Happy Earth Day and welcome to Meal Plan Monday!
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but there is a tab on the Menu labeled “Meal Plans” that has every meal plan from 2012 and 2013 archived. This may be exceptionally helpful for those of you interested in Plant-Based eating but aren’t quite sure what to actually eat. I plan our meals using seasonal produce to if you live in a different area you may need to make some substitutions.
I usually keep it simple, I don’t have a lot of time for difficult or exotic meals. I make those on some occasions but we strive to eat simply, whole, plant foods as much as possible. Most of our meals are gluten-free to accommodate my little man, others are easily adapted.
Meal Plan
Breakfast
Right now I’m craving pancakes so we may have those soon. More than likely it will be for lunch instead of breakfast but I wanted to put it in the Breakfast category. We are big oatmeal fans here. My boys love oatmeal; we usually eat it with chia seeds, walnuts, cinnamon and fruit. I also like savory breakfast and enjoy Breakfast Tacos or Breakfast Stir-frys. If we are in a big hurry we will eat toast with nut butter and fruit.
Lunch
While I prefer leftovers for lunch my boys prefer sandwiches. You’d think I was making them something really special; at least sandwiches are easy. We often have an assortment of beans and grains I can mix together for quick meals. My boys LOVE baked sweet potatoes. My husband takes the previous nights dinner to work for lunch. Right now I have leftover Taco Soup, Chinese food, Broccoli and Brown Rice Casserole, and Shepherds Pie in single serve containers ready to go.
Snacks
My kids usually have mid morning and a mid afternoon snack. Most of the time it is fruit or a handful of walnuts although sometimes I’ll give them muffins or some other baked goods. They love smoothies but are equally as happy with raw spinach leaves dipped in homemade salad dressing.
Dinner
I plan dinners around our schedule and based on the price of seasonal foods. This week I bought a pineapple so it may be used in a pineapple salsa served on top of a Black Beans and Cilantro Rice Bowl or in a Chickpea-Quinoa Stir Fry or maybe even both. My kids would happily eat the whole pineapple in one sitting but I like to be more intentional so we can enjoy it at multiple meals. Easy Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole is a family and reader favorite! I let my kids eat it in a bowl but I prefer it in a burrito with homemade pico de gallo and guacamole. It is easy to make and inexpensive because it uses pantry staples. Once my garden is producing I’ll be able to make the salsa without going to the store. I didn’t make the Portobello Steaks I had planned last week so I hope to make them this week. I’ll use this Mushroom Marinade and serve them with Dirty Mashed Potatoes and green beans. On a side note a friend gave me a giant bag of frozen organic green beans so let me know if you have any suggestions for them.
I’m still experimenting with a few new recipes too but I’ll keep those to my self for now. 🙂
What do you have planned this week? Any delicious meals?
mlwilkie says
I love looking at your meal plans, your blog is an inspiration to our family meal plans 🙂