Monday, January 30, 2012

Meal Planning - Week 2

Last week's meal plan was a success!  I had to switch Monday and Tuesday's plan, but everything else fell into place almost perfectly - I say almost because I didn't really love the caldo verde that I made, but I'm willing to try another recipe for it sometime - and the result was a veggie drawer that only had a bit of kale and broccoli leftover.  Both of those have found their way into this week's plan, so there isn't worry there.
Thus, I am really going to push myself to keep this planning up; I want to make sure that we are eating those wonderful vegetables that come to us so, so fresh, and of course I want to waste less overall (veggies and other staples).  It really was kind of fun looking at my favorite blogs and websites and in my favorite cookbooks to find recipes that will help me use what I have in the crisper (and pantry).
This week's plan includes:
  • Monday - farro and chickpea soup from Herbivoricious - I've been coveting this soup for a while, and while I already have to sub wheat berries for the farro and chard/beet greens for the mustard greens, I'm pretty darn excited to make this.
  • Tuesday - a Hugh Jass salad from Peas and Thank You - The Husband is going to be home late Tuesday, so I'm just going to throw together one of these lovelies for myself (yes, drowned in lime-tahini sauce dressing)
  • Wednesday - Thai-fried quinoa, also from Peas and Thank You.  When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it.  I mean, it's like fried rice.  Only better.
  • Thursday - Peas and Thank You's Untraditional Broccoli Salad and a beetroot-pistachio-feta salad that I am hoping will be like the bietola marinara I had at Tutta Bella in Seattle last summer.
  • Friday - well, I'll be honest; I am hoping that with HRH being at her Nana's, The Husband and I can have a dinner date, so I purposely didn't plan anything.

Aside from that, I'm planning on using the spinach that we got in some breakfast smoothies this week.  I have a package of frozen spinach, but when one has fresh, it always blends so much better.  I found a green smoothie recipe that 1) doesn't terrify me and 2) will use the remaining kale, and after that I thought I'd just play around a little bit to see what I find delicious when I'm not having my usual oatmeal.
Here are a few pics from last week's dinners.

Mark Bittman's seared scallops over
mizuna, fennel, and orange segments

Peas and Thank You's
spicy African peanut soup with a ye'abesha gomen
(African collard) and peanut garnish
This is currently My Favorite Soup Ever.
How do you make sure that you're getting all your veggies in?  Have you tried a fridge triage box?  Have you found success with meal planning?

6 comments:

  1. Yay, you--great job with the planning! And I am seriously intrigued by the fried quinoa. I love fried rice, but I have a (more than) sneaking suspicion that the rice isn't more than just a place holder. I'm'a go look that up now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can honestly say that NONE of the Peas and Thank You recipes have disappointed me. Except that time when I couldn't read and used dried lentils. Oops. But I can't wait to try the fried quinoa.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Its funny, before I read your last couple of posts, I was thinking of doing a blog post on our weekly menu too! I guess I really need to now :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. So far, it's really been helping me, not just with finding recipes for our veggies BEFORE 7:30 PM when I'm hungry NOW, but also to make sure that they are used in as healthy a manner as possible. I noticed that after a successful first week, I attacked this week's plan with a bit more excitement, since it was an accomplishment, albeit a small one. Now if I can just get The Husband not to make enough servings to feed the Russian Army...

    ReplyDelete
  5. 1. I really need to try the peanut soup.

    2. Will you please give us all a full-report on the thai quinoa arrangement? I'm not sure whether that sounds amazing or like a confusing medley of flavors.

    ReplyDelete
  6. 1) EVERYONE needs to have the peanut soup. I do not like ginger or curry, so I do omit those in recipes (sorry - I've tried and continue to try, but they just aren't my thing), but this is one of the best soups I have ever had in my life.

    2) The Thai Fried Quinoa was met with a "good" from The Husband, which we have already established as basically me winning a James Beard Award. Then he went back for seconds. I loved it, and the scrambled tofu is, I think, a MUST.

    ReplyDelete