2022 Week 37 Plant Based Menu

The 2022 week 37 menu is complete and continues the journey of transitioning to a more plant based diet. 

Breakfast

The breakfast plan for the week once again relies on oatmeal and fruit. Since very often I fast in the morning, many of the meals I plan last several days. Two meals that were planned last week, have moved to this week. 

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal *New Recipe

Golden Milk Ovenight Oats *New Recipe

High Protein Lemon Chia Pudding *New Recipe

Huevos Rancheros *New Recipe

Lunch

I have an elaborate plan for lunches this week, but I have decided that going forward lunches should be much simpler. It’s not worth the added pressure of preparing several complicated dishes every day and I will admit, that creating plant based meals is much more time consuming.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Oil Free Chickpea Salad *New Recipe

Lemony Kale and White Bean Soup *New Recipe

Smokey Lentil and Quinoa Soup *New Recipe

Dinner

Fortunately I have several “eat again” meals servicing dinners this week. The new meals planned are quite interesting and I am anxious to try them. Hopefully they will be successful enough to add to a rotation. I am finding that I continually try new recipes and have not developed a good rotation of enjoyable meals.

Chestnut and Mushroom Roast *New Recipe

Pasta Paella *New Recipe

Mujadarra *New Recipe

Hits and

This oatmeal preparation has become a favorite and it is definitely a cook once/eat again breakfast. It is not only delicious but also easily reheated multiple mornings.

Maple Pecan Baked Oatmeal

The ‘Ole Buckeye requested a bean salad after enjoying it multiple times on our Alaskan cruise. I elected to try a new recipe and served it over quinoa…success. This recipe is not only healthy with great flavor but also quickly prepared.

Everyone’s Favorite Bean Salad

This soup was on the menu prior to our trip, but never made it to the table until now. What a great soup, reminiscent of Greek Lemon Soup. A big plus…it provided multiple lunches.

Lemon Chick Pea Orzo Soup

What a delicious surprise. Believe me this will become a staple for lunch. The bread chosen was a sprouted whole grain wheat berry bread from Trader Joe’s and the only change I made was to omit the cucumber. I piled on loads of broccoli sprouts and used a fresh tomato from the Farmer’s market. Easy and satisfying!

Vegan Avocado Humus Sandwich

I have read about Jackfruit and finally put it to the test. It was served on whole wheat buns with the sauce. I added onion and dill pickle. it was fine…worth the effort, probably not.

Jackfruit Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Always a favorite, this kale salad services as a side or a main dish (which it ended up doing on Saturday.) It was a busy day with sailing, soccer games and college football. Rather than concentrating on a new recipe and heavy meal, we opted for the salad. 

Mexican Kale Salad

A family favorite that is a quick meal to put together. I always keep the ingredients on hand and have been experimenting with different pastas. This time I used a brown rice/quinoa pasta from Trader Joe’s. Great pasta that will be used often!

Pasta Puttanesca

Were these as good as “real” tacos? No. But I must admit that serving them with eat again Mexican Kale salad actually made a good dinner for us. Most likely I will have this again Wednesday when the ‘Ole Buckeye is sailing.

Vegan Tacos

Misses

The only miss last week was this pasta dish. Not only was it time consuming and expensive to make, but it was bland and lacked flavor. It will not be repeated, even though it will be again for several meals since it made a large casserole.

Broccoli and Tomato Pasta Bake

Recap

2022 week 37 proved to be full of surprisingly good meals with great flavors. As I continue investigating eating for health, I will identify the best way to incorporate fats and proteins that will provide optimal nutrition. The journey continues. Bon Appetit!