Meal Planning

The connective tissue graft surgery went really smoothly and it healed really well, and now that two weeks have passed, I can eat what I want again. I have a green bell pepper to use, as well as some fresh spinach. Here is what I'm making:

Vegan Split Pea Curry and Rice and Baked Popcorn Okra or Zucchini Sabzi

The green veg side will depend upon whether there is decent okra at the store yet or not. I think it might still be too early in the season. Zucchini is pretty reliably present though. I want to make the curry because I have tons of yellow split peas I've been working my way through for ages, and I saw someone mention online that a Southeast Asian style curry with coconut milk in it is a great way to eat them. This will probably be Wednesday, projected to be our coolest day this week.

Veg Beef & Broccoli with Rice

I bought some vegetarian Beyond Meat steak tips that have been in my freezer for a couple weeks. I want to make restaurant style beef & broccoli. Not sure how well I can mimic the linked recipe with frozen veg meat, but I mostly wanted a good sauce recipe anyway. [Edited 5/17/23: I made this last night, and it was good but really salty. For next time, I need to use a low sodium broth or low sodium Better Than Bouillon and replace half the low sodium soy sauce with Bragg's liquid aminos. I doubled the sauce, and aside from the saltiness, I think this was a good call.]

Sandwiches! and Salads!

Because I haven't had either one in weeks and I miss them. This will probably be Monday night because I want them right away.

Taco Night with Red Cabbage Slaw

Because there are lots of corn tortillas in my fridge and Gardein fish fillets in my freezer.

Pizza and Green Salad and Garlic Knots

Friday night.

These meals might get a bit more spaced out if they yield as many leftovers as I expect. We might need to do a leftover night midweek.

Meal Planning one week after connective tissue graft surgery

My gum graft healed really well last time, so I've been just doing the same things and eating the same way for this graft. Now that I'm one week post-op, I'm recycling my meal plan of very soft foods that aren't just sad purees from last time. I've lived off mostly cottage cheese and fruit/veg/bean purees for the last week, so I'm looking forward to it.

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Finished my last batch over the course of the week (it's been my primary source of green veg post-surgery), so I need to make a new one. It's hot outside today, but tomorrow is supposed to be nearly 20 degrees cooler, so I plan to do most of my stove and oven use then.

Spaghetti & Plant-Based Meatballs (Delish Loves Disney, pg. 13)

The plan is to prep and bake the meatballs tomorrow, stash them in the fridge or freezer, and then just heat them in sauce for dinner later in the week.

Vegan Lentil Quinoa Loaf and Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Peas

I'll make this for dinner tomorrow. I still have tons of whipped sweet potatoes to finish off.

Omelettes

Maybe next weekend because it's so easy. 

Quesadillas etc?

Basically I'll just be eating homemade refried beans with whipped avocado again, but I think have enough refried beans that I want other people to finish them off with me.

Tofu Paneer in Butter Chicken Sauce (Vegan Richa's Instant Pot Cookbook, pg. 66) with Basmati Rice

I think last time I made this with a little pot of rice inside the bigger pot of sauce and tofu in the Instant Pot, so I plan to do that again to avoid heating the house up too much. This might involve making the tofu paneer in advance. I think it requires oven baking, but I don't remember and have to check. Could be another thing I bake tomorrow while it's cool out.

 

Vegan Malai Kofta

Very soft, very delicious. Does require oven baking.

Meal Planning

Another gum graft surgery next week, another two weeks of very soft foods, so I want to use up anything this week that won't keep that long. Here is what I need to use up: vegan snacking gouda (because I eat it with crackers, and also it's covered in mustard seeds), vegan corned beef, plain cashew yogurt with a best buy date looming, some burger buns leftover from veggie burgers, and a container of full fat cottage cheese (which I don't want to eat because I basically just like one brand of nonfat cottage cheese) purchased by an Instacart shopper when I had COVID. Here is what I'm making:

Taco Night with Red Cabbage Slaw

The red cabbage slaw will use up some of the plain cashew yogurt. If there is any left, I'll throw it into a smoothie. There is Gardein vegan fish in the freezer I could use in my tacos, and I'll just make some beans and basic taco accoutrements for Sameer and Simran.

Seven-Layer Tortilla Pie

To finish off any leftover slaw as a side, and also because I haven't made this dish in a while and have missed it.

Penne alla Vodka with Veggies and Vegan Pepperoni

Because I just remembered I have a zucchini and green bell pepper in the fridge.

Vegetarian Lasagna and Garlic Bread

I moved the puck of Beyond Meat from the freezer to the fridge to thaw, and this will use up the chopped onion in my crisper as well as the full fat cottage cheese. Also some of the chopped spinach in the freezer. I think I also have oven ready lasagna noodles. I can make garlic bread from the leftover burger buns and whatever bread I've got on hand. If there are any lasagna leftovers I can't finish in time, they'll keep in the freezer. 

Vegetarian Reubens

To use up the veg corned beef. Maybe with some soup on Friday night. Or Sunday.

Nachos

Maybe Saturday night as a junk food dinner, mostly because it leaves no leftovers and I don't want to have anything leftover Monday that will go to waste while I just eat soup and soft foods for two weeks.

Meal Planning

Time to do meal planning. We went to London for a week and then Sameer took over meals for a week and a half because I tested positive for COVID as soon as we got home, so I haven't done this in a while. Here is what we have to use up: Impossible burgers, Impossible bratwurst, and potatoes. That's mostly it. I'm only planning through Thursday because Friday is Sim's birthday and I'm sure celebratory takeout or restaurant food will be involved this weekend. Here is what I'm making:

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Quesadillas & Guacamole & Black Beans

Cookout Food (Burgers & Brats & Potato Salad & Chopped Salad Kit)

Spiced Spinach Tofu Stir-Fry and Brown Basmati Rice and Garlic Naan

Meal Planning

Time for meal planning. We did leftovers last night but still have some more. Here is what I have that I need to use up: vegan cream of broccoli soup, steamed asparagus, two burger buns, one sandwich-worth of filling for a Five Guys veggie sandwich, one tomato, about a cup of orange juice, part of a can of pineapple chunks, about a cup and a half of coconut milk, a container of plain cashew yogurt, and about half a cup of diced green bell pepper. Here is what I'm making:

Vegetarian Reubens and Leftover Soup and Veggie Sides

Tonight. Because I'm going to need some kind of brown bread to make the Irish sausages later, and it'll feel less like a dinner full of leftovers if there is something else that's new. 

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

For St. Patrick's Day Friday night. Maybe I'll make some kind of green sorbet with spinach and fruit and try to pass it off as festive. 

Chilli-Garlic Noodles

Because there will be a lot of green cabbage leftover after the colcannon.

Vegetable Manchow Soup and Dumplings with Dipping Sauce

To finish off the last of the green cabbage. I'm just going to get the vegan dumplings from the produce section at the grocery store rather than make any. 

Spiced Spinach Tofu Stir-Fry and Brown Basmati Rice

This will make a dent in the cashew yogurt. There is garlic naan in the freezer, and I want to make mango Dole Whip for dessert from the coconut milk and pineapple in the fridge and a can of unsweetened Kesar mango.

Pav Bhaji  

To use up leftover veg and potatoes.

Creole Red Beans & Brown Rice

May or may not happen depending on what I've got to use up.

Sameer wants to hard boil some eggs for Sim, so I might end up making McDonald's style breakfast sandwiches one night. We already have American cheese from making Five Guys style veggie sandwiches, and I can make biscuits from the cashew yogurt.

Meal Planning

It's Monday, and I have some food left in the fridge to finish off. I plan to go grocery shopping either tomorrow or, more likely, Wednesday. Here is what I'm making:

Penne alla Vodka with Veggies and Vegan Pepperoni

This is tonight. It'll finish off the sliced red onion, green bell pepper, and zucchini in my fridge, as well as some carrots and some broccoli and peas from my freezer. The vegan pepperoni will be in place of buying Tofurky Italian sausage because I have a lot of vital wheat gluten. It's currently in the Instant Pot, where I set it to steam for 30 minutes with natural release. We'll see how that goes.

Night of a Thousand Leftovers

Tuesday night. We've got about one serving each of a whole bunch of different things.

DIY Sandwiches and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

 

Vegan Breakfast Burritos and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes 

This will finish off some of the potatoes in the pantry. 

Black Bean Burgers and Chopped Salad and Leftover Soup

I already have the burgers ready to go in the freezer.

 

Five Guys-Style Veggie Sandwiches with Cheese and Cajun Air-Fryer Fries

To use up the burger buns needed for black bean burgers, as well as the rest of the potatoes in the pantry.

Meal Planning

Time for meal planning and grocery shopping. I haven't done anything yet with my bag of extra cauliflower florets leftover from the bourguinon. Other ingredients I have left to use up: half a green bell pepper, a red bell pepper, half a zucchini, carrots, celery, sour cream, some red and russet potatoes, and plain cashew yogurt. Here is what I'm planning to make:

Grilled Avocado Enchiladas and Red Cabbage Slaw

Because Sameer wants it.

 

DIY Taco Night with leftover Red Cabbage Slaw

 

Tofu Paneer in Butter Chicken Sauce (Vegan Richa's Instant Pot Cookbook, pg. 66) with Basmati Rice

I have vegan butter sauce in my freezer from making a big batch last week. This will use up that, plus some of the veggies I have on hand. I'm definitely including peas and green bell pepper. Maybe some cauliflower florets just to get rid of it. On second thought, Baked Gobi Manchurian might be a better use of the cauliflower. This could be a two dish night.

 

DIY Sandwiches and Vegan Potato Soup

Because I want sandwiches.

 

Beyond Burgers with Chopped Salad Mix and Leftover Soup

I've got a couple bags of chopped salads from the produce section at the store that I got on sale. This will use up one of them.

 

Penne alla Vodka with Veggies and Vegan Pepperoni

This will use up the zucchini, some of bell pepper carrots, and some of the cauliflower. I can also set aside some of the pepperoni to make Sim's lunch next Monday.