Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

I am finding it hard to feel inspired this week. However, here is our (possible) meal plan for the week:

M: Moroccan chickpeas & couscous
T: Ginger stir-fry with tofu & Asian greens with soba noodles
W: Tempeh burritos with guacamole and salsa (Feeding the Whole Family)
T: Spinach triangles with salad (Vegan with a Vengeance)
F: Pizza

I have also been making gingerbread - one of my favourite Christmas traditions. Photos of Lily 'decorating' said-gingerbread to come tomorrow...

Meal plan in retrospect

Monday
L: Pasta
Not sure I should have eaten that...
D: Flat lemonade. In bed at 7:30pm

Tuesday
B: Vegemite toast
L: Flat lemonade and Vegemite toast
D: Fried potatoes

Now I am off to lie down again.

Veg*n Meal Plan Monday... on a Tuesday

Oops. Sorry about being late and all. I have no decent excuses, so let's move on shall we?

The thing is that I really don't have much of a plan this week. However, I thought that I would share a photo of my Farmers' Market haul with you and let you know what I was thinking it might be good for. Similar enough?

So we got (left to right): some silverbeet; two huge punnets of strawberries; some pesticide-free granny smith apples; some fresh locally-made tofu; some cherry tomatoes; some finger bananas; a bunch of yummy-looking tomatoes; some broccoli; a bunch of carrots; some zucchini; some organic asparagus; some Asian greens; a big bunch of organic basil; some mushrooms; a bag of pesticide-free potatoes (should have opened them for the picture, huh?); a big bag of fair trade coffee; and (out of the picture, because I forgot about them) some cherries and apricots (first of the season for us!).

My plan:

1. The Asian greens, some of the broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms & tofu need to become some kind of stir-fry or soba noodle soup.
2. The basil is asking to become pesto - perhaps coupled with the remaining tofu (crumbled), some tomatoes, mushrooms & olives over pasta?
3. The silverbeet would go well with some red lentils for a dahl-y soup. Or I could leave the tofu out of the pasta and make Spanikopita with some nutritional yeast...
4. More of the broccoli, mushrooms, silverbeet, carrots, zucchini & tomatoes would go well with some beans for a paella.
5. I think that I will roast the remaining carrots with the potatoes and make a roast veggie salad with some tempeh, cherry tomatoes and tahini sauce.

There: five dinners.

Plus:

1. Bananas will go into morning smoothies with oats, soy milk and almonds. - Breakfast (coffee obviously lives here too)
2. The cherries & strawberries (and the remaining cherry tomatoes) will be devoured alone. - Snacks
3. The apricots are becoming a pie. They simply must. - Desert
4. Some of the apples have been juiced with the celery and mint that we have left over from last week. - Drink
5. Another apple and 3 carrots became muffins (along with some flour, raisins, cinnamon etc). - Morning teas

What would you have done?

Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

This week I thought that we should try a few recipes from my new cookbook - Eat, Drink & Be Vegan (ED&BV). We started this process out by trying her Chocolate Sin-ammon cake over the weekend - well, actually I forced P. to bake it while I sewed...

I quite liked it, but P. found the spices a little too strong and thought that it didn't taste enough like cake. I must admit, I also thought that it was the very first cake that I have ever thought could do with a little more sweetness... So we covered it with a thick chocolate icing and suddenly it was delicious.

Other than cake, for the rest of the week we plan to eat:

M: Moyashi soba
T: Walnut, white bean & spinach phyllo rolls (ED&BV p.150)
W: Cocoa-coconut chili (ED&BV p.94)
T: Chickpea sensation patties with salad (ED&BV p.125)
F: Pizza

I also plan to bake some Berry Goodness Muffins (ED&BV p.26) for my mother's group on Wednesday.

Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

Here is my recipe plan for the week. I am getting a little bored of this. Are you? I'll keep it short this week, but I am thinking about changing it or dropping it... not sure which.



M: Vegetarian soy 'fish' with mushrooms, greens with a tamarind & ginger sauce
T: Spinach pie
W: Chickpea & eggplant curry & rice
T: Moroccan tangine & couscous
F: Pizza

Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

Running a bit late today... The weekend was a bit of a write-off. Here is our (short) mealplan for the week:

Monday
L: Veggie buns & rice paper rolls
D: Mushroom, spinach and pumpkin risotto

Tuesday
L: Tempeh salad
D: Salt & pepper tofu, stir fried greens and soba noodles



Wednesday
L: Risotto leftovers
D: Dahl & silverbeet soup



Thursday
L: Dahl leftovers with rice
D: Pseudo-Friday night pizza



Friday
L: Pizza leftovers
D:We will be in Sydney... so who knows?

Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

Another Monday, another meal plan. Feel free to play along - I have found that it makes the week (and the shopping) so much easier. Another bonus is that it is really encouraging us to be more experimental with our cooking - although it is also becoming clear what are favourite cookbooks are.

Monday
B: Homemade muesli with soy yogurt and grated apple
L: Falafel & tabouli sandwich on sourdough bread (odd combo, I know...)
+ P. is making choc-chip cookies (VWAV*) as I type, but these aren't really part of any meal plan...
D: Millet polenta with sun-dried tomato pesto (VWAV)

Tuesday
B: Homemade muesli with soy yogurt and grated apple
L: Tempeh salad with a creamy tahini dressing
D: Fresh pasta with tofu ricotta (VWAV)

Wednesday
B: Homemade muesli with soy yogurt and grated apple
L: Nut burgers (FTWF**)
D: Asparagus quiche (VWAV)

Thursday
B: Homemade muesli with soy yogurt and grated apple
L: Guacamole and corn thins and a banana, strawberry & almond smoothie
D: Dahl and rice

Friday
B: Homemade muesli with soy yogurt and grated apple
L: Nut burgers (again)
D: Friday night pizza

What's in your meal plan for the week?

*Vegan with a Vengeance
**Feeding the Whole Family

Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

Sorry that this is a little late. Lily is just getting over a cough and has been napping on my lap a lot lately - limiting my free time considerably. She is asleep in her hammock now though and so I thought that I would quickly post our meal plan for the week. I should be getting started with dinner, but the Farmers' Outlet doesn't open until 2pm and so I don't have any veggies in the house yet (because Lily slept right through the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning).

Sunday
Dinner: Tempeh burritos with guacamole (adapted from Feeding the Whole Family 159)

Monday
Breakfast: Weetbix and Carman's muesli with soy milk
Lunch: Blueberry bagel with almond butter
#[Go to shops and buy real food!]#
Dinner: Yakisoba

Tuesday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with soy yogurt and grated apple
Lunch: Tempeh salad with tahini dressing
Dinner: Morrocan tangine (Vegan with a Vengeance 178) with couscous

Wednesday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with soy yogurt and grated apple
Lunch: Beans, mushrooms and a toasted sesame bagel
Dinner: Mediterranean quinoa (adapted from FTWF 143)

Thursday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with soy yogurt and grated apple
Lunch: Tangine leftovers
Dinner: Stewed tofu & potatoes (VWAV 147)

Friday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with soy yogurt and grated apple
Lunch: Quinoa leftovers
Dinner: Friday night pizza

Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

Another week, another meal plan:

Monday
Breakfast: Porridge
Lunch: Iku in the car (nori roll, rice ball & tofu pocket)
Dinner: Kale pie, salad & a tahini dressing

Tuesday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with grated apple and soy yogurt
Lunch: Pie leftovers
Dinner: Chickpea & eggplant curry, dahl & brown rice

Wednesday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with grated apple and soy yogurt
Lunch: Rice paper rolls
Dinner: Yaki soba

Thursday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with grated apple and soy yogurt
Lunch: Curry leftovers
Dinner: Nori rolls (brown rice, shredded veggies and tempeh)

Friday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with grated apple and soy yogurt
Lunch: Nori rolls
Dinner: Calzones (veggies in chickpea gravy)

Saturday
Breakfast: Pancakes & a fruit smoothie
Lunch: Beans, mushrooms & avocado on toast, with country fried potatoes
Dinner: Roast vegetable salad

Did you make a meal plan this week?

VEGANMOFO - Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

Well I really fell off the wagon there didn't I? Umm... sorry about that.

However, at least I am back with Veg*n Meal Plan Monday.

Sadly we are, once again, out of town for the week and so we won't have complete control over our meals. Fortunately, Lily and I are staying with my Dad and Stepmother and so I will still be able to do some cooking etc. (P will be in Samoa for work).

So, here is a slightly patchy meal plan for our week (which may be significantly altered depending on the inclinations of our hosts and the availability of ingredients in Sydney):

Monday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with soy yogurt, grated apple and extra fresh fruit
Lunch: Tempeh sandwich with tomatoes and tahini sauce
Dinner: Stir fry of Asian greens & tofu over brown rice

Tuesday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with soy yogurt, grated apple and extra fresh fruit
Lunch: Stir fry leftovers or a quick salad & avocado sandwich
Dinner: Red, Black bean & lentil chili over quinoa

Wednesday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with soy yogurt, grated apple and extra fresh fruit
Lunch: Chili leftovers
Dinner: (Rocket & walnut) pesto pasta with cherry tomatoes
Thursday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with soy yogurt, grated apple and extra fresh fruit
Lunch: Pasta leftovers
Dinner: Something in town - maybe Peace Harmony or Wagamama?

Friday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli with soy yogurt, grated apple and extra fresh fruit
Lunch: Iku Macro burger (yum!) and sago pudding (double yum!) [Actually this is what P and I ate on our wedding day between the ceremony and the reception. I was SO HUNGRY and it was so good.]
Dinner: Rosemary red soup (we didn't get to make it last week)

VEGANMOFO Day Three - Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

This week I have decided to do a bunch of recipes from a new cookbook in our house - Feeding the Whole Family, by Cynthia Lair [FTWF]. This is the first non-vegan cookbook that I have bought in the 15 years that I have been a vegan and it is not even vegetarian. However, a majority of the recipes are vegan or easily 'veganisable' and I really appreciate her focus on wholefoods and seasonal produce.P and I have been gradually changing our diet over the last few years to better embrace our values of "ecotarianism" and as we have done so we have also been discovering some of the benefits of eating a diet that is much higher in wholefoods. I was becoming frustrated that so many of our cookbooks didn't make this an easy task - by asking for the addition of processed foods or combining produce that doesn't come into season at the same time, etc - and so I decided to purchase this cookbook. I am really glad that I did too. Not only does it have a heap of really great-sounding recipe, but it also has a fantastic introduction section that covers nutritional issues in a way that really speaks to me. If you want to try a few of her recipes, then you can find some here.

More on this later... For now, here is our meal plan for the week:


Monday
Dinner: Brown rice sushi with avocado and tempeh (FTWF p.108 - although this is already a regular dish in our household, I thought that we would try her recipe)
Note: Soak Kidney Beans

Tuesday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli (soaked oats & barley) with grated apple, soy yogurt & LSA
Lunch: Sushi
Dinner: Red bean and Quinoa Chili (FTWF, p.151)

Wednesday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli
Lunch: Tempeh club sandwiches (FTWF, p.112)
Dinner: Thick potato, cauliflower and dulse soup (FTWF, p.130)

Thursday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli
Lunch: Chili
Dinner: Tofu, Kale Supper Pie (FTWF, p.162)

Friday
Breakfast: Bircher muesli
Lunch: Pie or Soup
Dinner: Rosemary Red Soup (FTWF, p.128)

Shopping List

Farmers' Outlet
Avocado
Carrots x 6
Kale
Dill
Green Apples
Beetroot
Bay leaves
Potatoes x 2
Celery x 1/2
Cauliflower
Green Capsicum
Mandarins
Salad greens
Tofu

Supermarket/Co-op
Tempeh x 2
Mirin
Brown rice vinegar
dry dulse
umeboshi vinegar
soy milk
soy yogurt
cashews
Mirin

What is your meal plan for the week?

Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

Well this week's meal plan is going to be a bit odd since we are actually staying in a hotel room in Vanuatu and, thus, cannot cook for ourselves. However, I'll give it a go...

Mon-Fri

Breakfast: A selection from the breakfast buffet. Most probably bran flakes, mixed nuts, fruit compote & soy milk, followed by vegemite toast and a coffee.

Lunch: A baguette filled with salad and, hopefully, some avocado (if we can find some) and some fresh fruit.

Dinner: A veganised version of whatever vegetarian option is available on the menu of local restaurants. Last night it was risotto. Having looked around a little I am predicting that cheeseless pizza and bean burritos will also feature...

OK, over to you. Did you make a meal plan this week?

Veg*n Meal Plan Monday

This week P and I thought that we would go back to planning our meals for the week again. It always made meal times and shopping so much easier, as well as meaning that we ate better and had less waste at the end of the week.

Having seen the idea of Meal Plan Monday for the first time at HPP last week, I was going to join in this week over at Organising Junkie. But the thing is, while I think that it is a great idea, I didn't find the list of over 300 meal plans very helpful for me because I had no idea which ones were full of meat (and, thus, not particularly inspiring for our household).

AND SO... I thought that I might try to start a new list over here just for veg*n (vegetarian and vegan) meal plans. So if you have a veg*n meal plan for the week then please feel free to join in a leave a comment with a link below. If we end up with enough of us then I'll install a "Mister Linky" thingy to make it a little easier [or I'll get P - my IT department - to do it for me :)]. I'll also make sure to put up a Veg*n Meal Plan Monday post every week so that you can link in if you wish to. Here is a little 'button' that you can use if you like. I'll have my IT department (P) make it active in a couple of days so that it actually functions as a link (if you have any tips for him, please do share them with us).


Here is our meal plan for the week (including Sunday dinner, because we use the leftovers for lunch later in the week). I have also included our shopping lists too, because, well, I am like that.

I have tried to include lots of early spring vegetables (like yummy fresh asparagus, asian greens, broccoli and salad greens) in order to focus on local seasonal foods. You might also notice that our meal plan includes a lot of recipes from Veganomicon ('V'). That is because we only recently bought it and so this seemed like a great time to get organised and try a few of the recipes. I'll let you know what I think.

The Plan

Sunday
Dinner: Moroccan tangine with spring vegetables and couscous (VwaV 178)
[This was absolutely delicious, by the way. I can highly recommend it.]



Monday
Lunch: Chili & Quinoa (leftovers)
Dinner: Salt & Pepper Tofu with Asian greens, asparagus, mushrooms & soba noodles
[NB: soak white beans for tomorrow]



Tuesday
Lunch: Tangine leftovers
Dinner: Rustic white beans and mushrooms with brown rice (V 120)
[NB: soak black beans for tomorrow]

Wednesday
Lunch: Quick fried rice
Dinner: Black bean burgers (V 98)

Thursday
Lunch: Rustic white bean leftovers
Dinner: Broccoli-millet croquettes (V 51) with a tempeh salad

Friday
Lunch: Black bean burgers
Dinner: Friday night pizza

Shopping List

Food Co-op
red lentils; millet; bread flour; cinnamon sticks; quinoa; carrots (2); zucchini (2); english spinach; toilet paper

Supermarket
tomato paste; marinated artichokes; tempeh; soy milk; black beans

Farmer's Outlet
Monday: tofu; asparagus; asian greens; celery (1/2); small leek; fresh coriander; salad greens; mandarins; apples
Thursday: tomatoes (4); olives; mushrooms; salad greens; broccoli; basil (?)