Menu Planner: January Week #2

This Menu Planner is a perfect way to ease you into our Food-Lovers' Challenge.  There is almost no meat, there is little dairy, there are some whole grains, and there are lots of veggies.  But hopefully, you won't feel like we're doing anything HUGE and LIFE-ALTERING.  (We are, actually!  This might feel huge for some people and like "nothing" for others...we're meeting in the middle & taking steps of moderation.)

Saturdays and/or Sundays are the days I do my grocery shopping & food prepping.  I fall victim to the "I don't feel like cooking" AND "I don't feel like eating what I planned to make" traps.  These can be costly complaints.  To make it as difficult as possible for myself to say that in the coming week, I try to prep my meals so they're already half or all-the-way done.  Here are some notes on how to prep each meal, if you're into that sort of thing.

(Feel free to take this further than I have or not as far, depending on the meal.  This is just what I did for the week!)

VEGGIE POT PIE:

Chop your veggies & stick them in a container/plastic bag.  (I label my containers with clear packing tape & a sharpie...when I've emptied the container, the packing tape tears right off.  Less waste than using a plastic bag.)  Prepare your pie crust, if you're making your own.  Save the extra pie crust for something else or do what I did--split the filling between two casserole dishes, top with each pie crust, and you have dinner to take to a friend!

PASTA W/ HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE:

In case you are wondering where to find anchovies in the grocery store, they are usually in the "seafood" section with the clam sauce, sardines, tuna, etc.  I made my pasta sauce ahead of time on a Sunday afternoon.  (It really just needs to sit in the pot & simmer for a good long while--I considered using the crock pot, but it needs to reduce, so I played it safe on the stovetop.)  Store a few ladles-worth in a microwavable container & simply heat it up when your pasta is almost done.  After you've drained your pasta & returned it to the pot, dump your heated sauce into the pot as well.

MUSHROOM & BLACK BEAN CHILI:

I left most of this recipe for Wednesday evening.  To be honest, Wednesdays are long days for me, and I enjoy cooking (for the most part), so I kind of enjoy turning on a little Sesame Street for the kiddo and relaxing in the kitchen.  (If that's not your thing, then make it all ahead.  Pre-made soup is one of the easiest things to serve for dinner!)  I did make the ancho chile sauce ahead of time and stored it in the fridge until the moment I needed it.  (By the way, ancho chiles are dried--I found mine in a small packaged bag in the international food section near the refried beans & tortillas.)  I plan to say more about this on Thursday, but I encourage you to try this recipe "as is" without too many changes--I realize this may be a stretch for some of you picky eaters and mushroom skeptics.  That being said, I did make a change to the ancho chile sauce--I used 2 instead of 3, and instead of pureeing it at the end, I just passed the liquid through a strainer and used that.  My husband is super sensitive to spiciness, and I thought that was all I'd be able to get away with.  Now having made & eaten it, I'm curious as to how much spicier the pureed sauce would have been...the strained liquid was not spicy at all. 

VEGGIE PLATE:

This will be a recurring dinner in the Menu Planner during our Food-Lover's Challenge.  The idea is to take the traditional Southern "veggie plate" (from the typical meat-n-three establishment) & serve it up to your family.  Use this night as a time to prepare a vegetable you've never tried, or to prepare an old favorite in a new way.  I am just now starting to like "greens" (as in collard greens), so that's what I chose for my fresh veggie.  I have you preparing steamed (frozen) veggies for your other two just to keep things easy.  (If you want to go all out with 3 new fresh & fancy veggies, go for it!)  Steamed broccoli is my husband's favorite, and peas are my daughter's favorite, so that was my easy choice for the week.  I also feel like steamed veggies help us acquire a taste for vegetables.  Sometimes I need the butter and the salt and the bacon and the cream to coax me into a love affair with a new vegetable.  But steamed veggies are just plain good for you.  And Mark Bittman says the more you eat them, the more you'll develop a new taste for them.  So here goes, right?  Just to keep things sane for this carb-lover, I'm serving a whole grain as a fourth item on my veggie plate.  And speaking of Mark Bittman, I'm making his Quick Whole Wheat & Molasses Bread.  I didn't prepare anything in advance--I'm planning on making the bread several hours before dinner, and I only have one "real" thing to prepare at dinnertime.

FAKE-OUT TAKE-OUT:

This will also be a recurring dinner theme in the Food-Lover's Menu Planner.  My husband and I love to eat out, but we don't have family in town and we are on a tight budget.  That equals take-out dates on the weekends.  But to keep things healthier & cheaper, let's attempt some Fake-Out Take-Out.  This week I'm making Broccoli Stir-Fry for some really quick Asian food fake-out.  (Burgers/fries, Asian food, & pizza are our biggest take-out weaknesses.)  If something else is your go-to, then figure out how to do it at home, quick & healthy!  I didn't do anything in advance for this meal, because my goal was to make it as simple & quick as possible.

BREAKFASTS & LUNCHES:

Make your Black Bean & Corn Salsa--double the recipe if you think you'll need more.  (Extra people or extra hungry.)  Fruit may not sound like enough in the morning, but I made the switch in December and I really like it.  I prefer eating a fruit-based breakfast because it's simple, easy, & full of good-for-you things.  (Most mornings, I just eat/serve a banana & slice an orange for each person.)  Check out Mark Bittman's "Food Matters" for more breakfast ideas if that doesn't quite do it for you.