This was my meal plan for August Week 2:
Brunches: Pancake with dhal; Salads (had it for dinner); French toast; Scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast or fried potatoes; Toast and peanut butter; Boiled mung beans with katta sambol, Yogurt
Dinners: Rice with karola (salted dried fish), ground turkey, leftover okra, dhal, and green beans; Ground turkey and mashed potatoes with broccoli salad; Breaded shrimp with salad and potato fries or slices rice; Cheese and crackers, Cereal, leftovers
Snacks/Desserts: Yogurt, fresh fruits, nuts, ice cream, chocolate, corn on the cob
Here's how that worked out:
Monday
Brunch: Grapes (I wasn't very hungry)
Dinner: Breakfast for dinner (Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast)
Snacks/Desserts: Calamondin infused water.
Daily Points Total: 2
Tuesday
Brunch: Peanut butter and toast
Dinner: Salad (Lettuce, cucumber, carrot, garbanzo beans), ground turkey (onions, pepper) and mashed potatoes
Snacks/Desserts: Grapes
Daily Points Total: 6.25
Wednesday
Brunch: Yogurt with peach jam and granola bar (oats)
Dinner: Corn on the cob, ground turkey, mashed potatoes
Snacks/Desserts: Grapes
Daily Points Total: 2
Thursday
Brunch: Pancakes with dhal (lentils, moringa leaves, turmeric, curry leaves, garlic, onions, green chilies = 6.25)
Dinner: Rice, ground turkey, curried sauteed okra and green beans (curry powder =3, onion, curry leaves, etc .= 5)
Snacks/Desserts: Grapes, Passionfruit juice drink = 1
Daily Points Total: 12.25
Friday
Brunch: Pancakes and homemade peach jam
Dinner: Rice, fried breaded shrimp, sweet chili sauce, cucumber slices
Snacks/Desserts: Passionfruit juice drink, half a ear of corn, peanuts
Daily Points Total: = 1
Saturday
Brunch: Fried rice (rice, egg, ground turkey, onion, cashews)
Dinner: Cheese and crackers
Snacks/Desserts: Faluda
Daily Points Total: 1
Sunday
Brunch: Scrambled egg, toast, lemonade
Dinner: Sardines on toast
Snacks/Desserts: Chili mango, cereal
Daily Points Total: 2
Daily cup of tea: 1 point
Weekly Plant Based Food Points Total = 26.5 27.5
Edited to add the point for a cup of tea
Well, not as good as the previous week's point count, but, I am satisfied with 26.5. I can't say that I tried very hard, this week.
It was a strange week where meals were concerned. For one thing, it was hot and I didn't feel like cooking. For another thing, I had my brunches quite late in the afternoon on most days and I didn't feel hungry at dinner time. Salads might have been a good alternative, but, I didn't feel like having any after I finished my last bottle of favorite salad dressing and the spare ones in the cabinet tasted a bit off (should have stored them in the fridge). I would have happily had sandwiches, except for the fact that I didn't have bread and didn't go grocery shopping.
Anyway, moving on to a new week, here is my meal plan for August Week 3:
Brunches: Waffles, Scrambled eggs with fried potatoes, Boiled mung beans with katta sambol, Yogurt with fruit/jam and granola; Smoothies?
Dinners: Rice with chicken curry (from the freezer) and assorted vegetables ( choice of okra, cabbage, eggplant, green beans, dhal, tomato, whatever else I might feel like cooking); Breakfast for Dinner; Tuna salad on crackers; leftovers
Snacks/Desserts: Cheese and crackers, cereal, corn on the cob, peanut butter and crackers, apples, canned fruit
Once again, I'm making my menu based on what's on hand. But, I might put in a grocery order mid-week. I could do with some bread, milk, and fresh fruit.
How is your meal planning coming along?
Ottimo il tuo piano alimentare, il mio invece naviga "a vista"
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stefania. My meal planning is very flexible and I often change things around quite a bit. Your way of doing things, deciding on what to have by what you see is fine, too, as long as it works for you. :)
DeleteI did a fridge cleanout this weekend and made roasted veggies and banana cake as a result.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds delicious! I have some ripe bananas in the freezer - it is still too hot for me to turn the oven on to do any baking.
DeleteYou're doing well with your plant based points score. I buy those part baked loaves that only take ten minutes to brown and crisp up in the oven and they have a good few weeks shelf life and are very handy to eat with soup or a nice filling. It's been too hot to cook here too but now the weather has changed and it feels like autumn again!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. The "brown and serve" bread sounds like a good idea! I haven't seen any here, in the grocery stores I shop at, but, they used to have "brown and serve" bread rolls, at least during last Thanksgiving. I haven't been able to get those recently, so I'm wondering if they are a seasonal item. Of course, there's nothing to stop me from running into a grocery store to buy a loaf of bread, but, I must admit that I've become very lazy when it comes to grocery shopping! It sounds like your weather is cooling off!
DeleteAwakenedSoul: I know what you mean about the heat. Too bad the salad dressing went bad. I’m glad you didn’t get sick. It should be cooler on Friday.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie; I have a table fan on the kitchen counter, which helps, but, even so, I don't feel like cooking a lot when it is hot. Yes, I was not happy that the salad dressing had spoiled, but, glad I tasted it and decided not to consume it.
DeleteHi Bless! It's your anonymous friend who asked for a retirement preparation post. 😊 I'm going to start trying to comment more frequently. This makes comment #3 in about just as many years. 😂
ReplyDeleteI was inspired by you to do the Plant 30 challenge for the last two weeks. The first time I got to about 26 points, but this time, I got to 38.5 with the following plants and herbs/spices. I'm going to try to keep this going! I'm sharing my list as when I see others' lists it helps remind me of other plants I can incorporate into my diet. Hope this helps someone.
Grains and Veggies:
Brown rice
Onion
Tomato
Broccoli
Corn
Peas
Pinto beans
Spinach
Green Bell pepper
Sweet yellow pepper
Brussels sprouts
Cucumber
Crimini Mushrooms
Carrot
Small potatoes
Red Cabbage
Red bell pepper
Yellow bell pepper
Celery
Jalapeño
Chickpeas
Fruits:
Apple
Avocado
Lime
Plantains
Grapes
Tangerine
Nectarine
Black plum
Guava
Banana
31 points
Herbs and spices:
Cilantro
Turmeric
Oregano
Chili powder
Kashmiri chili powder
Garlic
Cumin
Sweet pepper
Jalapeño
Thyme
Cinnamon
Cardamom
Spearmint
Paprika
Black pepper
Red pepper flakes
Coriander
Olive oil
Blue butterfly pea
Tulsi
Rose
Clove
Star anise
Basil
Oregano
Bay leaf
Parsley
Sage
Red raspberry leaf
Ginger
Fennel seed
7.5 points
Total: 38.5 points
Hi Anon! :D I'm happy to see you commenting more often! I haven't forgotten the retirement post - in fact, I was working on it, but, I'm not quite done with it.
DeleteWow! Look at you go with all the plant based foods! Well done! So inspiring! By the way, you can add tea and coffee, too, if you drink any of it. :)
You made a well thought out plan. My meals are still not yet in the planning stage :) Maybe at the end of the month, when we're getting ready to go back to school. Xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules; maybe I should call it "meal options" rather than a plan. It's just a list of meals that I could make with the ingredients I have on hand. :) I'm sure you are doing quite well even if you are not planning your meals. But, a general idea of what to eat during the week is helpful, especially if you have to take a packed lunch. I used to always struggle with what to pack for lunches when my daughter was in school and I was at work. I had access to a microwave at work, but, she didn't, so leftovers weren't always an option as she couldn't reheat them.
DeleteI bet the hot weather does zap your desire to make meals. It would me too. I think I'm going through a phase where I'm just not feeling like making anything! lol Although I did cook up a lot of different foods yesterday so we would have things in the fridge. Or as others call it
ReplyDeleteLeftovers! lol
Oh my - no bread and none of the salad dressing you prefer. That's interesting that the stored bottles didn't taste right. I assume they were within the date range or you would've mentioned that.
I just make an oil and vinegar dressing although my husband likes Ranch in the summer for a tomato red onion and cucumber salad.
Yes, I think it was the hot weather or, just laziness. I should have stocked up on some frozen meals to microwave! Well done on advanced meal prep!
DeleteThe salad dressing was a different brand than what I normally buy - I think it was supposed to have been better for you with low preservatives, etc., and I probably should have stored them in the fridge. Things have a way of going off when stored in a cupboard at 90F (they were also probably expired, but, I rarely check or go by those "best by" dates).
Well, I now have both bread and my usual brand of salad dressing in the fridge, so I have no excuses for not having sandwiches or salads! :D