Meal Planning

 Time to order groceries again.  Here is what I'm planning to make:

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Garlic Soy Curls

Sounds good and I have tons of soy curls.

 

Instant Pot Kitchari 

Because I have bags of moong dal in my pantry for no particular reason and would like to use them.

Vegan Mushroom Bourguignon

I'm the only one in the house who likes mushrooms, but we haven't had them in a long time and this sounds good.  I'm also aiming for more easy Instant Pot recipes this week because I haven't had much energy in the last week and don't want to plan on anything too complicated.

One Pot Peanut Sauce Noodles

[Edited 3/3/2021: I made this a few nights ago and LOVED it.  Once the veg is cut up, it's very quick to cook.  I think it's going to become a lazy day staple like the red beans and rice.  I added black Chinese vinegar and miso and extra soy sauce (and largely skipped the salt because of the salty miso and soy sauce) and we had no leftovers.  This would be a great use of bok choy.]

 

Creole Red Beans & Rice

 

Black Bean Burgers

 

Jalapeno Pepper Chickpea Salad Sandwich 

 

Pav Bhaji   

Meal Planning

Ordering from Instacart again today.  We are really only running low on fruit at the moment, but I need to plan meals so we're set for the next week or more.  Here is what I'll be able to make:

Creole Red Beans & Rice

This is just something easy to keep the ingredients on hand for now. 

 

Dal Makhani and Palak Tofu and Naan and Brown Basmati Rice

Because I haven't made any of this in awhile and it sounds good.  I mostly just need to buy spinach.

Black Bean Burgers

 

Tofu Pot Pie 

Only listing this because I have an appropriate amount of cubed tofu in the freezer.

 

Homemade Pizza and Lacinato Kale with Walnut Sauce 

Not sure if I'll make pizza again already, but I know I have the pizza ingredients including a pizza dough in the freezer.  Definitely making the kale.  I might even order enough bunches of kale to make it twice. 

 

Avocado Grilled Enchilada with Red Chile Pesto and Black Beans and Red Cabbage Slaw  

Definitely making this -- probably tonight -- because we have yogurt and vegan chik'n strips to use up and we haven't had this meal in awhile.

 

Idli-Sambar

I wouldn't be excited to eat this again this soon, but it's handy to have the ingredients on hand.

Vegan Pumpkin Chipotle Fried Rice

Sounds easy and the rest of my meal plan is getting pretty redundant.

Jalapeno Pepper Chickpea Salad Sandwich and Soup

I've been eyeing this recipe for awhile.  It just sounds good.

Brinner

Because it's always an option and I need to use up some yogurt in the next two days and that will probably mean a big batch of pancakes.

Samosa Wraps

Another sandwich that sounds really good and I think I already keep the ingredients on hand.

Baked Chili Garlic Tofu Noodle Bowl

This sounds good and if I serve it the day after the dal makhani and palak tofu I can serve leftovers of naan and whatever else alongside it.  

Meal Planning

I'm ordering from Instacart again this morning before the snowstorm and cold snap start.  Sameer is not going to be fasting for awhile, so I need more meal plans this week.  Here is what I'll be making:

Chilli-Garlic Noodles

 

Creole Red Beans & Rice

 

Vegan Garlicky Korean Mac and Cheese 

 

Vegan Okonomiyaki

I don't think this will be a full meal, but it sounds good and it'll use up the rest of the cabbage needed for the chilli-garlic noodles.

 

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup and Sandwiches

 

Homemade Pizza and Lacinato Kale with Walnut Sauce  

 

Black Bean Burgers 

 

Brinner

 

Vegan Penne alla Vodka

 

Tofu Pot Pie   

  

Meal Planning

I'm ordering from Instacart today.  There is a lot less meal planning to do now that Sameer is fasting every other day (Sim and I eat leftovers or something easy those days) and the farm boxes don't come anymore.  I haven't been making everything I put on my weekly meal plans.  I'm mostly aiming to have a comprehensive list of meals I'll have the ingredients to make so I don't have to plan from scratch on any given day.  Here are my options for this upcoming week:

Idli-Sambar

I didn't make this last week, but I'm going to make it tomorrow.

Black Bean Burgers 

Need to make a fresh batch.

 

Creole Red Beans & Rice

Because I have some bell peppers to use up.

Vegan Garlicky Korean Mac and Cheese

This plus a bean-heavy soup could be a full meal.

 

Brinner

We have some buttermilk leftover from baking Sameer's birthday cake, so that could become waffles, pancakes, or buttermilk biscuits.  I also have some cashew yogurt set to expire next week that could be used in place of buttermilk if we run out.  I've taken to making breakfast burrito fixins and giving some of each item (potatoes, tofu, veg sausage) separately to Sim when we have brinner.

 

Seven Layer Tortilla Pie 

A tasty weekend meal that could have fresh guacamole alongside it.  I also have tons of flour tortillas in the pantry at the moment.

 

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup 

Haven't made this in awhile, but might wait until next week since I'm making sambar tomorrow and don't like to have leftovers of more than one soup at a time.

 

Lacinato Kale with Walnut Sauce  

 

Tofu Provencal 

Because it would use the red bell pepper currently in my fridge.  It could go alongside brown rice pilaf and the lacinato kale with walnut sauce. 

 

Spicy Miso Pasta

I have four eggs leftover from Sameer's birthday cake, so three might become spicy miso pasta just for me (because the others won't eat it).  I replace the parm with vegan parm and the bacon with thinly sliced shiitakes.  It's very heavy and rich and spicy and delicious, which wouldn't be bad in a snowy January.  

Meal Planning

I'm going to order from Instacart again tomorrow as we're coming to the end of our fruit supply.  Here is what I will have ingredients on hand to make:

Homemade Pizza

Because I already have all the ingredients on hand and Simran wants to learn how to make it.

Louisiana-Style Soy Curls (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 137) 

Because I still haven't made this yet.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie 

Haven't made this from last week's meal plan yet either, so I still have the ingredients ready to go.

Idli-Sambar

Because it uses things up.

 

Brinner

I would make vegan sausage and the innards of breakfast burritos.  Also pancakes to use up any leftover yogurt or the buttermilk I have to buy for making Sameer's birthday cake.

Black Bean Burgers

There's one more trio of burgers left in the freezer.

Pav Bhaji

 

Vegan Penne alla Vodka

Because I have vegetarian Italian sausage with a best buy date of early February.

 

Cherry Chip Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I haven't made this combination before, but I'm making it for Sameer's birthday at his request.  He specifically asked for a chocolate frosting that contains vegetable shortening in place of all butter.

Meal Planning

Sameer has gone back to intermittent fasting, so I'm not cooking as much this week.  I made a batch of buffalo tofu so I could have vegan buffalo tofu salad for lunch, and I could make vegan breakfast burritos with items on hand for other off days and lunches when we don't have leftovers.

 

I'm ordering from Instacart today, so I need to plot out what we'll need for the next week and a half or so.  I probably won't end up making all of these, but I want to have some extra dinners planned so I have some options.  Looks like I'll also have ingredients on hand to make most of the dishes from my last meal plan (e.g., pizza, red beans & rice, black bean burgers, idli-sambar)

 

Italian Escarole Soup (The How Not to Diet Cookbook, pg. 6)

I'm trying to increase both my beans and greens intake, so I plan to make a pot of this soup and eat a cup of it before dinners.

 

Lentil Shepherd's Pie 

This will be awhile in the future because it's mostly frozen veg and non-perishables and doesn't contain any leafy greens that could wilt in the meantime.

Garlicky Korean Mac and Cheese

I'm trying not to make this too often, but I like it so much and it's easy to make from ingredients I keep on hand.  Again, nothing to wilt in this dish (I use frozen broccoli) so I can make it whenever.

 

Taco Night

At Simran's request.  There is a puck of Beyond Meat in the freezer that could become taco "meat."  My tacos will mostly be beans, guacamole, cilantro, and tomatoes in soft corn tortillas.  Simran's will be mostly veg taco meat, cheddar, and lettuce in crunchy shells.  Sameer's will be whatever combination appeals to him.

 

Louisiana-Style Soy Curls (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 137) 

Vegan Fried Chicken and Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Kale with Walnut Sauce

Planning to make this tonight, mostly to use up the remaining whipped sweet potatoes currently in the fridge.

Tofu Pot Pie

This will use up the cubed tofu and some of the diced turnips in the freezer.

Meal Planning

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I'm planning to go grocery shopping in the morning.  Here is what we currently have that needs to be used:  sweet potatoes, baby red potatoes, apples, dry squash seeds (from the last time I cooked butternut squash), celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and lots of carrots.  Here is what I'm making:

Black Bean Burgers

Because I made a new batch of burgers that are currently in the freezer so they are an easy, healthy dinner.

Creole Red Beans & Rice

I was going to make this today, but it turns out I need a can of tomatoes and green chiles.  This will use up a portion of the bell peppers.  I bought a small bag of small red beans awhile back for making this recipe and it's still lasting awhile.  Dry beans are so absurdly small and cheap compared with canned.

Vegan Garlicky Korean Mac and Cheese

Because it was so good last time and it's easy.

Homemade Pizza

For New Year's Eve since we're having a little party at home (i.e., Simran is actually being allowed to stay up with Sameer and me to eat snacks and watch the ball drop on TV).  I already have one more pizza dough in the freezer.

Idli-Sambar

This will use up the rest of the fresh bell peppers, some of the carrots and celery, and the diced turnips taking up space in the freezer.

 

Vegan Potato Soup

To use up the potatoes and some of the carrots and celery.  I'm thinking I'll make this for dinner tonight and we can have sandwiches or other leftovers with it. 

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

To use up the sweet potatoes.  I'm just going to bake them and puree them with a little water and my immersion blender and we can eat them as a veggie side.  They don't require any other ingredients.

 

Croutons

I made two loaves of pumpernickel bread on Christmas.  The leftovers aren't moldy yet, but surely they aren't good anymore, so I'm going to try making them into croutons for topping soups, salads, and just plain eating.

Applesauce

NYE Snacks:

Roasted squash seeds

Ganache Truffles (because I had ganache leftover from the Christmas cake, so I stirred some peanut butter into it and I'm going to scoop out spoonfuls and roll them in powdered sugar since I made the ganache from rather dark chocolate)

Cheese & Cracker (we have a variety of vegan and dairy cheeses and a variety of crackers)

Olives (I would normally stop by the Whole Foods olive bar before NYE at home, but this year I ordered a variety of olives online)