Meal Plan

This week's meal plan is listed here. For those new to the blog, WELCOME! and a few notes. I provide in-home child care, so I list all snacks and lunches. My day care kids eat mostly vegan, but do occasionally have cheese or yogurt products. My family eats vegan. I always offer fresh fruit and a veggie tray with each meal or snack.  We drink soy milk, water or decaf tea.

I try to make my meal plans DO-ABLE for anyone.  I use products that I can buy in my small town grocery store and I make foods that I can handle while running around to swim practice, soccer, meetings, and personal training clients.  We have a busy life, but we make every effort to sit together to eat all meals. Proper planning helps to make that happen.  Otherwise, we would all eat separately.  It also helps me to use up what produce we have on hand so I have minimal food waste.  We save a ton of money when we stick to a food plan, so I try to do these weekly.  I apologize this one is posted  few days late, but you get the idea! 

HAPPY VEGAN EATING!!

Date	Breakfast or  Morning Snack	Lunch	Afternoon Snack	Supper	Plan/Notes
Monday	Cereal or Bagel   Granola	PBJ Picnic in the Park	Rice Cakes with cream cheese or jelly	Tofu and Shitake stir fry, rice, garlic green beans	Drain tofu
Tuesday	Blueberry Pancakes, fruit   Painted bagels	Veggie Patty, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, blueberries	Cinnamon Popcorn and raisins	Pita Pizzas (veggies and vegan sausage, vegan cheese)	Pizza prep
Wednesday	Cereal or Pancakes     Banana Muffins	Tomato Soup, breadsticks, broccoli and carrots	Celery and PB or apples	Taco Casserole (with refried beans and corn cake), Spinach salad	Make crockpot beans
Thursday	Muffins or cereal   Animal crackers, raisins	Tortilla roll-ups, spinach salad, veggie dippers	Fruit choice	Reuben sandwiches, sweet potato steak fries, kale
Friday	Pancakes or cereal   Orange slices	Veggie fried rice, Edamame, fruit salad	PB Muffins	Chili, corn bread, any leftover fruit/salads	Make PB muffins
Saturday	French Toast dippers	Chickpea Salad pitas OR cucumber sandwiches	Veggie Dippers	OUT
Sunday	Muffins or French Toast Dippers	OUT	OUT	Leftovers, popcorn, veggie tray

Potatoes and Cabbage with White Beans

I saw a similar recipe to this on a vegan support group on Facebook.  I thought it looked good, but made a few changes to the ingredient list and the cooking process to make it more appealing to my family.  It seems a little weird to think that my kids would like cabbage, beans and onions all mixed up together.  But my family of four ate two whole fry pans full of this!  They loved it.  It was a great one-pot meal that I served with a little fresh fruit.  It was warm and comforting and very, very good.  They insisted that I get this one on the blog right away and get it on the meal plan again soon.

I'm sorry I didn't get a picture yet.  I was afraid if I walked out of the kitchen to grab the camera they would have it all gone before I could eat!

 POTATOES, CABBAGE, WHITE BEAN ONE POT
(amounts may vary slightly depending on what you have on hand, this amount was enough for about 6 large servings)

2 large potatoes, cleaned and cut into 1/2" cubes
olive oil and/or vegan butter for browning

1 large onion (any variety), diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans white beans (Cannelini or navy), drained and rinsed
1/2 of a large head of green cabbage, sliced thinly
1/4 - 1/2 c. white wine
2-3 t. Italian seasoning
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

In a large fry pan, heat the butter and/or oil.  Add potato cubes and cook until golden brown and crispy on all side.  Set aside.

Add a little more oil/butter to pan and cook onion and garlic until soft but not brown.  Add in beans, cabbage, white wine and seasonings.  Stir to coat cabbage, then cover and cook about 5 minutes over medium heat until cabbage is softened.  Toss together with the potatoes and re-season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cowboy Cake (Vegan Coffee Cake)

 

 

I think this was originally called Cowboy Cake because it can be made in a cast iron pan.  We still call it cowboy cake because that's more fun that saying coffee cake!

 

 

We love ours with blueberries.  But feel free to top yours with any fruit you like, or with pecans and a drizzle of maple syrup, or leave it "plain" with the crumble on top.  It is a really great breakfast or snack and is a favorite in our house.  The pan never lasts more than a day!

 

COWBOY CAKE or COFFEE CAKE

(a great breakfast!)
2 ½ c flour (I use whole-wheat, use a mixture if you want)
1 ½ c brown sugar
½ t salt
2/3 c vegan margarine

2 t baking powder

½ t baking soda

½ t ground cinnamon

½ t ground nutmeg

2 T. ground flax in 1/2 c. water

1 ½ c unflavored soy milk mixed with 1 T. vinegar
½ c chopped nuts (optional)
1 c. fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, etc)
 

Grease 9x13” pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine flour, brown sugar, salt.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Set aside ½ cup of mixture for later.  Stir baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into remaining crumb mixture.

Combine flax mixture and soured milk.  Add all at once to dry mixture.  Mix well.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Stir together reserved crumbs, nuts and berries. Sprinkle on top batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  Serve warm or cold.  (I make it the night before if I know there won’t be time in the morning.)

Cinnamon Popcorn Snack

Simple snack we made at Sunday School yesterday with the little ones.  They got to "measure" out each ingredient and then shake it all together in a baggie.  Simple but yummy!

We just mixed together dried fruits (raisins, fruit bits, dried cherries, etc.) with fresh popped popcorn.  Then we sprinkled on a little cinnamon-sugar mixture and shook it all together. 

Gazpacho (aka Farmer Market Cold Soup) -- Vegan and GF

I love friends with benefits, especially when the benefits you are talking about are fresh garden veggies!  Got a TON of fresh Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, green onion and peppers from a couple friends this weekend and decided to make up a giant batch of Gazpacho.

Gazpacho is a cold vegetable soup.  It is savory and a little spicy and fresh and wonderful.  And it's a great way to use up your extra vegetables.  Serve it up with a vegan multi-grain bread (from the market).  Just toast up the bread and rub it with fresh garlic.  So good! 

I recommend serving it beside Chickpea Salad on greens or made into a pita sandwich. http://voyagetoveganism.blogspot.com/2011/12/chickpea-garbanzo-salad-gf-and-v.html

I will give approximate amounts, but I just ended up using what I had.  So you may need to start slower on the liquid parts and add as you see fit.

GF AND FOOD ALLERGY NOTE: Some Worcestershire is made with anchovies and/or wheat. Be careful to read labels and buy what you need.

GAZPACHO
(Notes: I did not peel my tomatoes or cucumber because I don't like to waste any part of the food.  You can peel your veggies if you prefer.)

2 cups finely chopped Roma tomatoes, seeded (peeled if you prefer)
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped green onion
1 cup finely chopped cucumber, seeded (peeled if you prefer)
1 cup finely chopped red or green sweet pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
3 cloves minced garlic
3-5 T. white balsamic or red wine vinegar (or your favorite vinegar)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 t. A1 Steak Sauce OR vegan Worcestershire sauce
5 cups Bloody Mary Mix OR Vegetable Juice (I use 3 cups V-8 and 2 cups Hot and Spicy V-8)
1/2 t. crushed red pepper

Mix all together, season with salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.  Let chill at least 4 hours before serving. Re-season as needed after taste testing. Serve with crusty bread or croutons and hot sauce on the side.

Mexican Rainbow Soup (aka Mexican Chili)

MEXICAN RAINBOW SOUP (AKA MEXICAN CHILI)

2-3 T. minced garlic

1 large onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 red (or orange or yellow) peppers, chopped

1 14oz. can diced tomatoes (or 2 whole tomatoes, chopped)

5-6 cups beans (black, white, red, etc.—whatever you like or have in the pantry) that have been soaked and are soft

OR

3 cans beans (I like to mix one each of black, navy, and kidney)

 

4-6 cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth

2 cups fresh or frozen corn
 
Season with:
Tabasco sauce to taste
2-3 T. chili powder
1-2 T. dried basil, or one ½ a bunch of fresh, chopped
1 T. cumin
Salt and Pepper
(spice it up more if you’d like)

In large soup pot, sauté garlic and onion until soft but not brown in olive oil or a little broth.  Add everything except corn and cover it with broth.  Bring to a boil, simmer until veggies are crisp-tender.

Add 2 cups fresh or frozen corn and cook until hot.

(I thickened mine with a cornstarch slurry this time.  I don't always do that.)

Serve with jalapenos and vegan cheese (pepper jack or cheddar) and/or vegan cream cheese or sour cream to top it off.

Good with beer bread, tortillas, chips, or corn bread. 

Asian Tofu and Cabbage Salad

Some people think vegans ONLY eat salad.  Well, that's just not true.  I rarely eat a salad, but when I do I like it to be flavorful and colorful and yummy.  I don't do the plain little garden salads of yesterday.  This one gives a real flavor punch and my family really enjoys it.

I originally found an Asian Salad recipe on Allrecipes.com, but it wasn't quite what I liked.  So I had to revamp it and work it a little more to my tastes.  This is what we had for supper last night, with a side of edamame.  It would also go well with miso soup or another veggie soup.

The original recipe had us marinating the tofu and tossing it together with the other veggies.  I found it didn't have quite enough dressing/marinade and left the salad pretty bland.  So I changed up the ingredient list to make it more of a dressing than a marinade, and I change up the process so that all the veggies get good flavor.  I hope you like it!

ASIAN TOFU AND CABBAGE SALAD
Note: I have estimated the amounts for the vegetables.  You can prep your own veggies or you can purchase packages of the ready to use to save time. Also, sweet chili sauce is purchased in the Asian section of most stores.  Some is much hotter than others, so use enough to get the amount of heat you like. Always taste your food before serving!

This recipe makes 4 main dish or 6 side dish servings, but tastes great the next day.  So keep those leftovers!

Salad:
1 brick extra-firm or firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes or triangles
4-6 cups sugar snap peas (2 packages)
1-2 cups shredded carrots (1/2 package)
2-3 cups shredded purple cabbage (1 package)
Romaine, spinach or other salad greens

Dressing:
2-4 T. Sweet Chili Sauce
2 t. fresh minced ginger
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T. rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1 t. sesame oil
2 T. agave or honey (optional, to taste)

Toppings:
Chopped peanuts
Chow Mein noodles
Toasted sesame seeds

In a large bowl, toss gently the peas, carrots and cabbage.  Add the tofu.  (Save the salad greens for serving time.)

Whisk together all ingredients for the dressing and drizzle over the veggies and tofu. Toss together gently so all veggies are covered, but be careful not to smash up the tofu.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

To serve, pile marinated veggies and tofu onto some greens and top with peanuts, noodles and/or sesame seeds.