This Week's Meatless Meal Plan | 03.03.14

Putting this meal plan together I realized something about myself: I love to eat food out of bowls. I love it so much that I started a Pinterest board all about food in bowls! Aside from the amazing Ancho Lentil Tacos and the Crispy Cauliflower-Carrot Fritters in this week's plan, every other meal is served up in a bowl (and to be perfectly honest with you I ate the leftover taco filling for lunch the next day over rice in a bowl with avocado, cilantro, and pepitas). I'm kind of a sucker for a good bowl and I really hope you are too, because we are going to be eating from them quite a bit this week.

Here is this week's meal plan:

Monday

Black Rice, Romesco, and Roasted Veggie Bowl from Beard and Bonnet // I love the combination of roasted veggies, rice, crunchy toasted nuts, and a rich sauce to drizzle over everything! I have made this dish 101 different ways and loved every one of them. You can literally swap out every element for items you have on hand in your house and you will still have a great meal. Don't have black rice? Try quinoa or brown rice. No ingredients for Romesco sauce? No problem, try a store bought salsa or cashew cream. No almonds? No worries, pile that bowl high with toasted sunflower seeds or pepitas instead.

Tuesday

Ancho Lentil Tacos from Post Punk Kitchen // I found this recipe while flipping through Isa Chandra Moskowitz's newest book Isa Does It and I immediately knew that I had to make it; finding the recipe on Isa's website so that I could share it here with all of you was a huge bonus. My family loves lentils and tacos, so naturally this recipe combining the two was going to be a huge hit! I didn't have ground ancho chile on hand, so I substituted chili powder instead, and it worked beautifully. We served our tacos with romaine lettuce, avocados, cilantro, and tomatoes, which I have added onto the shopping list for you.

Wednesday

Zucchini "Pasta" Primavera from No Excuses Detox // Zucchini noodles stand in for pasta in this flavorful, satisfying, and healthy spin on pasta primavera from No Excuses Detox.

Thursday

Lentil Soup with Lemon Yogurt Cream from So...Let's Hang Out // I have made this soup so many times that I am pretty sure I could make it with my eyes closed! This soup has a real wow factor from the addition of cinnamon; seriously, don't question it, just go with it. I promise your family won't be all "Hey, there's cinnamon in my soup!" Instead you will hear lots of oohs and ahhs about how incredible it is. The added bonus is that this soup calls for a little red wine in the cooking process, which means you and your sweetheart can share a lovely glass of red wine over dinner. Score!

Friday
Crispy Cauliflower-Carrot Fritters with Smoky Garlic Aioli from Oh My Veggies // These beautiful little crispy fritters are nothing short of pure perfection. To make them gluten-free I substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour for the regular all-purpose flour. If you are new to gluten-free cooking you can read about what types of gluten-free all-purpose flours that I recommend in my Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Bread post. Serve these little fritters with leftover lentil soup from Thursday night and go ahead and put the extra aioli to use by adding a dollop to your soup.

Tips For This Week's Plan

• Buy lentils in the bulk section instead of the small bags since you will be using a lot of them this week.
• To save on your grocery bill, substitute the specialty rice in Monday night's dish with a grain you already have on hand. Quinoa, white or brown rice, and millet would all work in this recipe.
• Don't worry if you don't own a spiralizer for Wednesday's Zucchini Pasta. You can use your vegetable peeler to create thin zucchini ribbons instead.
• Peeled sweet potatoes can be substituted for the butternut squash in the Zucchini Pasta recipe.
• You will more than likely have leftover parsley, carrots, and celery from this week's meal plan, and if you use sweet potatoes instead of the butternut squash in Wednesday's dish, you can save the peels and add an onion to make homemade vegetable broth in your slow cooker! It's a great money saver and the taste can't be beat!
• The Black Rice, Romesco & Roasted Veggie Bowl calls for a medium head of cauliflower, while the Cauliflower-Carrot Fritters recipe calls for 2 cups of cauliflower florets. Instead of buying 2 heads of cauliflower, just buy one large head and save part of it for Friday's dinner.

Click here for a printable version of this week's meatless meal plan and shopping list, then click on the links above to print out each recipe. Now you're set for the week!