Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Shannan - Eating My Veggies

This week I am trying something a little different. If you read my blog, Mommy Bits, you know I've been experimenting with menu planning. I did my first menu last week on a whim but it really wasn't that healthy. It was more about what I had in the cupboard. This week I sat down and really thought about what I would make. I needed to find dishes I could prepare that would be both appealing to my boys, as well as healthy. Not being a cook (or traditionally liking to cook) I knew I was going to have to do some research online.

For my first official menu plan I decided to go the Vegetarian route. Here's what I am looking at for this week:

Monday - Fruit Plate (Boys have soccer, I have a late meeting)
Tuesday-Black Beans & Rice: Brown rice, black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, shallot & avocado
Wednesday- Veggie Wraps: Whole wheat wraps, hummus, gr. pepper, tomato,
lettuce, cucumber & avocado
Thursday- Soup: Diced tomatoes, onions, potatoes, corn, celery, tomato paste and veggie broth
Friday (Date Night) - Boys having Grilled Cheese & Veggie Soup, Fruit Cup.
Saturday - Veggie Tacos: Whole wheat tortillas, vegetarian “meat” crumbles, tomato, avocado, lettuce, corn & salsa.
Sunday - Pasta Dish: Whole wheat pasta, garlic, olive oil, walnuts & sun dried tomato.

My hope is that menu planning will help eliminate rushed dinners and the tendency to just make "what's easy" which is not always necessarily what's healthiest.

PS. If you have any Vegetarian recipes that rock, I would love to have them!!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

i have a couple of recipes, both of which i've made multiple times, and both of which are absolutely delicious.

if you like pumpkin, try this recipe. it's pretty easy, and if you want to go completely vegetarian, you can use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, although you'll need to add more salt for flavor.

and this easy pasta recipe is probably one of the tastiest-yet-easiest pasta recipes i've come up with.

both of these reheat well (although the pumpkin is better after reheating, in my opinion).

PsychMamma said...

Meal planning is a brilliant idea. Keep us posted on how it goes for you. I'm sure that this would eliminate some stress and unhealthy eating for us too.

I have tons of vegetarian recipes, and have no idea where to start for you, but here are some of my favorite cookbooks:

Simply in Season

http://psychmamma.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/simply-in-season/

Cookshelf Vegetarian

http://www.amazon.com/Cookshelf-Vegetarian-Jenny-Stacey/dp/B000RHJ0ZC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231865064&sr=8-5

Treasury of Cooking Healthy (not all vegetarian, but lots of veg recipes)

http://www.amazon.com/Treasury-of-Cooking-Healthy/dp/0785307958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231865193&sr=1-1

Good luck!

MizGreenJeans said...

I posted my comment before reading this one, great minds think alike! (Or as my granny used to say "Small minds seldom differ.")

;)

PsychMamma said...

Just thought of another easy, vegetarian favorite (as long as you're not going vegan). I love to make an egg scramble with broccoli, diced tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese. You could easily add other veggies (peppers? spinach?) if you wanted.

I saute the mushrooms in a skillet and whip the eggs w/a bit of milk. When the mushrooms are browned lightly, I add the egg & milk mixture. Add seasonings & cook until eggs done. Then I add the shredded cheese. I steam the broccoli in the microwave and then add it (drained) to the skillet. Last, I add a can of drained diced tomatoes (or fresh if possible).

Voila! Delicious. I love "breakfast food" for any meal.

Anonymous said...

I have a great recipe for navy beans au gratin - it tastes really creamy and filling but its vegetarian and super easy to make. Its from this cookbook:

http://www.hippygourmet.com/

which is a good one even for non-vegetarians - recipes are easy to make and easy to double or halve depending on your needs.