Can you believe January is almost over? How did the month go for you? Next week I will post a review of how my food challenge went and what I learned from it. But first, I have one last meal plan to carry you through the rest of the month. I apologize for its tardiness. When I should have been blogging, I was holding a bucket for my daughter to throw up into a million times and changing diarrhea diapers every two seconds. We are over the worst, but I am a few days late. Sorry if it messed up your grocery shopping plans!
All recipes are gluten free and vegan.
Like always, make sure you read through all the notes I have made before going grocery shopping. I explain my changes, adaptations, and tips to make it all easier. Click the name of the meal or the picture to go to the actual recipe.
Here is the Printable Shopping List. CLICK HERE and then click “print” in your browser.
Cross off things you already have and don’t forget to add ingredients for breakfasts, lunches, sides, and snacks.
The blogs these recipes come from are truly beautiful and delicious and I encourage you to browse all their recipes for healthy meal ideas.
MEAL 1: Broccoli & Cheese Baked Potato Bowls by Edible Experiments (Vegan, Gluten Free)
You probably saw this recipe posted last week, so of course its in my meal plan for this week. It takes about 30 minutes, so its perfect for a Monday night recipe. Or Friday. I hate making dinner on Mondays and Fridays, and always want something easy. Roasted potatoes and broccoli drizzled in a cheesy cheese-less sauce makes for the perfect healthy comfort food. The sauce can easily be made up to a few days in advance and freezes well. You could make a double batch and freeze some for later. Just be sure to adjust the shopping list if you do double it.
MEAL 2: Cauliflower Stuffed Portobellos by The Local Vegan (vegan, gluten free)
This is another simple recipe with a small ingredient list. I love those kinds of recipes. It uses a bag of frozen cauliflower florets, to make it even easier. You could easily use a head of fresh cauliflower, too. But sometimes you just need dinner to be low maintenance, you know? While the portobellos are roasting, roast another vegetable for a side dish. Asparagus, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage steaks would all be delicious sides.
MEAL 3: Zucchini Noodle Veggie Lo Mein by GI 365 (vegan, gluten free)
I love how many veggies are in this dish! I understand that this recipe excludes people don’t own a vegetable spiralizer, but there are still many ways to adapt this recipe if you don’t. For the zucchini, you could julienne with a knife or a mandolin. You could also slice a zucchini and incorporate it into the meal and also just add real noodles. For spiralizing the carrots and peppers, just slice finely instead of making them into noodles. The recipe calls for tapioca starch, which is something that I would really like to start experimenting with, but I currently don’t have in my kitchen. If you are like me and don’t have any on hand and have trouble finding it, use cornstarch instead.
MEAL 4: Vegetarian Posole with Pinto Beans and Poblano Peppers from Oh My Veggies (vegan, gluten free)
If you have never had posole before, you are in for a treat. The star of posole is the hominy. Its not an ingredient that is used in a lot of recipes, but it is pretty delicious. You can find canned hominy in the bean section. It adds a heartiness to the soup and really adds textural variety. Technically, hominy is not a whole food and it is a carb, so if you are following my food challenge to a tee, you should substitute the hominy for white beans. I rarely use it, but I decided to make an exception and just leave it in the soup because it does have its own set of health benefits and its so stinkin yummy.
MEAL 5: Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Kale by The Pioneer Woman (vegan, gluten free)
This recipe is extremely simple. You will most likely need another small side dish, too. Suggestions for sides: warmed and seasoned beans, fried eggs, fruit salad, roasted or sauteed mushrooms, or any other roasted veggie. I like to add some pressed garlic to the kale when I am cooking it, so I included that on the shopping list.
TIPS:
- You could very easily cut up all the veggies at the beginning of the week, except the onions, to save some work at dinner time.
- You will have left over chives, so try sprinkling them on the Broccoli and Cheese Potato Bowls, too.
- If you buy a large spaghetti squash you will mostly likely have extra squash. Make another meal out of it by pouring on any kind of sauce and adding some roast or sauteed veggies. You can also bake the squash on another day when you are roasting something for another meal. Just keep it in an airtight container until ready to use.
I really like your writing style and how you express your ideas. Thank you.