a bell pepper, coconut milk (if I don't have any), and some red curry paste to make this, and it'll use up some more of my frozen veg and the last of my brown rice mai fun noodles.

Pasta Primavera with Soy Curls & Alfredo Sauce

To use up even more frozen veg, as well as the open block of cream cheese in the fridge. And possibly leftover cream or half-and-half from making the ice cream. Maybe I'll buy one more zucchini to include in this.

Sausage/Egg/Cheese Biscuits

Maybe two days before Christmas. Because I'm going to have to eggs leftover anyway from making the cinnamon ice cream for Christmas.

Christmas Eve Homemade Pizza

Sameer will be making a Christmas Eve pan pizza at his own request. I'll need to buy mozzarella, black olives, a green bell pepper, and possibly pizza sauce.

Today I made another loaf of Gingerbread Banana Bread and a fresh batch of gingerbread spice groatnola (just used the same spice blend as in the banana bread recipe). 

Christmas 2023

Crudites and Pumpernickel Bread with Homemade Ranch Dressing

For lunch and noshing on till dinner time.

 

Gardein Turkey Cutlets with Gravy 

 

Green Bean Casserole

Stuffed Mushrooms with Horseradish Cream Sauce

Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Whole Grain Mustard Sauce

Boxed Mashed Potatoes

Cheese Herb Rolls 

Candied Pears

Pumpkin Pie

I'll just buy this from the grocery store because it's not worthing making from scratch.

Cinnamon Ice Cream 

The ice cream is worth making from scratch.

Meal Planning

I didn't really consider how few days Sunday's meal plan would get us through. It's only Wednesday, and the only thing I haven't made yet is the soup. Here is a meal plan for some of the days over the next week and a half leading up to Christmas. I'm sure I'll have to plot out more or have leftover night or something, but I can finally see the bottom of the freezer drawer, so whatever I'm doing is working. Today's plan is geared toward continuing to clear out the freezer and not buying much beyond produce. It will get us through the weekend at least.

Vegetable Barley Soup and Grilled Cheese

I just need sourdough bread and some cheeses for the sandwiches. I'm going to be in Naperville today for other shopping, so I think I'll get fresh bread from the Whole Foods there and make this tonight.

DIY Burritos/Quesadilla Night

Because I have three or four ripe avocados in the fridge right now, plus cilantro and a jalapeno, so I'll make guacamole. Also special black beans from my latest Rancho Gordo Bean haul. I do need lettuce and tomatoes for burritos, but I want those for DIY sandwich nights anyway.

Prepared Vegetarian Meats and Sweet Potatoes and Peas

I have sweet potatoes that won't stay good for long. And so many fake meats in the freezer, which I love because it makes for a very easy dinner. I need to do this one sooner rather than later before the sweet potatoes go bad. Probably tomorrow. I already have everything for making this meal.

Garlicky Vegan Korean Mac 'n Cheese

To use up my vegan Parm, roasted garlic, and some of my frozen broccoli. I'm out of elbow macaroni, so this dinner will finish off an open box of bow-tie pasta. I already have everything to make this.

Tofu Pot Pie

Because I still have blueberry pie filling I made last time that we could have with leftover pie crust, and the pot pie will use up a small amount of what I've just discovered is way too many bags of peas in my freezer. I don't need to buy anything to make this meal.

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

To use up more of the broccoli from the freezer and white beans from my latest Rancho Gordo Bean box. This soup could go with sandwiches, fake meats from the freezer, or other leftovers to make a full meal. I already have all the ingredients on hand.

Side note: I made the Gingerbread Banana Bread from Vegan Richa yesterday, and it's fantastic. Simran had it as an afterschool snack and again as breakfast this morning. I'll make another loaf of it very soon, partly because I like it and it's not that unhealthy and partly because of my hoard of bananas. We're also making Gingerbread Cookies this week. Sameer promised Simran.

Since the fridge and freezer will be under control by Christmas, my January meal planning goal will be clearing out the pantry. I have some boxes of noodles and lots of beans taking up space. My "baking ingredients" and "whole grains, etc." boxes are so full I don't even know what all is in them, so they will both be early focal points. I know I have more than one bag of almond flour and more than one bag of brown sugar with my baking stuff, and I know I have three kinds of cornmeal and suspect I have more quinoa than I know about (there used to be a small bag of red quinoa that I don't remember finishing off). I've also got canned goods that'll make more room when I use them up. I figure I'll just pull out a few non-perishable items each week and meal plan around them, aiming to buy little more than produce.

Anti-Inflammatory Golden Chai

Turmeric is supposedly really effective as an anti-inflammatory, up there with prescriptions for ulcerative colitis. While I have not noticed that effect myself, I'm still trying to incorporate turmeric into my daily diet. This is the first way I've managed to consume more than half a teaspoon at a time and actually like it.

Ingredients

1/2 - 1 tsp ground turmeric

3 oz hot water

chai masala of your choosing (I coarsely grind 1 cinnamon stick, about 5 green cardamom pods, 8 cloves, and 8 peppercorns and put them in my tea infuser basket. I also include a teaspoon of honeybush tea, rooibos, or another herbal blend.)

1 tsp honey ginger syrup (I made this so I wouldn't have to cut fresh ginger to add to my tea infuser every time I make this tea. I just keep the syrup in the fridge now. It also dissolves much better than plain honey.)

3 oz unsweetened soy milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)

Directions

1) Put turmeric in a mug, add tea infuser filled with additional tea and spices, and fill your mug halfway with hot water (or however much you have to fill it for your ingredients to all be submerged). Let steep for 15 minutes.

2) Remove your tea infuser and add honey ginger syrup and stir. 

3) Top with non-dairy milk and heat for 1 minute in the microwave because it doesn't taste great room temperature. Stir again and drink hot.

Nail Strengthening Cuticle Oil

Non-edible recipe. My nails have always been pretty thin and bent too easily, so awhile back I started trying out oils and polishes that are meant to strengthen them. This is what has worked best for me. 

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp jojoba oil (or sweet almond oil)

1/2 tsp vitamin E oil

6 drops lavender essential oil

6 drops lemon essential oil

Directions

1) Mix together all the ingredients and store them in a small glass bottle with dropper. 

2) Apply a drop to each cuticle/nail (and optionally to the backs of your hands as well for moisturizing purposes) before bed and rub it in. 

I've been using this daily for a couple months now and my nails grow significantly longer now without chipping or peeling. Also, the skin on my hands hasn't gotten dried out yet this year and it's December. Compare with past years when I moisturized with petroleum jelly and still got dry, cracked skin.

Meal Planning

Time for some meal planning. I'm still working on cleaning out the freezer for Christmas, though I've made some progress. Here is what I've got to use up in the immediate future, including some fridge leftovers: leftover spiced spinach tofu curry, cooked sweet potatoes, cinnamon baked apples, leftover cooked white rice, baked beans, homemade blueberry pie filling, some Bosco stix Sameer made, homemade refried black beans, a tiny bit of guacamole, lettuce, and pico de gallo. We've also got four ripe avocados, cashew yogurt, vegan Parmesan, and a tomato. The things taking up the most space in the freezer right now seem to be assorted frozen vegetables, Indian flatbreads, and frozen fruit, especially bananas. Here is what I'm making this week:

Enchilada Casserole

I don't have corn tortillas at the moment and I want to do this today, so I'm going to try doing it with flour tortillas. It'll use up the refried black beans, and I can top them with the guac, pico de gallo, and lettuce. If I have any kind of enchilada sauce in a can I'll just use that. If not, I'll have to make some from the red chile enchilada recipe or similar. This dinner should also use up two containers of cheese currently in the fridge and possibly more of the avocados. I also might just make this into enchiladas. The difference between that and casserole in my mind is whether the tortillas are rolled up and filled (enchiladas) or layered (casserole).

Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread

This was easy and good this past week, and it'll use up some more frozen veg, TVP, and cashew yogurt, as well as some more of my Rancho Gordo Beans. Last time I used a combination of Ayocote Morado beans and Bayo Gordo beans and it was really good, so I'll probably just do that again. I *might* need a new can of tomatoes to make this meal, but otherwise I've got everything I need. I could also serve any leftover Bosco stix alongside this meal. I made this last time by presoaking and pressure cooking the beans, then cooking everything together in the Instant Pot on saute followed by the bean/chili function (I'm loving my Instant Pot so much for soups and stews these days -- way more energy efficient than simmering something on the gas stove top for 45 minutes). 

Indian Food Sundries

The leftover spiced spinach tofu. The saag paneer individual freezer meal that has been taking up space in there for months. Dal Lasooni with mung beans (I might need tomato sauce and fresh cilantro). Turmeric mustard seed rice from the leftover white rice and cashew yogurt. A combination of garlic naan, onion kulcha, and chapati from the freezer.

Vegetable Barley Soup

This is nice to have available at lunch time, and Sameer wanted to have it again immediately. I think I need to buy a zucchini again but otherwise have everything I need. I used up the last of my tiny chickpeas last time, so I'll try out another Rancho Gordo Bean variety this time. Something small and firm. I finally ran out of pearled barley and started using my hulled barley last time (slightly less processed than pearled) and it cooked up just fine. I precooked the beans in the Instant Pot and then dumped everything together in the Instant Pot and cooked it on the soup function. I've put this recipe at the end because it might create too much soup/stew on a week when I'm already making chili and dal. I might make it alongside sandwiches later in the week.

I took inventory of my fridge and pantry and cross-referenced against the above recipes, and here is what I need to buy to make these meals:

• 1 zucchini
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1 14 oz can tomato puree 

That's it. Not bad for creating a net loss in my stockpile of food. I do need to make enchilada sauce for tonight though.

Ideas for using up my stockpile of frozen over-ripe bananas:

• Banana "nice cream" with chocolate, strawberry, cherry, or blueberry (this is my go-to recipe for healthy dessert that uses up frozen bananas; I usually just blend up a couple frozen bananas, a couple spoonfuls of cocoa powder, and just enough unsweetened soy milk to thin it out)
• Banana bread
• Banana mocha chocolate chip muffins (I'd need someone to gift most of these to)
• Kale-Berry smoothies (I don't have kale at the moment, but I think I have everything else -- I could probably make this once from the spinach and berries currently in my freezer)
• Gingerbread Banana Bread (never made this before but it sounds good and maybe Sim would eat it for breakfast or snacks -- she's not a big banana person, but we all love gingerbread)

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning. Here is what I have to use up: the last dregs of a bottle of KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce (since I didn't end up making vegan ribs the last time I planned it), about half a frozen diced red bell pepper, lettuce, assorted frozen vegetables, at least three packages of frozen garlic naan, and some textured vegetable protein also taking up space in the freezer. Only three more weeks until Christmas, and only two and a half more weeks until Sameer's big box of frozen chocolate croissants arrives needing a place in the freezer. Here is what I'm making:

Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread

I plan to include the TVP, the frozen diced bell pepper, and some of my assorted frozen vegetables in the chili, as well as half a cup of one of my dried Rancho Gordo Beans selections. I mostly just need to buy garnish type stuff for this meal, like the cilantro and green onions.

Vegan BBQ Ribs and Sweet Potatoes and Baked Beans

To use up the barbecue sauce and some of the vital wheat gluten in my freezer. I already have at least one can of baked beans and several pounds of sweet potatoes, so I don't think I need to buy anything for this meal. I also have a little leftover bread I could theoretically use to make the leftovers into McRib-style sandwiches. I think I'll make this today since I won't require going to the store just yet.

Garlicky Vegan Korean Mac 'n Cheese

Because I already have everything I need to make this meal, and it'll use up some of my frozen broccoli as well as the roasted garlic taking up space in my fridge and the elbow macaroni in the pantry.

Spiced Spinach Tofu Stir-Fry and Brown Basmati Rice

This will involve more ingredients I actually need to buy, like fresh spinach, but it'll also use up a bag of frozen garlic naan. I might only buy a small container of fresh spinach this time and also use up the frozen spinach I already have on this meal.

I expect at least one day this week to end up being leftover night or DIY sandwiches and leftovers night, so this should see us through to the weekend.

[Edited 12/5/2023: Three avocados just became ripe. If I buy a bag of tortilla chips sometime this week, we could do nacho night on Saturday after Simran's school musical. I already have fresh tomatoes, beans, cheese, and some green onions and sour cream that I purchased for chili night.]

Back from Thanksgiving Trip Meal Planning

Simran has been sick since the day before Thanksgiving, and we just got home yesterday afternoon. She's started wanting occasional food again and her fever is getting back to normal, but I'm not forcing her to eat anything she doesn't want to eat when she's sick, so I'm not inclined to make as much food. The only thing she really wants right now is pumpkin pie, which I don't have, nor do I have the ingredients to make one, and it's been snowing steadily since before we got up this morning. Here is what I've got to use up (some from the freezer, some from a grocery store run after we got home yesterday): three entire containers of homemade soup taking up space in the freezer, lettuce, tomatoes, so many bags of dry beans from my latest Rancho Gordo Bean Club box, and a few sweet potatoes. Here is what I'm making for the next few days:

DIY Sandwiches and Vegetable Barley Soup

DIY Burritos

This will use up some beans, lettuce, and tomato.

Vegan Lentil Quinoa Loaf and Sweet Potatoes and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

The loaf will use up some more lentils and the carrots and celery in the fridge. Just realized I have two entire containers of vegan cream of broccoli soup in the freezer from the last time I made it, so I don't think I'll be making more yet this week. I need to clear out the freezer enough that it can hold both my ice cream maker core (gigantic) and the box of ready-to-bake chocolate croissants (even larger) that I ordered Sameer from Williams-Sonoma. 

Tofu Pot Pie

Mostly because it uses up the tofu and some of the veg I've got taking up space in the freezer. I don't really want to eat this though.

Mini-Thanksgiving

So far Sim has only expressed an interest in this including pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. This will be a special Friday night meal. I'll tack on a frozen pre-made fake meat and some kind of green vegetable, probably Seared French Beans with Caper Bagna Cauda or Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Whole Grain Mustard Sauce. And maybe a serving of Christmas Lima Beans from my Rancho Gordo Bean box. Maybe even in place of the fake meat.

Meal Planning

Sameer will be out of town Wednesday and Thursday for a work conference, so it'll just be me and Sim those nights. I'm still working on clearing the freezer and cleaning out the pantry. The fridge is pretty much down to condiments, pickled things, and very recent leftovers. Here is what I'm making:

Vegan Lentil Quinoa Loaf and Sweet Potatoes and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

I keep making the broccoli soup because it's healthy and easy on to digest (presumably due to the pureeing). I'll make today's batch with the leftover buckeye beans in the fridge and the remainder of the kale in the freezer. I think the loaf will use up my remaining brown lentils, in which case I'll substitute black caviar lentils to make up the difference. They're tiny but have a similar firmness that should work. I think I just need celery and broccoli to make this meal.

Vegan BBQ Ribs and Collard Greens with Almonds

To use up the half bottle of KC Masterpiece in the fridge and some of the vital wheat gluten taking up space in the freezer. I already have everything I need to make this meal.

Miso Soup with Spinach & Dulse (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 51) and Grocery Store Vegetable Sushi?

Sim has musical practice until dinnertime on Wednesday, so this should be pretty easy for me to throw together before picking her up. I just hope the grocery store has enough vegetable sushi. They usually only have one serving available at a time. I have no idea why. The soup will use up the spinach in my fridge as well as some of the dried seaweed in the pantry, and I just like miso soup.

Leftover Soup and DIY Sandwiches

An easy Thursday night dinner with Sim before Sameer gets home from his conference.

I plan to finish off the week's meal plan by finishing off the week's leftovers on Friday and Saturday. If we run out, it's easy to make sandwiches or quesadillas or fake meat from the freezer.

Meal Planning

More cleaning out of the fridge/freezer/pantry! I went through quite a bit with last week's meals, but I've still got quite a bit more in the freezer and tons in the pantry as usual. Plus I've got another Rancho Gordo Bean box heading my way soon, which I think usually means a jar of spices and several pounds of dry beans. 

I currently have some corn tortillas in the fridge and some green onions, and I diced up my red bell pepper last week and stashed it in the freezer. I also bought a bag of shaved brussels sprouts because I like when I can find them pre-shaved and that only happens when I go to the Whole Foods a 20-minute drive away. I didn't end up doing brinner night yet, so I still have everything for that. I've also still got leftovers from last week's beef-less stew, kale with walnut sauce, garlicky Korean mac 'n cheese, and a serving or two of fat free cottage cheese. Tonight may or may not end up being a leftover night. Here is what I'm making this week: 

Brinner with Breakfast Burrito and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Because I didn't make it last week. I already have everything I need.

Chilaquiles Casserole and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

To use up the corn tortillas from the fridge and the enchilada sauce in the pantry. It will also use up some of the corn from the freezer. It's not in the recipe, but I think I'll add my frozen diced red bell pepper too. I should just need a zucchini to make the chilaquiles. The soup can be for lunches or go with dinners throughout the rest of the week. There are other healthy soups I could make and will make another time, but this one has cruciferous greens and it's drinkable (and freezable/reheatable if necessary), so I'm going with broccoli again for now. And I already have everything I need to make the soup.

Nut-Crusted Tofu and Sweet Potatoes and Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Whole Grain Mustard Sauce

I'm down to my last sweet potato, but other than that I have everything to make this meal.

Catalan Sauteed Polenta with Spinach & Butter Beans

This will use up some of the coarse corn meal and the can of butter beans in my pantry. I need to buy a new red bell pepper (my frozen one won't have the right texture for this, which is why I'm using it on the chilaquiles instead) and some spinach. I also need some pepper jack. We've used up most of our cheese.

Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup

I want to make this because it looks tasty and I keep thinking about soupy red curry noodles, but I'm going to have to make some substitutions to make it vegetarian. I'm also going to avoid buying anything new to make it, so who knows how close it'll taste to the original. My only goal is that it tastes good. I've got coconut milk, red curry paste, cilantro, and green onions. I've also got stir-fry vegetables in the freezer (I think) and a variety of noodles in the pantry. I'm going to use vegetable Better Than Bouillon instead of chicken broth, tofu instead of chicken, and I don't really know what fish sauce entails, but I've got two kinds of miso and multiple kinds of seaweed that I could try in this dish (I'll use whichever is the little one -- wakame? I don't remember). I'll just keep adjusting it until it tastes reasonably good, and worst case scenario I'll learn something.

Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal

To try for breakfast. Plus I have lots of overripe bananas to contribute to it.

Vegetable Barley Soup 

Probably won't happen until next week because two soups in one week is usually too much food to consume (and I'm already making two, technically), but I wanted to remember I have everything to make it.

Meal Planning

Time for meal planning. It's that time of the year when I focus on using up the food in my freezer and pantry. Here is what I've got that needs to go in the immediate future: about two bowls worth of vegan cream of broccoli soup, two bunches lacinato kale, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, a few cups of shredded green cabbage, fat free cottage cheese, some 2% milk leftover from Sameer's mom's visit, and maybe a cup of non-fat Greek yogurt. The freezer is so full I'll need to work my way through it, but it's mostly frozen fruit and veg and a slightly unreasonable number of packages of garlic naan. We've had a lot of Indian food lately, so I'm going to put off dealing with the garlic naan and just refrain from buying more. In the pantry I've got a lot of noodles of different varieties, way too many crackers and snack foods, and a wide range of beans and lentils. I've also got a variety of oatmeals. I also have a box of dry milk I figure I'll make into hot cocoa mix because that always uses it up quickly. Here is what I'm making this week in an effort to buy as little as possible:

Vegan Lentil Quinoa Loaf and Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Kale with Miraculous Walnut Sauce

I just need to buy celery to make this meal. This will be dinner tonight.

Baked Apple Cider Mini-Donuts

I made these a week or two ago and they were one of the best things I've ever eaten. Sameer and Simran said they were the best dessert they'd ever had. I'm simmering the last of the apple cider right now to make them again today. They should also use up part or all of the last of the 2% milk, and I already have the "apple pie spice" premade from last time. Sameer and Simran both have long days at work/school today, so I should have plenty of time to make these as a nice surprise. 

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Halloween dinner. I can make the soup in the InstantPot so it just needs blending when we come in from trick-or-treating. I need to buy a loaf of fresh sourdough tomorrow, but I think I've got everything else.

Beef-less Stew and Herbed Dinner Rolls

I just need to buy some mushrooms to make this meal. I think I'll add some of the tiny chickpeas from my Rancho Gordo Bean box to the stew for added protein and to make it more filling.

Brinner with Breakfast Burrito and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

I have pancakes in the freezer, but I'm not sure how many. I can always make more from the yogurt in the fridge. I've also got Impossible brand savory breakfast sausages too that this will use up. I don't think I need to buy anything to make this meal. I may or may not make a warm fruit compote from some of the fruit in the freezer to go on top of the pancakes.

Tofu Pot Pie

This will use up the cubed tofu in my freezer and some of the veg in my freezer. I don't need to buy anything to make it.

Garlicky Korean Mac and Cheese and Veggie Sides

I don't need anything to make this, and it'll use up some of the broccoli in the freezer and the elbow macaroni in the pantry.

I'll use up half the leftover vegan cream of broccoli soup and at least some of the shredded cabbage for lunch. I'm going to make the cabbage into Crunchy Asian Slaw.

Meal Planning

Time for some meal planning. Sameer's mom is leaving Saturday morning, so I want to have meals planned through Friday night. I think he wanted to order pizza one night (Friday?) and I wanted to do idli-sambar one night. That only leaves two nights to plan for. Here is what I'm making:

Dal Bhaat Shaak Rotli  with Dal Lasooni and Bhinda Nu Shaak 

I'm making the mung beans again because I have a small amount of tomato sauce leftover in the fridge, plus Sameer made an exceptionally garlicky tomato soup last night and I figure the small amount leftover will season the dal nicely. I bought two packages of okra when we were at Patel Brothers last week, so I'm making okra shaak.

Idli-Sambar

Vegetable Lasagna

I bought all the ingredients for this yesterday.

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup 

This isn't for dinner, but I cooked some small white beans this morning so I could have this soup ready for lunch today.

Pumpkin Spice Groatnola

This is my new favorite breakfast, courtesy of NutritionFacts.org's Instagram account. I eat the groatnola as a cold cereal with golden raisins, pumpkin seeds, and unsweetened soy milk. It's not really sweet at all on its own, but the addition of raisins and milk makes it really good, kind of like a raisin bran crunch flavor.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked buckwheat groats, rinsed
1 large cooked sweet potato (1¼-1½ cups mashed)
1-2 teaspoon(s) cinnamon, or more to taste
2-3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or more to taste
8-12 cups rolled oats

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 250F

2) In a sauce pan, bring 1½ cups water to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and add the uncooked buckwheat groats. Cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or until soft.

3) Add the cooked buckwheat and sweet potato to a large mixing bowl. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash together until well combined. Add the pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon, and continue mashing together.

4) Add 8 cups of rolled oats and stir until the mixture is well combined and forms clumps. 

5) Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Spread the granola on the cookie sheets. Bake for 2½ hours. 

Meal Planning

Time for more meal planning. I've still got some tomato sauce in the fridge from making mung beans, so I'll make that again and some potato shaak. I've also got green kale that I need to use. I also got a few pounds of interesting beans from my first ever Rancho Gordo Bean Club box, so I'm looking for ways to use those. Here is what I'm making:

Dal Bhat Shaak Rotli

With Kobi Bateta Nu Shaak and Dal Lasooni made with mung beans.

Chana Masala

I got some tiny chickpeas in my Rancho Gordon Bean Club box, so I'm going to try them out in this.

Air Fryer Tofu with Rice and Crunchy Asian Slaw

Vegetable Lasagna

Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa and Black Beans

This is a nice backup plan dinner for when I'm tired or running low on time.

Instant Pot Chana Masala

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Ghee 

1 teaspoon cumin seeds 

1 onion (finely chopped) 

1 Tablespoons minced garlic 

1 teaspoon ginger 

 

Spice blend: 

2 teaspoons salt 

2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder 

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1/4 teaspoon garam masala  

 

1-2 cup tomato (diced) 

1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight) 

Directions:

1) Soak 1c chickpeas in water overnight 

2) Add 2 Tbs Ghee to Instant Pot on Sautee setting 

3) Add cumin seeds when ghee is hot – they should sizzle for 1 – 2 mins 

4) Add onions and cook for 5 mins 

5) Add ginger and garlic and cook 1 min 

6) Add remaining spices, tomatoes, chickpeas, and 1.5c water 

7) Cancel Sautee. Stir. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the pot. 

8) Put lid on and pressure cook on high for 35 mins