The 2022 week 30 menu plan is complete and I have included many new recipes at all mealtimes.
Breakfast
I am attempting to diversify from simple variations of oatmeal in the morning and venture into a few new offerings.
Lunch
We have become accustomed to oatmeal different ways for breakfast. Now I am introducing chickpeas different ways for lunch…let me count the ways!
Chickpea Avocado Salad Sandwich
Sonoma Chickpea “Chicken” Salad
Giada’s House Soup (without the meat)
Southwest Chickpea Salad with Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing
Dinner
Farro was my big discovery last week…and I have decided to use it again this week. In my way of thinking it will be like learning a new word…use it several times and it becomes part of your vocabulary. I hope to make farro part of our menu plan.
The lemon pasta was on the menu last week but a dinner with our daughter took its’ place. I have added it again but plan to incorporate a new method of infusing the lemon flavor shared by our daughter.
Vegan Sun Dried Tomato, Basil and Balsamic Bucatini
Farro Salad with Spice Roasted Chickpeas and Cauliflower
Hits and Misses
To be perfectly honest the plant based diet has been a process and we have realized that our taste buds and digestion have adapted…positively.
The ‘Ole Buckeye absolutely hates it when a recipe is named for something it is not. The “chicken” in this salad is actually garbanzo beans. Many of the new recipes I am finding call for garbanzo beans (chickpeas). So far many of them have been quite good. This salad is quite successful with great flavor and texture eaten as a salad or a sandwich.
Cranberry Walnut Vegan “Chicken” Salad
I have a great split pea soup recipe (Cheapskate Soup) from THM but I decided to make this one because it included more vegetables. Mistake! While it wasn’t bad, it certainly wasn’t as flavorful as my tried and true recipe plus it was more costly to prepare both time and money wise.
May I just say…I love nothing better than a great meal that you can pull together and have on the table in less than 30 minutes.What I love even more is when it tastes like it took hours to prepare. These Asian flavors were exceptional and this recipe will definitely be added to the rotation. In fact it will be perfect for time share weeks as well.
Farro. I have heard of it, but never purchased it nor prepared it. This ancient grain may become a new favorite. Although this particular recipe is not anything special, it did introduce me to the nuttiness and chewy texture of farro. I am determined to find more recipes as well as integrating it into some of my rice and quinoa favorites.
One Pan Farro with Tomatoes and Kale
Recap
The transition from keto and THM to a more plant based eating plan has been an adventure to say the least. We have enjoyed being able to implement the “healthy carbs”, but I am beginning to realize that we might be enjoying the carbs too much. I also have been using honey and maple syrup for several recipes instead of the stevia we are accustomed to when following the Trim Healthy Mama plan. That being said I have come to the realization that I will need to incorporate the knowledge obtained from all of my research and put it into our own healthy eating plan. The journey continues. Bon Appetit!
