If this week's meal plan had a theme, it would be goodbye winter! With spring (and asparagus!) right around the corner, I decided to make some of my favorite wintery foods this week--Brussels sprouts, kale, sweet potatoes, and a big batch of hearty soup.
Monday
Pizza Quinoa Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms from Oh My Veggies // If you think you hate quinoa, you probably haven't tried pizza quinoa. And if you hate pizza quinoa, then you must also hate children and sunshine and laughter. If you happen to have spinach on hand, you can fold that into the pizza quinoa before stuffing the mushrooms to up the veggies in this recipe.
Tuesday
Orzo with Caramelized Fall Vegetables and Ginger from The Kitchn // This recipe sounds unassuming, but it packs in a ton of flavor and lots of delicious fall vegetables. (Yes, I'm aware it's not fall! But sweet potatoes are winter vegetables too!) If you have leftovers, they'd be great for packing up and eating cold for lunch.
Wednesday
Millet, Sweet Potato and Lentil Veggie Burgers // I’ve now made tons of different veggie burger recipes, but this millet, sweet potato and lentil version is one of my favorites so far! It’s filling and packed with tons of flavor, but also light and healthy at the same time.
Thursday
Slow Cooker Corn & Red Pepper Chowder from Oh My Veggies // We're pretty obsessive about testing recipes before we post them, so I got to try this recipe from Kare a few weeks ago and oh, is it delicious! Just remember, since it's a slow cooker recipe, you'll need to get it started in the morning.
Friday
Kale & Apple Salad from Design Sponge This photo is embarrassing (this is what happens when you're racing to get a photo done as the sun is setting), but the salad is amazing. I love pairing kale with sweet flavors, and letting the salad sit for a while before serving helps soften the leaves and mellows them out a bit. You'll probably have some leftover soup from Thursday, which you can serve with tonight's dinner.
Tips For This Week's Plan
- Pick the biggest mushrooms you can find for the Pizza Quinoa Stuffed Portabellas. If you can't find any extra large ones, buy 6 smaller mushroom caps instead of 4.
- Instead of getting two bunches of kale, I only put one on the list. Just use a few leaves for the orzo recipe--if you buy a big bunch, you'll still have plenty of kale for the salad later in the week.
- If you want, you can purchase a bunch of green onions to garnish the Slow Cooker Corn & Red Pepper Chowder. It would also be delicious with crumbled tortilla chips on top or some crusty bread on the side.
- The orzo and salad recipes both call for shaved Parmesan, but since it's easier to find shredded Parmesan that's vegetarian, I put that on the shopping list instead.
- The dressing for the salad calls for 2 tablespoons of vegetable stock. You can borrow that from the 4 cups of broth you'll be using in the soup rather than buying extra broth.
- If you want to add cheese to your burgers, a good smoked cheddar would be perfect.
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!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
I NEED that chowder!
Kiersten Frase says
I froze half of it and we're having it for dinner tonight. I can't wait!
dishing up the dirt says
Pizza stuffed portabella mushrooms? Sign me up!
Kiersten Frase says
I think I'm going to try stuffing pizza quinoa into zucchini this summer. 🙂 Pizza quinoa in everything!
Purabi Naha | Cosmopolitan Currymania says
Kiersten, it is quite apparent that you love your veggies. I loved the vegetarian week plan with all those yummy recipes. Thanks!
Kiersten Frase says
Ha! Yes, I most definitely do. 🙂
Emma says
Fab lineup! I've had my eye on that fall salad from the Kitchn for ages so glad to know it's good. The kale and apple salad sounds amazing too.
Kiersten Frase says
Make it, make it! It's delicious. Even better than I thought it would be!
Mary Van Sinclair says
Dear Kiersten - I've just recently found you and I love all your recipes. I especially look forward to the meatless meal plans and try most of them! I'm almost vegetarian. I think the term for me is flexitarian as I admit I do enjoy an occasional carnivorous meal now and then.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. You are an inspiration. I haven't tried a recipe that I didn't enjoy. Please don't stop what you're doing. Cheers, Mary (from Canada)
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you for your kind words! It always makes me really happy to know that people find Oh My Veggies useful! 🙂 I think most of my readers are flexitarian--it seems like more and more people are looking to cut down on meat without cutting it out altogether.
Lindsay Reynolds says
Oh mannn...this has to be one of my most-looked-forward-to posts of the week. This menu looks amazing--and pretty easily vegan-izable (Is that even a word?!) 🙂 The orzo with caramelized fall veggies is making me crazy. YUM. Thanks for posting. 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
Woo hoo! I'm so happy to hear that. 🙂 And yes, I think this week's menu will be very easy to make vegan!
Joanne says
Two sweet potatoes sitting on my counter?! You know what I'll be making this week! That orzo looks fabulous.
Kiersten Frase says
You will love it! It's a great little last hurrah for winter produce. 🙂
Amy says
Just wanted to share how much I love this meal plan feature! It's inspired me to try so many new recipes I might never have attempted before-- and every single one has been delicious. Can't wait to try this week's!
Kiersten Frase says
I'm so glad the recipes have been a success for you! We usually try a few each week and only pick the ones that turn out the best to include in the meal plans. 🙂
Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
So much deliciousness here! You know I love slow-cooker recipes, and that Corn and Red Pepper Chowder looks beyond-amazing! And, since I for sure LOVE children, sunshine and laughter (you're totally hilarious!), I think it's a slam-dunk that I'll love the Pizza Quinoa Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms! 😀
Kiersten Frase says
The chowder is SO SO GOOD. It makes me allllmost wish that winter was a little bit longer. Because I will miss soup weather. 🙂
Leslie @ My Kitchen Is Open says
I'm in love with your meatless meal plans! <3
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! 😀
Laura says
I just want to thank you for doing these meal plans. I just stumbled upon it last week and it has saved my life and my meals! I'm not usually a fan of most people's meal plans because my son and I are picky eaters and I don't like most of their recipes. I really love yours! As a full time working mom of 2 young boys, this cuts so much time out of my meal planning and cooking! Thank you!
Kiersten Frase says
I'm so glad to hear that the meal plans have been helpful for you! I'm a little bit of a picky eater myself, so I understand where you're coming from. 🙂
Erica says
I, too, am in love with this feature. I made this whole week worth of recipes and loved them all. I made them out of order depending on my whims and the amount of time I had to prepare the meals, which is how I realized that all the leftover brussels sprouts were delicious added to the orzo at the end of the recipe instead of the kale.
Kiersten Frase says
I'm glad you're enjoying the meal plans! I thought Brussels sprouts would be a great addition to the orzo too, but since I was making the recipe for the meal plan, I stuck to the original. 🙂 Next time!
Martin says
Kirsten, that looks tasty. Thanks for the mealplans.