As I mentioned last week, I've decided to retire What I Ate This Week and I'm replacing it with a weekly vegetarian meal plan. In these posts, you'll find write ups about the recipes we've included (just like What I Ate This Week!), some tips to help you make the most of your meal plan, and a printable menu and shopping list. We'll be posting these on Fridays so you can do your grocery shopping over the weekend and have all your ingredients ready for Monday! Here's what's on the menu this week:
Monday
Creamy Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup from Oh My Veggies // This soup is creamy, filling, and it's a reader favorite! Normally, a soup like this would include turkey or chicken, but I replaced the meat with mushrooms.
Tuesday
Lentil Loaf from One Ingredient Chef + Simple Creamy Mashed Cauliflower from Inspired Taste + Frozen Green Beans // Helloooo comfort food! I am a sucker for meals like this. I had a hankering for a good veggie meatloaf and this one definitely fit the bill. To trim things down a little bit, I made mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes; frozen green beans make an easy extra side dish and a little ketchup or store-bought mushroom gravy (we like Pacific Natural Foods' version!) is the perfect addition to the meatloaf.
Wednesday
Zucchini, Bell Pepper & Edamame Stir Fry from Bake Your Day + Side Salad // This veggie stir fry is meant to serve 2, but we got 4 servings out of it by pairing it with a salad on the side. We loved the spicy stir fry sauce in this and pairing it with udon noodles was a little more fun than the usual rice.
Thursday
Lemony Wheat Berries with Roasted Brussels Sprouts from Oh My Veggies // Although this takes about an hour to cook, it's a really hands-off recipe--after you've put the wheat berries in the pot and the Brussels sprouts in the oven, you just have to wait a while for them to cook, then toss everything together in a bowl. Easy!
Friday
Light Southwestern Twice-Baked Potatoes from Cookin' Canuck // How can you not love these?! Twice-baked potatoes can be high on calories and low on nutrition, but these keep things in check by skipping the sour cream and butter and adding black beans for protein. Serve them with some fresh fruit or veggies on the side and you've got yourself a filling meal.
Tips for This Week's Plan
- Save a little time on prep by making the Creamy Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup and Lentil Loaf on Sunday. The Lentil Loaf serves 6 to 8, so you can have the extra servings for lunch!
- If you have a food processor, you can whip the mashed cauliflower in there for an even creamier texture.
- Use a bagged salad mix and your favorite Asian-inspired salad dressing for Wednesday's side salad.
- You should be able to pull off this meal plan in one shopping trip; if you do your shopping on Saturday or Sunday, all the veggies you buy should last throughout the week.
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!
Natalie @ Once Upon a Cutting Board says
This post must have taken you so much work to put together, but I'm sure it will be helpful to a lot of people! That lentil loaf with cauliflower and gravy is looking especially tempting right now - perfect healthy comfort food!
Kiersten Frase says
Something about this time of year makes me want comfort food all the time! 🙂
Kelly says
I absolutely love this idea and the print-out! Thank you for putting this together! 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
You're welcome--I'm so glad people are finding it helpful!
Kajsa says
This must be the best thing ever invented! I just love this. My personal request would be to make a weak fully glutenfree and dairy free. If that's possible.
Big thanks and a huge thumbs up from Sweden!
Kiersten Frase says
Meg is gluten-free and Julia avoids gluten, so I think their plans will be a good fit for you! We're all taking turns writing up meal plans. 🙂
Deb says
I can't wait to try these recipes! The only change I will make is the soup...being vegan I will use raw cashews instead of sour cream. I love the new format, it will be very helpful to me.
Deb
Kiersten Frase says
I think cashew cream will definitely work in that soup; I've also seen a few people mention using coconut milk. 🙂
Martina @ snapshotsandwhatnots says
Fantastic! The meal plan is even better than I hoped it would be - I've just started implementing my own meal plan and now I'm bursting with ideas - that shopping list it an awesome addition!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you--I'm glad you like it! 😀
Andrea Wilhelm says
Thank you for this amazing idea- I LOVE the weekly plan AND it comes with a shopping list?!? 🙂 Wonderful!
Kiersten Frase says
Woo hoo! I'm glad to hear it! 🙂
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes says
I want that rice and mushroom soup!! Everything looks delish!
Layla @ Brunch Time Baker says
I'm in love with the soup! Looks wonderful, will be trying some of these recipes soon!
Kiersten Frase says
I hope you like them! 🙂
Steph says
Yum! It all looks so good, I really like the look of the lentil loaf and the twice baked potatoes 🙂
Stephanie @ henry happened says
I love that you posted this on Friday! So smart to give me a chance to shop over the weekend. Now I just need to hire someone to cook it all for me. 🙂 We have been reduced to PB&J way too often lately!
Kiersten Frase says
There's nothing wrong with a PB&J dinner! There's protein in it and fruit and if you use the right bread, whole grains!
Shana says
I LOVE YOU for this meatless meal plan feature!! SO awesome! I stink at meal-planning. This is such a fantastic resource. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Any chance the tips can be printable? Am I pushing my luck? : )
Kiersten Frase says
Someone else suggested making the tips printable too; I'm trying to figure out how to work them into the meal plan without it looking like a hot mess. 😉
Sarah Birtwisle Newson says
Loving the meal plans and shopping lists, really helpful and great to give my hubby to help cook. Thank you
Andrea says
Thank you for providing the entire package for each week. I am always anxious about dinners as my family is a combination or meat eaters and vegetarians, semi-gluten-free and different taste preferences. This is exactly what I've been seaching websites, facebook, cookbooks for. You have made my nights SO much more peaceful. I can add meat and a salad and BAM I'm done. I've enjoyed being back in the kitchen.
Kiersten Frase says
I'm so happy to hear that! I always hear from people who struggle to come up with vegetarian meal ideas, so I was hoping that people would find this series useful. And it's fun for us to put these meal plans together too, so it's a total win-win. 🙂
Jessica says
GREAT FEATURE! I will be looking at this for sure. Super idea.