Menu Planning For A Meat Free (almost) Diet

Lime black bean salad with avocado

My move to meat free and more healthy eating is slow, at best.  My main approach has been to just not buy meat.  However, I am not the only shopper in the family and the others don't show much compunction in that matter.  We have eaten a number of meatless meals over the last few months and I've tried new recipes - some of which I liked and some of which I didn't.  Still, there is always meat in the fridge and the freezer which makes me think I'm not helping global warming much, if at all.

With that in mind, I spent yesterday pouring over the recipes that I've used and liked and that fit into our eating patterns pretty well.  I organized them and put together a menu for 11 dinners and then I put together a shopping list for those 11 dinners.  Now I figure I can grab that shopping list, check off what we are missing, and be in a position to usually have the right ingredients around for anything on that list.  Therefore - no excuses!  HAH!  I know myself better.  I do the pouring over recipes and making menus bit - frequently.  But I was more thorough this time and I now have that shopping list, so wish me luck.

This took me a long time to put together, organize and make the shopping list. To spread the benefit around, I'll share it with you.  If you would like any of these recipes and/or a copy of the shopping list, let me know and I'll send it to you.

Here is the menu briefly:

1. Falafel with Tahini , Tabouli, Green Salad and Pickles (This recipe was a hit with the whole family)

2.  Mushroom and millet bowl, mixed greens with apples and walnuts, pumpkin spice muffins (I've tried the mushroom and millet bowl and it was fine.  We'll see if it grows on us.)

3. Bean Burgers, caramelized onions with beer, sweet potato fries and other green vegetable (I love bean - bean/mushroom burgers and am trying to perfect the recipe.  Same with sweet potato fries.)

4.  Salmon, broccoli, wild & brown rice pilaf and applesauce cake (It's not like me to make cake or cookies for dessert, but we all like to eat them.  I figure if I add a "healthy" dessert, it will replace the candy and make for a cooking activity on the days when the boys are home.

5.  Lentil vegetable soup, corn bread, kale & fruit salad (all really great recipes, though I haven't tried all three together before.)

6.  Fajita style vegies, avocado, lettuce, beans, rice (yes, we have to get a Mexican style dinner on the menu.  We love it.)

7.  Vietnamese salad with potstickers (Another recipe I'm working on.  I love the Vietnamese salads I've tried in restaurants.  Haven't gotten it right at home yet. So this may morph into potstickers with vegies and rice.)

8. Mushroom or other nice ravioli or tortillini with tomato sauce, onions and peppers, lime black bean salad with avacado, green salad (A quick dinner that even the boys will love (except the salad).

9.  Tofu stir fried rice with vegies - or maybe stir fried vegies with tofu, rice on the side. (We actually like tofu, but don't have many recipes where we use it.)

10.  Honey Lime quinoa with sweet potatoes, pan seared brussel sprouts with cranberries and pecans. (Two recipes that are really yummy that didn't quite fit into other menus, so I'll just make them a meal of their own.)

11.  Buckwheat pancakes with sweet potatoes, banana, raisins and walnts with fresh fruit and yogurt or fried apples  and (optional) sausage - real or vegan.  (This is a sneaky way to get fruit and vegetables into the grandkids.  They scarf these up.)

Knowing me, this exact menu will never actually  happen since we are a use up what is in the refrigerator kind of people, but I'll give it a good try when we get back from vacation.