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.]