Meal Plan Monday: How I Plan

I sit here a fully admit I don’t know what we are eating this week. At the end of the week half of our household will be going on a trip to see family. I did not buy much at the grocery store because I did not want to leave a bunch of food that would go bad.

I thought that this would be a good opportunity to walk you through how I Meal Plan. First I take all of the food we have into consideration:

• Carrots*
• Potatoes*
• A little Spinach
• Sprouted grain bread
• Oatmeal*
• Cooked quinoa**
• Cooked pinto beans**
• Several vats of hummus
• 7 cups of cooked chickpeas**
• Fresh (but going downhill) Strawberries**
• Several Gluten Free Cereals*

At the store I picked up:

• Almond Milk
• Bananas
• Apples
• Broccoli**
• Freeze-dried Veggies I wanted to try (Bleck…not a fan!)*

Item with * will be fine when I return from traveling and do not need to be used immediately. Items with ** can be frozen and used another time. I have a well stocked pantry and freezer so I have other options available. When my fridge is empty I plan meals based on what produce is the best value while also balancing nutrition and taste.

The Meal Plan

Breakfast will be oatmeal, Breakfast Quinoa, cereal and smoothies.

Lunches will be leftovers, Nachos made with Pinto Beans, PB&J or AB&J, Not So Tuna Salad sandwiches or wraps, and my favorite Spinach, carrot and hummus Wrap.

Snacks will be hummus with fresh veggies, smoothies, chickpeas, and fruit with nut butter.  

Dinner will not be completely planned because I want to focus on using up everything the will not last while I travel. A few of the things that we may eat are:

• Bean Burrtios
• Quinoa Tacos
• Veggie Soup with Chickpeas
• Steamed Spinach with Chickpeas (I had this yesterday and it was tasty)
• Nachos
• Baked Potatoes
• Potato and Broccoli Soup