Meal Plan: Jan 9-15

Here's what I'm cookin' up this week:


To Prep
Roasted Chickpeas, Almond Butter

Sunday
Dunn Bros
Crock-pot Guiness Stew & Beer Bread

Monday
Leftover Noodles w/Tomato Sauce/Leftover Stew and bread
Taco Salad

Tuesday
Leftovers - Taco Salad and Stew
On your own (most likely a big salad w/chickpeas)

Wednesday
Salad with Chickpeas/Leftover stew
Veggie Burger (Turkey for hubs) and Roasted Veggies (broccoli & brussel sprouts)

Thursday
Veggie and Chickpea wrap
Mac and Chreese* with Broccoli

Friday
Leftovers
Pizza

Saturday
Passage to India - Lunch Buffet!
Leftover Pizza

As usual, I'll be sharing some recipes along the way!

Hope you have a great Monday!
~Kasey

*Yes, it's really called that! "Chreese" - like "Trees" - because it's plant-based. Get it? haha ;)

Groceries

Good Morning!

This morning, Dillon and I got up early to grocery shop. It's becoming out Sunday morning tradition. First we stopped at a local coffee shop for muffins and drinks - it's fun to have something different for breakfast once and awhile. Plus, we were out of bananas!

Here's what we got for food for the week:

Produce
onion
potatoes
celery
apples
bananas
broccoli
brussel sprouts
salad
clementines

Grains
bread
wraps

Protein
tofu
black beans
chickpeas
soymilk
veggie burgers

Other
cinnamon
salsa
pizza sauce
pretzels
cucumber water and coconut water - impulse buys!

All of our weekly food was just under $70 - not too bad. It stays consistently in that price range each week. I'll share my menu plan later

After we got home we went on a cleaning spree. All the floors and swept or vacuumed, surfaces dusted and wiped down. We even re-arranged the kitchen a bit and hung some pictures.

Look at the cute new apron Dillon got me for Christmas. I love it! Also note to silly pig-tails. Dillon likes when I wear my hair like this, so I like to humor him sometimes :)

Well now we're off to run some more errands. We prepared the Guiness Stew in the crockpot already for dinner, and I'll be making some Beer Bread to go along with it once we get home. Recipes for those coming soon!

Have a great Sunday :)
~Kasey

Meal Plan: January 2-8

Good Morning!

As promised, here is what I plan on cooking this week. The first listing is what I will pack Dillon and I for lunch, and then the second is what I plan to make for dinner.

To Prep
Brown Rice, Black Beans, Chickpeas Tofu, Nut Butter

Sunday
Tofu Scramble
Refried Bean Tacos

Monday
Rice bowl w/tofu and broccoli (chickpeas for hubs)
Salad with Beans/Leftovers

Tuesday
Black Bean Wrap & Salad
Fried Rice

Wednesday
Salad or Rice Bowl w/Tofu (chickpeas for hubs)
Leftovers

Thursday
AB&J Sandwich
Grilled Tofu Sandwiches (turkey burger for hubs) & roasted veggies

Friday
Leftover Tofu for me, Black Bean Wrap for Dillon
Seitan Guinness Stew

Saturday
Leftovers

Seems pretty do-able! Along with lunches, I always pack snacks like clementines, apples, nuts, etc because I like to snack a bit throughout the day.

The prep I do is on Sunday which makes throwing together lunches really easy. As for the meals in italics, I plan to make sure you get a recap of those :)

To Start, here is a brief description of how I prep on Sundays.

I made nut butter earlier in the day by blending ~ 1 cup of cashews until creamy (about 10 minutes).

Brown Rice
I used 1 cup of dry, long grain brown rice and 2 1/3 cups of water.

First, boil the water. Then add the rice, stir once, and let it sit, covered, for 45 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

Be patient and really just leave it alone to do its thing.

All done! 1 cup of dried rice made about 4 cups of cooked rice. I'll be using this in the rice bowls and in the fried rice I'm going to make on Tuesday.

While the rice was cooking, I made the next 3 things.

Black Beans
I started by draining and rinsing 1 can of black beans. Then I put it in a frying pan and added spices.

Cooked for about 7-10 minuted until warm and covered in the spices.


Chickpeas
I repeated the draining and rinsing for the chickpeas. Spiced and browned in a pan for these as well.

Cooked about 10-12 minuted until browned.


Tofu
I pressed the tofu for about 20 minutes before cooking. I used the same spices for the tofu as I did for the chickpeas.

Cooked for about 15 minutes until nice and brown.

All ready to go!

I did all of this in about 30 minutes and even cleaned up the kitchen while everything was cooking. It's surprising how productive I can be if I want to :)

I think this will really help the week be less hectic. Having healthy food on hand is very important to me, and it's pretty easy as long as you plan ahead!

Happy Monday! I'm working for 10 hours since its supposed to be a really busy day. I'll be glad to come home and relax.  I hope you have a great day!

~Kasey