Weekly Meal Plan

We're back to the grind with school and work. I'm working Monday nights and Mr. has class on Thursday nights so we are running solo when it comes to dinner and bedtime. While Mr. is the cook, I am the ... not cook. So it's important to have some fool-proof meals I can throw at expertly prepare for our little humans (here's looking at you, pizza and pasta!). We're also trying to limit our grocery costs so we're using the Plant Based on a Budget blog for a lot of our meal planning.

Super excited for the lime tofu bowls this week!

Day	Dinner
M	Pasta and Sauce with Salad
T	Red Pepper Wraps
W	Sweet Lime Tofu Bowl with Rice
R	Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers with Chips and Salsa
F	Lentil Tacos with Black Beans
S	Pizza
S	*New Recipe Night*

Produce Dairy Packaged Goods Spices/Sauces

M

Bag of Salad
Cucumber
Tomato
Croutons
Dressing
Bag of Pasta
Sauce

T

4 large whole wheat wraps
2 cups (or less) your favorite hummus
2-3 cups shredded lettuce
2 whole roasted red bell peppers, sliced thinly
1 cup grated carrots
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 red onion, sliced

W
1 Pound Green Beans, Trimmed and Halved

1 Fresh Lime, Squeezed
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
3/4 Teaspoon Pepper
14 oz Extra Firm Tofu
2 Tablespoons Oil
4 Teaspoons Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sliced Shallots

R
4 Green Bell Peppers
1 Cup of Uncooked Brown Rice
1 Can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 Cup of Diced Onion
2 Cups of Water
1 Can of Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Can of Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tablespoon of Chili Powder
1 packet of your favorite taco seasoning

F

1 Cup of Uncooked Lentils
1/2 Small Onion, diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
2 1/4 Cups of Vegetable Broth
4 Teaspoons of Dried Minced Onion
3 Teaspoons of Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1/2 Teaspoon of Paprika
1 Teaspoon of Cumin
1/8 - 1/4 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper. Use more or less depending on your heat preference.
1/2 Teaspoon of Oregano
1 Tomato, diced
1 Avocado, diced
1 Cup of Shredded Lettuce
Salsa
Hard Tortilla Shells
Chips

Weekly Meal Plan

I've been trying to theme plan recently by including a soup, salad, and pasta dish in the meal plan. It's helping me focus my searches more and pulling out a new plan seems quicker. Our garden is blooming and we have an abundance of cucumbers, so I made sure to include a salad that would help use some up. They also make great snacks for the kids and we've been cutting them up to take to the beach. The Philly Sub recipe is one we've made before and thought it would be better as just a pepper/onion sub situation so we will probably not include the seitan this time around. 

Day	Dinner
M	Black Bean Soup
T	Cucumber Avocado Salad
W	Lemon Asparagus Pasta
R	Vegan Philly Subs
F	Chickpea Salad
S	Pizza (Whole Foods)
S	New Night

Produce Dairy Packaged Goods Spices/Sauces Bread

M

1 pound dried black beans (about 2 1/2 cups), rinsed

2 medium onions, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 ripe avocado, chopped

T
1½ cups of chopped tomatoes - I used cherry tomatoes

1 cucumber - peeled and seeded then diced

1 avocado - diced

4 oz feta cheese - cubed (or not)

2 tbs minced red onion

1 handful parsley - minced - about 2 tbs

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs red wine vinegar

8 twists of black pepper from a pepper mill

W
1 bunch asparagus (12 ounces), trimmed and washed

Sea salt and black pepper

2 lemons

Olive oil

3-4 large cloves garlic, minced (~2 Tbsp)

10 ounces (~5 cups) bow tie pasta (see notes if GF*)

2.5 cups unsweetened plain almond milk

3-4 Tbsp all purpose flour (sub another thickener if GF*)

1-2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (for a subtle cheesy flavor | optional)

R

2 vegan hoagie rolls

spicy saute:

1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced into strips (use red an/or green peppers)

1 medium sweet onion, sliced

1/4 tsp black pepper

a few dashes chipotle or cayenne powder for heat

salt to taste (I used Penzey's seasoned chili salt 4/s)

1-2 tsp oil (EVOO, safflower or other to saute)

optional: 1 small Anaheim chili, sliced (or any spicy chili - jalapeno works too)

2 Tbsp hatch chilies, diced (canned)

cheese: 2-5 Tbsp Teese vegan cheddar cheese

seitan: 3/4-1 cup seitan strips (WestSoy brand was used) (or not)

garnish: fresh cilantro, chopped, fresh tomato, sliced fresh chilies or jalapeno

F

2 Cans of Chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

1 Tomato, diced

2 Celery Stalks, diced

1 Dill Pickle, diced

1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Onion Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Teaspoon of Paprika

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Tablespoon of Mustard

Pitas

Weekly Meal Plan

We're trying something a little different this week. We are stuck pulling from a bunch of old meal plans and things have been a little repetitive. So, instead of searching for vegetarian/vegan meals this week, I searched for meal plans -- that's right -- I'm stealing another blog's plan for the week. I was really excited to find a FOUR week plan at Plant Based on a Budget here. The plan is for one person and sticks to a 25$ a week budget, but we will obviously need to make larger batches if we want to stretch the meals for lunches like she did.

Since we just meal plan for dinners, this is what our week looks like. Now that it's warm outside, we've been grabbing a vegan special pizza at Whole Foods on Fridays to save some time and have some pizza party movie time with the littles. I know, I know... Our plan says Saturday. We don't really go by 'plan.' We just want to make sure we have enough food in our house and enough meals to get us through the week.

Happy Eating!

Day	Dinner
M	Brown Rice and Vegetable Soup
T	Pasta (PBoaB)
W	Curried Chick Peas and Rice
R	Veggie Pasta Soup (PBoaB)
F	Potato Tacos (PBoaB) with bean dip and mexican rice
S	Pizza (Whole Foods)
S	New Night

Produce Dairy Packaged Goods Spices/Sauces Bread

M

2 tbs oil,
2 cloves garlic – minced,
1/3 one of your onions – diced,
1/2 of the celery stalks in your bunch – chopped,
1 carrot – chopped,
12 cups water,
4 bullion cubes,
1 lb brown rice,
1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli,
handful cilantro – chopped,
red chili flakes to taster

T

1/2 lb pasta – cooked,
1 tbs oil,
3 garlic gloves – minced,
1/3 yellow onion,
1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli,
2/3 of the can of 15 oz tomato sauce (save the rest),
any Italian-tasting dried spices you have on hand. I chose:  1 tbs oregano, 1/2 tbs parsley,  1/2 tbs basil.

W
1 Can of Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 Cup of Diced Yellow Onion
1 15oz Can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons of Curry Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon of Cumin
1/2 Teaspoon of Ginger
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
4 Kale Stalks, stem removed
1/8th Cup of Water

R
1 tbs oil,
2 cloves garlic – minced,
1/3 of your yellow onion – diced,
1 1/2 cup frozen broccoli,
1 carrot – chopped,
the celery you have left – chopped,
the rest of your chickpeas,
1 cup pinto beans,
1/2 bag mexican pasta shapes* (i put a link on the grocery list and it is just as tasty if you decide not to include it),
10 cups water,
4 bullion,  
handful cilantro – chopped,
1/2 tbs cumin

F

bean dip
1 can pinto beans, drained
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup pepper of choice (anaheim, pasilla, jalapeno, etc), chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp fresh lemon or lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil

rice
1 cup medium grain rice
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp vegetable oil
salt and pepper, to taste

5 russet potatoes
salt
tortillas
tomato
avocado
lettuce