Meal Planning

I have to buy more bread to make Simran lunch tomorrow, so I'm going grocery shopping a little early this week.  Here is what we're having:

Pav Bhaji

Didn't make this yet, so this is tonight. 

 

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls (Disney Loves Delish magazine) and Garlic Spinach

I just need 12 oz. of cremini mushrooms to make the main course.

 

Baked Potato Skins and  Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Whole Grain Mustard Sauce and Various Veggie Sides

 

Vegan Garlicky Korean Mac and Cheese    

I can make this whenever. 

 

Creole Red Beans & Rice 

This could be as late as next Monday. 

 

It's a cold day today, to be followed by warm days later this week, so I'm roasting garlic (for the Korean mac 'n cheese) and baking the last of the russet potatoes (for potato skins) this afternoon. They cook at the same oven temperature, so I'm doing it all simultaneously.

 

 

Meal Planning

None of the fried stuff ended up in the freezer. We ate it all within 48 hours. 

Time for meal planning. I didn't end up making the bok choy, so I still have that.  Here is what I have to use up: the previously mentioned bok choy, a couple cups of baby spinach, green cabbage, a few hamburger buns and hot dog buns, at least half a pound of spring greens, some homemade refried black beans, and all the other things necessary to make chilli-garlic noodles because I didn't make that yet either. Here is what I'm making:

 

Grilled Baby Bok Choy with Tamari and Chinese Mustard Sauce (Vedge, pg. 83) and  Garlic Sauteed Spinach and Random Sandwiches

Tuesday is usually a fast day for Sameer, so Sim and I will eat the veg (the spinach will presumably wilt to nothing) and either a black bean and cheese quesadilla for her (to use up the homemade refried black beans) or sandwiches for the main course (maybe cream cheese and cucumber tea sandwiches).  I'm planning to get some good sourdough bread while I'm out today.

Chilli-Garlic Noodles

 

Pav Bhaji

I can use the leftover hamburger/hot dog buns as the pav.

 

Vegan Irish Sausages and Colcannon (The No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg. 164)

To utilize the remaining cabbage from the chilli-garlic noodles and extra potatoes from the pav bhaji. 

Creole Red Beans & Rice

I think I've got an extra green bell pepper in the fridge, so I could make this with what I've already got on hand. Maybe Saturday night.

Super Salad with Garlic Caesar Dressing & Hemp Hearts (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 83) 

I'm going to make this dressing and see if I can use up the remaining spring greens having this salad for lunches.

All the Frying

I have a package of vegan wonton wrappers on the verge of expiration, so I told Sim I would make the cherry pie wontons she's been ask for since I made them last Thanksgiving and also the vegetarian pepperoni pizza spring rolls from the Delish Loves Disney magazine that she loves so much. Today I remembered I actually need the much larger egg roll wrappers to make the pizza rolls, so that leaves me with a whole bunch more wonton wrappers to use up than I realized and quite a bit more cooking than I had planned on.  Today I'm prepping and frying all day, and the house will undoubtedly smell like fry oil for the rest of the weekend.  A lot of what I make will cool and then go into ziploc bags in the freezer for later.  Here is what I'm making today:

Cherry Pie Wontons

I just bought a large can of cherry pie filling for this rather than make my own this time. I'll make these first because they're the easiest and I don't want to cook them in the oil after the savory stuff with garlic has cooked in it. [Edited 4/13/2022: Canned cherry pie filling is not as flavorful as fresh. I had no idea because I hadn't eaten it in years. I bought a can with basic ingredients like cherries and sugar, but it didn't have that brightness my homemade batch made from sour cherries had. Canned version was blander.]

Cream Cheese and Green Onion Wontons 

Because they are delicious and I already had cream cheese in the fridge.

Potstickers

In case I still have too many wonton wrappers.  I have like 50 that need to be used up today.  I can use any leftover vegetable matter from these to make chilli-garlic noodles next week.

Vegetarian Pepperoni Pizza Spring Rolls (Delish Loves Disney, pg. 12)

If I have too many egg roll wrappers for the amount of filling this makes, I can also make veggie pizza ones with onion, green bell pepper, and cheese because Sameer likes that version even better (neither Sim nor I agree, but they are fine).  I bought an extra bell pepper just in case.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy with Tamari and Chinese Mustard Sauce (Vedge, pg. 83)

I also bought a few bunches of baby bok choy to make this as a vegetable side because the bok choy was there and cheap and I like this dish a lot when I chop and lightly stirfry it instead of bothering to grill (it makes it both easier and more consistently cooked). There will also presumably be some garlicky spinach and green salad to eat too tonight, or something like that.

Meal Planning

Time for meal planning.  I ate a lot of salads and also junk food in Alabama.  My stomach is feeling a lot better than the previous weeks -- I get the impression leafy greens are something I can eat a lot of without over-stuffing myself -- so I want to eat more leafy greens and less junk food this week.  Here is what I'm making, at least until my next grocery store trip next week:

 

Super Salad with Garlic Caesar Dressing & Hemp Hearts (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 83) 

For lunches and maybe pre-dinner salads.

Vegan Baked Chana Pulao

 

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

This isn't a meal but could go with other meals or those black bean burgers I've got stashed in the freezer.

 

Avocado Grilled Enchilada with Red Chile Pesto  

Sameer said he would make this tonight. 

Baja Bowl

Sameer said he would make this tomorrow.  

[This one is quinoa, brown rice, black beans, spring greens, feta, grape tomatoes, avocado, and some chipotle aioli I made from canned chipotle salsa, garlic powder, and Vegannaise and thinned with lime juice.]

 

Mediterranean Bowl

This might be mostly lunches for me, but it could be a dinner.

[What you can see is a mix of spring greens, grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, roasted garlic hummus, and unsweetened cashew yogurt. Underneath all that is about a cup of quinoa, brown rice, and black beans and some vegan feta.

 

Spiced Spinach Tofu Stir-fry and Masoor Dal Tadka and Brown Basmati Rice and Garlic Naan

  

[This is a shake I made because I wanted chocolate but also wanted it to have some nutritional value. I put a cup of unsweetened soy milk, 1.5-2 frozen bananas, 1 heaping tbs of peanut butter, and 2 tbs of cocoa powder in a blender and blended it smooth. That's all it is.]

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  Here is what I need to use up this week:  about half a pound of spinach, a few ounces of baby romaine, one Roma tomato, 10 eggs, a full container of cashew yogurt, the better part of a container of vegan pesto, a green bell pepper, a few slices of sourdough bread, 3 brioche burger buns, a few hot dog buns, one leftover veggie burger, about a cup of leftover macaroni and cheese, and about a serving of leftover meatless balls.  Here is what I'm making this week, with a goal of no leftovers by Saturday because we've got other stuff going on after that:

Leftover Night!

This is Sim and me tonight.  I can prepare a selection of the mac 'n cheese, a meatball sub from the leftover meatless balls and a hot dog bun, and a veggie burger on one of the leftover burger buns.  I also need to use up one more serving of everything in my elaborate avocado toast, so I'm going to have that for lunch today.

 

Pasta Primavera with Vegan Pesto Alfredo Sauce

I can make a vegan pesto alfredo sauce from a combination of the leftover pesto, vegan Parmesan, and some of the cashew yogurt and maybe some soy milk.  The pasta will also use up some of the green bell pepper that needs to go, a carrot and an onion, and some broccoli and peas from my freezer.  I'll throw some rehydrated soy curls in there for protein.  I don't need to buy anything to make this.  May yield 1-2 servings of leftovers, but that seems manageable.  Probably tomorrow night.

Spicy Miso Pasta

I would just need shiitake mushrooms to make this.  I love it and it uses up 3 eggs.  I'm the only one in the house who eats it though, so I'd have to eat it for lunches or nights when Sameer is fasting and Sim is eating something else.  It's a bit of a commitment.

 

Five Guys-Style Veggie Sandwiches with Cheese

To finish off the brioche burger buns, green bell pepper, tomato, and part of the lettuce.  I do think I need to buy American cheese and some mushrooms to make this though.  Would be an easy meal for Sim and me, or for all three of us if I use other buns/bread when I run out of the burger ones.  Maybe Wednesday night.  I could also make the spinach into a garlicky spinach side dish.  It would wilt into almost nothing and thus be easy to finish off.  Any leftover romaine could become a green side salad.

 

Brinner with Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes 

I could finish off the cashew yogurt making another batch of pancakes and finish off the eggs (and any rogue leftover vegetables) making omelets.  Any leftover bread or buns could become buttered toast.  This would go well Friday night since it won't yield leftovers aside from the pancakes, which I store in the freezer, so they don't count.

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  I'm trying to eat small amounts and lower fiber because my gut has been bothering me for the last couple weeks.  Green juice and avocado toast have been common lunches lately.  Very low fiber is hard when you're eating a largely plant-based diet though, so this is what I'm going to make for dinners and hope doesn't give me a stomachache:

French Onion Skillet Lasagna  

Shakshuka

I already have some eggs from a few days of eating low fiber.  This is the only dish I'm making this week that I usually include beans in (I'm not counting tofu because it's processed).  I may or may not include the beans this time.

[Edited 3/20/2022: I end up skipping the beans and just used mushrooms instead like the recipe says.]

Tofu Salad Sandwiches

These would be great if I can find savory baked tofu anywhere.  That's unlikely though.

 

Plant-Based Spaghetti and Meatballs

From the "Delish Loves Disney" magazine cookbook. 

 

Classic Vegan Fish Tacos

This would probably give me a stomachache, if only because I have trouble not scarfing them down, but I'm adding it here as a reminder that I have the ingredients to make it.

 

Beyond Meat Burgers

This is an easy Saturday night dinner, and it's pretty easy on my stomach.  The last time I was having stomach pains last year, the thing that was surprisingly easy on me was the Impossible sliders at White Castle, so this should be similar as long as I don't eat too fast.  

Spinach and Feta Pita Bake

The other dinners should provide everything I need to make this aside from the pita bread and a tomato.  It's a very spinach- and mushroom-heavy week.

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  Here is what I have to use up:  about 12 oz of baby spinach, about 8 oz of salad greens, two Roma tomatoes, some green onions, about a cup of shredded mozzarella, about half a cup of diced red bell pepper, a few Yukon gold potatoes, and a green bell pepper.  I also have plenty of celery and carrots.

Jalapeno Popper Melts

I didn't make this yet, so I'm making it tonight.  

Vegan Breakfast Burritos 

Again, I haven't made this yet, so I think I'll make it for Sim and me tomorrow night.  I'll use up the potatoes on this.

Veggie Hot Dogs and Green Salad

Because I bought Beyond Meat bratwurst on a whim last week.

Spiced Spinach Tofu Stir-fry and Brown Rice

Because it's easy and good and will use up the spinach. 

 

Thai Green Curry Noodle Stir Fry

Because it's good and easy and will use up the green onions and some of the bell pepper.  And I like having a noodle dish each week.  Because I like noodles and I can usually dump all kinds of leftover cut vegetables onto them.

 

Classic Vegan Fish Tacos with Pico de Gallo  

For me and Sim on Thursday.  I might just substitute salsa for the pico de gallo so I don't have to buy more tomatoes.  Sameer usually keeps red cabbage slaw and chipotle mayo on hand and I already have the Gardein veg fish in the freezer, so this will be an easy meal.