Meal Plan Monday

Are you happy that it’s almost fall! No matter the temperature, once pumpkin spice takes over it’s time to give up on any ideas that summer is hanging on.

I don’t mind fall, that means Thanksgiving, spiced apple cider, and all my favorite soups are on their way! Also, apples get really inexpensive so you can buy all you want. That means apple oatmeal, apple bread, applesauce and more!

When it’s fall, practically all my food is eaten out of a warm bowl! I love cradling a warm bowl of soup in my hands and enjoying every last bite, then going to scoop at least one more cup! If you also love soup make sure you try my Dry Veggie Broth Mix this year! Don’t let apprehension of making something new and different, keep you from missing out on this game changer.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Monday

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Leftover Soup and Salad

Green Chili, Cilantro, and Lime Soup

Tuesday

Toast with peanut butter (or alternative) and fresh fruit

Big salad and baked potato

Broccoli and Tofu Teriyaki and Oil-Free Stir Fry Rice

Wednesday

Apple Muffins and fruit

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole in the Crock Pot

 Thursday

Instant Pot Oatmeal

Leftovers

Quinoa and Lentil Salad (I also make this with rice instead of quinoa)

Friday

Breakfast Hash and fruit

Soup and Salad

Busy Night Pasta

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Over the weekend, I sent out my weekly email with Plant-Based tips! It was all about fall but I have more fall tips coming. I’ll also share about how we do Thanksgiving while being plant-based!

If you haven’t signed up to get this weekly email you can do so today. It’s a great way to get weekly plant-based encouragement delivered directly to your inbox. Most of the emails contain practical tips but it’s always great information that I think will help you on your plant-based journey!

Do you have favorite fall recipes? I’d love to hear your favorites!

The crazier the week, the easier the meals need to be. When I think about simple meals, I think about basic plant-based staples like beans, potatoes, oats, and pasta. We usually have a good supply of veggies and a well-stocked pantry. Even when we keep it simple, it’s not boring.

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My kids request oatmeal almost every morning. Some days I’ll make something different but they still ask for oatmeal. It’s easy and healthy so I make it for them. They each like different toppings so I cook it plain and add different fruit to each bowl. If our evening’s busier than we expect, we will have something like spaghetti, Pad Thai, baked potatoes, or beans! Remember, you don’t have to have a meal with a dozen ingredients. Keep it simple!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Monday

Oatmeal with chia seeds and diced apples

Refried Beans and leftover Tofu Scramble

Baked Potatoes made in the Instant Pot and tomato cucumber salad

Tuesday

Overnight Oatmeal

Leftover baked potatoes

Veggie Burgers and potatoes in the Air Fryer

Wednesday

Instant Pot Oatmeal with blueberries and diced apples

Broccoli Potato Soup

Spaghetti with red sauce and side salad with Creamy Italian Salad Dressing

Thursday

Breakfast Hash and Banana Bread

Leftover Soup and Salad

Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

Friday

Banana Nut Oatmeal

Leftovers

Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry

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This week, I’ll use some of the tips I shared in last weekends newsletter to stretch leftovers instead of cooking a new meal. You can sign up to get my weekly email that is always full of plant-based tips!

This week’s meal plan is focused on some of our easiest plant-based favorites! My goal is to do some batch cooking with a few basics, like unfried beans,  and use those in a lot of meals in this weeks meal plan.

We love Mexican food so that heavily influences our meal plan every week. In fact, we could have Mexican food every day and be completely happy!

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Simple Plant-Based Meal Plan

Monday

Blueberry Muffins with fresh fruit or smoothies

Veggie Sandwich

Instant Pot Mexican Casserole

Tuesday

Blueberry Oatmeal

Burritos with leftover casserole

Minestrone Soup (I’m attempting it in the Instant Pot!)

Wednesday

Breakfast Hash

Soup and salad

Bean and Rice Burritos made with Unfried Beans and Mexican Rice

Thursday

Chia Porridge

Leftover Burritos

Tostadas and Mexican Rice

Friday

Steel Cut Oats with apples and blueberries cooking in the Instant Pot

Baked Potatoes

Plant-Based Nachos using the leftover beans and rice

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One of the benefits of this type of meal plan is that I only cook a few things, then I reuse ingredients in several meals. It saves time cooking since I’ll effectively only cook the Mexican Casserole, beans, and rice for dinner. I’ll reuse these in most of the other lunch and dinner meals.

Do you like to batch cook? What do you normally make and how do you use it?

Whether you are new to a plant-based diet or long time plant-based eater, having a plant-based meal plan is a great way to make sure you stay on track with healthy eating. The simpler the meal plan, the easier it is to follow.

This week’s meal plan offers a lot of plant-based recipes. I like to show a full menu, but to keep it simple, I’ll only cook a few of them but double the portions so we can have leftovers. This week’s meal plan uses a lot of pantry staples and basic fresh ingredients that we always have on hand. You can follow along on Instagram to see what we end up eating.

Another thing we do to keep things easy is a grocery pick up. Depending on where you live, some stores allow you to shop for your groceries online or through an app, set a pickup time, then drive to the store. Then an employee brings the groceries out to your vehicle. This is so helpful if you have small children you don’t want to take in the store or have a really busy schedule.

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Plant-Based Meal Plan

Don’t worry about following the whole plant-based meal plan. Let this week’s meal plan inspire you to try new recipes!

Monday

Instant Pot Oatmeal with diced apples or blueberries

Baked Potatoes

Plant-Based Nachos! You have to try these!

Tuesday

Toast with fruit

Veggie Sandwich

Mexican Casserole

Wednesday

Overnight Oats

Burritos using leftovers

Chickpea and Rice Soup in the Instant Pot

Thursday

Instant Pot Oatmeal

Soup and Salad

Busy Night Pasta

Friday

Toast or bagels with peanut butter and fresh fruit

Leftovers

Tofu Kabobs (made in my Air Fryer) and a side dish

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We started back to school last week. I was happy our meal plan was easy because it was a busy week. This week is the first full week of school so I’ll have more easy meals on my mind and on my plant-based meal plan.

So far, we have a great breakfast routine on school days. My boys have been requesting oatmeal every day and I’m happy to make it for them. It’s super easy and super healthy! This week, I’m expecting to serve oatmeal with diced apples and raisins every morning.

We normally stick to leftovers for lunch. Some days I can hardly wait for lunch time! I’ve even been known to eat leftover soup for breakfast!

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This meal plan will focus on our evening dinners. Personally, I prefer to cook 3-4 big dinners a week then eat leftovers. I used to write my meal plans that way but people would be confused so I started writing out daily meal plans. I rarely make all 5 days worth of planned meals. I double recipes or add extra sides so I can get by with less cooking.

Sometimes I cook a meal that I know my kids won’t like. Either it’s spicy or uses veggies or textures that I know they aren’t interested in. I’ll take each kids’ preferences into account. Some days I tell them they don’t have a choice, they have to eat it. Other days I’ll give them the option of leftovers, oatmeal (yes, even for dinner), a sandwich or beans.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

I’ve already cooked a big batch of chickpeas that I’ll use this week in the soup, stir fry and BBQ chickpeas.

I discovered Palouse Brand Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas) on Amazon last fall and fell in love. If you think you don’t like chickpeas try this brand. They taste so much better than canned or other brands. They are non-GMO and you get a code to track your chickpeas to the field they were grown in. It’s pretty cool if you are a food geek like me!

Monday

Instant Pot Chickpea and Rice Soup (link includes stove top directions)

Tuesday

Tostadas with Mexican Rice

Wednesday

Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry

Thursday

BBQ Chickpea Salad

Friday

Pizza Pasta, side salad, and veggies.

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If we have enough leftovers, I may not make it all the way to my Pizza Pasta. Since I’ve already cooked a bunch of chickpeas, I’ll prioritize using them up first.

Do you have kids going back to school soon?