Meal Planning

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

It's the first week of August and it's about 90 degrees.  I'm not sure how much using the stove top heats up the house compared with the oven (I assume less), but this seemed like a good meal option that is healthy and that I enjoy.  

Chilli-Garlic Noodles
I'm making this to use up the rest of the cabbage from the colcannon.

Vegan Meatball Subs
It occurs to me I'm not sure if the meatless balls from Trader Joe's are actually vegan or just vegetarian, but the rest of this dish is vegan.  I'm making this to use up some hot dog buns before they go bad.  I use Miyoko's Creamery brand vegan cultured butter and garlic salt to toast them into garlic bread, then top them with the meatless balls warmed up in marinara sauce and put Daiya provolone or mozzarella on top and toast them a bit again.  I need to buy some sort of vegetable to go along side this.  Maybe the garlicky green bean recipe Simran loves from the Vedge cookbook.

This is meant to be Monday/Wednesday/Friday.  I'll make sandwiches or quesadillas for Sim and me on the other nights while Sameer is fasting or at a work dinner.

Meal Planning

It's already Wednesday, so I'm only planning meals for today, Friday, and Saturday this week.  It's hot and my basil plant hasn't died yet, so I'm making:

Veggie Summer Rolls

Penne alla Vodka

Zucchini Noodles with Avocado-Cashew Alfredo (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 105)
I've been meaning to make this for awhile and its lightness definitely makes it seem more appropriate for summertime than the cooler months.  I'll have to make something else starchier to go with it because it seems so light, like garlic bread.  Salad too.  This will use up part of the avocado in my fridge as well as some of my stash of raw cashews.  I'll have to make broth to make this.  I guess I'm doing that today since I'm planning on this being a weekend dinner.

Hearty Veggie Hoagies (The No Meat Athlete, pg. 74)
I still have vegan pesto to use up, and these sandwiches are delicious (the general flavor of caprese sandwiches but they're vegan and you don't even miss the cheese), so I'll just make them again.  Sameer doesn't really think of sandwiches at dinner so maybe I'll do it tomorrow or Sunday when he's fasting.  It'll also use up a lot of the vegetables I have to buy for the summer rolls, like the red bell pepper and cucumber.

I only have to buy three grocery items that aren't produce to make all these meals.

Meal Planning

We just got home from a week in Florida, I've gained four pounds, and it's hot here at home for pretty much the first time this summer, so I'm making cold, veggie-filled foods.  Here's what we're having this week:

Veggie Summer Rolls

Pasta Salad
My version of pasta salad is 1) vegan now, and 2) tastes better now that I've started using Annie's brand Tuscan Italian for the dressing.  It's heavy on the sun-dried tomato taste, which goes well with the other ingredients. I don't normally love sun-dried tomatoes, but this dressing is less acidic than the other Italian dressings I've used and it works well.

Veggie Burgers and Asparagus with Lemon-Caper Mayo

For the days Sameer is fasting, I plan to live off Super Salad with Garlic Caesar Dressing & Hemp Hearts (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 83) and leftovers from the nights I do cook, and I'll feed Simran crudites and veggie dogs or Gardein chik'n fingers.  

I'm going to buy an avocado too and make some chocolate popsicles from the cherry chia chocolate pudding base in The How Not to Die Cookbook and blend some canned pineapple with the coconut milk in my pantry and a bit of agave nectar to make some piña colada popsicles, which Simran liked the last time I made them.

Meal Planning

My meal planning is getting very redundant, but I want to use up what I've got.  Here is what I'm doing through Friday.

Veggie Dogs and Brussels Sprouts
I'm just aiming to use up buns and veggie dogs here.  And I'm craving the Brussels sprouts with the mustard sauce.  Sim loves the Brussels sprouts as long as I give them to her before I put the sauce on (so basically they're just cooked in olive oil and salt and pepper).

Tofu Breakfast Scramble and French Toast
I'm seriously regretting not writing out the recipe I used for tofu scramble last time.  It wasn't particularly difficult, but I can't even remember which tofu scramble base recipe I used for the egginess part.  The French toast recipe I used last time I think is the one from The How Not to Die Cookbook, and I use the Ezekiel 4:9 cinnamon-raisin bread from the freezer section as the bread.  I can slice the leftovers into French toast sticks and Sim will take them with a side of veggie bacon in her lunch Thursday, so that'll be a nice way to get rid of leftovers.

Probably quesadillas on Thursday
Thursday is a fast day for Sameer, and I don't like cooking a full meal for myself and a child who doesn't even want it, so quesadillas have been increasing in frequency.  I figure if I use corn tortillas (i.e., whole grain) and fill them mostly with beans it's not too bad.

Meatless Ball Subs and Green Salad
I think I planned to make this recently but then didn't.  If I don't end up having 3+ hot dog buns left to use on this, I'll make spaghetti & meatless balls and just convert the buns into breadsticks like I always do.

Meal Planning

I bought a huge bag of frozen stirfry vegetables last week (I wanted chopped vegetables of particular varieties and it was the only size available), and it's taking up too much space in my freezer.  Here is what I'm making this week:

Tofu-Vegetable Stir-fry with Soba Noodles
I'm making this today to get rid of some of those frozen cut vegetables.  I'm doing soba noodles because they are already in my pantry.  I just need to buy the tofu and some broth to cook it all in (no oil stir-fry).

Garden Pretzel Sandwiches and Crudites
This is an easy Tuesday dinner that will yield extra pretzel bread for making Sim an easy sack lunch for school field trip day.

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls and Garden Salad
I have plenty of salad greens, including watercress, that need to go, plus some homemade salad dressing.  I also have meatless balls in the freezer that I want to use up. 

Veggie Dogs and Crudites
I have one more Beyond Meat veggie dog taking up space in my freezer and several more of the kind Sim likes in the fridge, as well as hot dog buns on the counter.  I need to get rid of some of this stuff, so it'll be an easy Thursday night dinner.

Homemade Personal Pizzas and Garden Salad
I'll do this Friday night.  I have some Daiya vegan mozzarella shreds as well as vegetarian pepperoni slices to use up, so my personal pizza will be vegan at least. 

Meal Planning

Sameer is out of town for work this week, so I'm only cooking for Sim and me.  She asked for Brinner tonight, so I'm making veggie bacon and a healthy French toast recipe from The How Not to Die Cookbook.  The other nights I'll be aiming to make easy, reasonably healthy meals.  I still have a large amount of asparagus from our neighbors that I plan to steam today and chill in the fridge for use throughout the week.  Here is what I'm making:

French Toast (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 16) and Veggie Bacon
I already have all the ingredients for this.  I'm using Ezekiel 4:9 raisin bread for the French toast.  I'm making both the Morning Star veggie bacon Sim likes as well as the tempeh bacon I like (it's also easier to use it up when I've cooked the whole package in advance and put the leftovers in the fridge for vegan BLTs or just snacking -- I'm the only one in the house who eats tempeh bacon).  I also have three fresh mangoes I'm going to chop up for dessert.

Veggie Dogs and Pita with Hummus and Asparagus with Lemon-Caper Mayo
I already have so many veggie dogs in the fridge and freezer, and the asparagus is easy because I can steam and chill it in advance and make the mayo in advance too (which Simran does not eat, but she likes asparagus plain).  I have some leftover whole wheat pita pockets I don't foresee a use for, so I'm going to cut them up and toast them into chip form to eat with the garlic hummus already in my fridge.

Quesadillas and Refried Beans and Edamame Guacamole (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 38)
Quesadillas are easy and one of Sim's favorite foods, and now that Sim prefers them with refried black beans inside, they are healthier than they used to be.  I'm going to make the edamame guacamole simply because I have frozen shelled edamame in my freezer that I'd like to get rid of, and the dip claims to be good with crudites and steamed asparagus.

Garden Pretzel Sandwiches and Leftover Veggie Sides
I make the Garden Pretzel vegan for myself now (with a Daiya provolone slice and homemade pesto mayo made from Vegannaise and no parmesan but a little garlic salt instead).  Sim just eats the pretzel bread with a slice of dairy provolone.  This is easy though and her favorite sandwich.  I'll be able to use up the leftover pretzel bread by putting it in her school lunches. 

Red Chile Cheese Enchiladas
I'm making these Friday for when Sameer gets home.  They are one of his favorite dinners, plus they are easy to make in advance, they reheat well, and they should help me use up the vegetable broth I made last week.

There is so much food in my refrigerator right now.  I need to use up anything I can and buy as little new food as possible.  I currently have: one red bell pepper, three fresh jalapenos, a ripe avocado, green lettuce, two tomatoes, a small amount of watercress, an entire package of whole wheat pita pockets, and quite a few flour tortillas (some whole wheat, some not).  Here is what I'm going to do:

Vegan Seafood Salad in Pita Pockets and Crudites
This seafood salad was why I bought the pita pockets and red bell pepper in the first place, so I won't have to buy much more.  I do need celery, a new red onion, and a lemon.  This should use up a pita pocket or two, plus some of the red bell pepper (I'll chop and freeze the rest), avocado, tomato, and the watercress.  I'll probably give Sim baby carrots and celery sticks with hummus for her veggie side.  I'll either eat that or a salad if I have the energy to make more salad dressing before dinner.

Yellow Rice & Black Beans with Broccoli (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 152)
I have to make broth for this, so I'll need to use up the rest of the broth on other recipes.

Tofu & Vegetable Stirfry with Brown Rice
I'll use some of the broth for the stirfry.  I don't use oil in this recipe anymore.  I just saute everything in vegetable broth instead.  Sameer actually thinks it tastes better this way.

DIY Sandwiches and Yellow Split Pea Dal with Watercress (THNTD Cookbook, pg. 134)
I have so many random sandwich fixins and veggie dogs that I'll just do that plus the soup for Sim.  I'll have the soup over rice and a salad or something.  I want to make this soup to use up the rest of the broth as well as one of the jalapenos in my fridge.  I also already have tons of yellow split peas that I don't really use, and I'd like to see how the texture differs from chana dal in this sort of recipe.

Lots of healthy vegan recipes this week.  Hopefully we can handle this much healthy.  On the bright side, none of it looks particularly challenging.  I'll just have to set aside some time to prep the things that need prepping (e.g., I need to mix up more savory spice blend, make broth, and chop some vegetables).