This week’s dinner menu is plant-based and meat-free not because we’re vegetarian but because we’ve really been enjoying eating a more plant-based diet ever since my pregnancy aversions had me gagging at the sight, smell or thought of meat for nearly two months. We still eat and enjoy meat and seafood, but I’ve loved playing around in the kitchen and continue to find myself seeking out more plant-based recipes. Hopefully a few of the recipes we’re making in the Fagan household this week will appeal to you, too!
Meatless Meal Plan
- Monday: Perfect Broccoli Cheese Soup with Garlic Bread
Since Monday has come and gone already, this is the one meal we’ve already made this week and if it sets the tone for how the rest of this week’s meals are going to go, we are in for a treat! Kristin’s blog, Iowa Girl Eats, has been a long-time favorite of mine mainly because she GETS flavor. All of the recipes on her site are gluten-free and most are quite healthy but beyond that, Kristin makes the kind of recipes I think most people would love and enjoy. She doesn’t shy away from full-fat products (SAME girl, same) but still manages to incorporate a hearty number of vegetables into many of her recipes. Bonus: The way she blogs about her husband’s food preferences reminds me a lot of Ryan and most of her recipes are big-time hits with him, too! It SNOWED in Charlotte yesterday (in MARCH… c’mon) so this warm and creamy soup was the perfect cold-weather meal that warmed us right up last night! (Note: To make this recipe vegetarian and truly meat-free, swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth.)
- Tuesday: Vegan Sloppy Joes with Broccoli Slaw Salad
I saw my friend Brittany share a picture of lentil-based Sloppy Joes on Instagram Stories over the weekend and it inspired me to add this recipe to our meal plan this week. (Brittany is also doing a MeatLESS March challenge, so check it out if you’re interested in more plant-based recipe inspiration!) I’m curious to see how these sandwiches will turn out, but with 76 very positive reviews, I have high hopes! I bought whole wheat buns and pickles to use with the vegan Sloppy Joes and plan to serve them with a simple broccoli slaw side salad.
- Wednesday: Spring Detox Cauliflower Salad
You’re not at all shocked to see another Pinch of Yum recipe pop up on our weekly meal plan, I know, but when you find a blog that churns out hit after hit of amazing recipes, it’s hard not to return time and time again for dinner inspiration! This salad looks amazing on their site though I’m under no delusions that my version will look half as pretty. I sometimes shy away from salads at dinner time but this salad looks hearty enough to taste satisfying at the end of the day thanks to avocado and roasted chickpeas. I can also already tell from the ingredient list that this salad will likely only serve me and Ryan (not four people, as the recipe indicates), but I’m excited to give it a try.
- Thursday: Chickpea Broccoli Buddah Bowl
The more recipes I’ve made from Alexis’ blog, the more I realize she is the queen of fantastic sauces. The sauce on this Buddah bowl calls for peanut butter (heck yes), maple syrup, soy sauce and ginger and all of those flavors sound like heaven to me so I think this one will be a winner.
- Friday: Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad
I planned this recipe for Friday because it seems like one I maaay be tempted to make for lunch earlier in the week. (My fallback plan: Swapping pizza in for Friday night’s dinner which always sounds fabulous to me.) This salad looks like a great combination of salty and sweet flavors and crisp, crunchy and creamy textures. Heaven in a bowl! I’m planning to use my giant salad chopper when I make this one to get as much flavor in every bite as possible since everything in this salad from the butternut squash to the pears and goat cheese sounds fabulous to me.
Additional Meal Planning Posts
- Meal Planning: Prepping 5 Healthy Dinners
- This Week’s Meal Plan: 5 Healthy Weeknight Dinners
- Dinner Made Easy: One Month of Easy and Healthy Dinner Recipes
- How I Find Recipes for My Weekly Meal Planning
Question of the Day
Did you create a meal plan for this week? What recipe are you most excited to make?
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These look SO good, Julie!! Thank you for sharing!! I’m definitely going to try those Lentil Sloppy Joes, and the Broccoli Cheese Soup looks so good, too!
This is a really good vegan Shepherd’s Pie, also made with lentils: https://minimalistbaker.com/1-hour-vegan-shepherds-pie/ Pinch of Yum has a recipe for this, too, which looks incredible!! I will probably try theirs next time 🙂
Do you have a post on meal-planning / food budgeting? I’ve done some experimenting lately and we ALWAYS seem to spend the same on food, whether I plan ahead for the entire week, don’t plan at all and our weeks are a mix of eating out / cooking in, or shop every few days with a loose plan. My preference is to definitely shop every few days as then I can buy what I’m really in the mood for!! Would love to hear more of your thoughts on this!!! 🙂
Hope you have a great day!
-Sarah http://www.thefrugalmillionaireblog.com
I don’t think that I do but I love this idea! I will say that we definitely see an obvious decrease in our food costs when we eat a more plant-based diet. While it’s not something I’ve tracked, I do think that planning helps me save money on food since I am not making as many random drop-in visits to the grocery store and, therefore, don’t make as many impulse purchases.
I love these posts to get inspiration for my own meal plan. I have been trying to have at least one vegetarian night each week, it’s hard for my meat loving husband though. All these recipes sound so good though!
My week is always so much better when I meal plan and prep. On the menu this week is Paleomg’s buffalo chicken spaghetti squash, chili (currently getting a blizzard here in Boston) and some bread chicken with veggies. The best part is I made most of this on Sunday. I usually do meatless at lunch so I am loving all these!
Agreed! And way to go on Sunday meal prep! And Paleomg’s recipes are always a hit in our house!
Hi, these meals look great. I’m interested to know if Chase will eat these meals? I have toddler about Chase’s age and she generally eats what we eat but I have to say I don’t cook nearly as healthy as you!
I had the same question!! Julie, would love to know if/how you integrate these foods into Chase’s dinner? Always trying to find new ways over here! Thank you!!!
Hi Kelly!! I happened to see Brooke’s comment first which was super similar, so check it out below for my response to this question! 🙂
Hi Natalie!! Another reader had a similar question and I just replied below! Just didn’t want you to miss it!
Jumping on this question train! My 3 year-old daughter used to be a legit broccoli enthusiast, but over the last year has gotten progressively more picky with little interest in vegetables. Admittedly, I tend to default to the same dinners for her (egg wraps, grilled cheeses, turkey meatballs, etc), which probably isn’t the smartest move to broaden her palate.
Would love to hear any suggestions!
These all look ok so good! I gave up meat for lent, so these are perfect for me!
Hey Julie!
I’m trying to eat more meat free recipes too. You should try Eating bird food’s Lentil loaf, it’s so good! Also, every recipe I have tried from minimalist baker has been fantastic! The one pot pumpkin (I used butternut) curry is amazing!
Thanks for the recommendations! Definitely going to check both of these out!
Hi Julie- As a fellow toddler boy mom, I am just wondering, does Chase eat these meals as well?? I try to plan meals the whole family can eat, but I can’t imagine my toddler eating anything but the soup you listed. Do you have other meals you plan for Chase? Thanks for the ideas!! 🙂
Soooo for Chase I do a lot of deconstructed versions of our dinners. There’s no way he’d eat a salad but he will likely eat bits and pieces of each of these meals. For example, for the Brussels spouts and kale salad, I’m planning to serve him roasted butternut squash, cashews, pear slices from the salad (we’re swapping cashews for the pecans — Chase LOVES them) and some kind of cheese slices that evening. He’s also usually a lot better about eating raw veggies than cooked at this point, so for the Buddah bowls, I’ll likely just save some of the raw broccoli and carrots from the bowl for him (and hopefully encourage him to try the sauce since he loves dipping things) but will probably have a quesadilla or a PB&J on hand as well.
It’s so nice to hear you say that you give your toddler deconstructed versions and also that you don’t expect him to automatically eat what you and your husband are having for dinner! I’ve had so much mom guilt about this because I always assumed I would make our kids eat the same dinner as us, but in real life that’s hard sometimes! At the end of the day, if they are eating nutritious healthy food and at least sometimes trying new foods and part of our dinner, I call that a win.
The broccoli cheese soup looks epic! Ima have to make that soon. We have a lose meal plan around here, because our schedule varies so much. I plan 2-3 nights a week and we have plenty of pantry/freezer staples stocked up to cover the rest.
I stopped eating pork and beef in January 2017 so these meatless recipe ideas are much appreciated! Hopefully it’ll inspire readers to consume less meat as well. Thank you!
I love the way you laid out the ingredients for all the recipes in this post! So visually appealing and much more interesting than just linking to a photo! I’m also super excited about these recipes because eating a more plant-based diet is one of my goals for this year!
Thank you! It was fun to do it that way (especially since I had all of the food already out after a trip to the grocery store) and I’m so glad you liked it!
Those Buddha bowls look fantastic! Not sure if I could get away with meatless meals in my house, but I could try!
I usually have eggs or a pack of chicken thighs on hand to add to meals if they need a little more staying power, especially for Ryan if he’s extra hungry!
I love these meals!! Thanks for the meatless post!
Unrelated note – your widgets are showing up like this for me right now:
THINGS I’M LOVING FRIDAY FAVS
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ITEMS I SWEAR BY
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SHOP MY BABY ESSENTIALS
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Eek! YES! This is so frustrating and I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of it since last week. Thanks for the heads up!!
These look delish!! Could you let me know if Chase ate the Broccoli Buddha Bowl? I may make that next week and have a 2yr old:)
Thanks!!!!!
Sure!! I’ll report back at the end of the week!
Hey Julie,
I’m sure someone pointed this out already but chicken broth is not vegetarian or plant based. Veggie broth works just as great and is cruelty free 🙂
Hi Hal! You are so right! Updated the post to say to swap veggie broth in place of the chicken broth in the first recipe to keep it truly meat-free + vegetarian. Thank you for the kind way you phrased this… I appreciate it a lot (and in the blog-world, that’s not always expected 😉 )!
I saved like ALL of these!! Love the meatless meals 🙂
Totally agree, that meal planning is essential if I’m going to feel at all organized throughout the week. Scrambling to try to put together dinner at the last minute isn’t at all fun!
Thank you for posting all of these veg-friendly meals! I can’t wait to try the Chickpea Broccoli Buddha Bowl.?
Just curious if Chase eats these meals too? I have a toddler and want to make meals we can all eat (or that he can eat parts of at least) but struggle to come up with ideas and/or the time to make anything more than a simple boring meal.
See my response to Brooke’s similar question above!! 🙂 I think I should’ve addressed this in the main post because it was a popular question today!
Broccoli slaw is my FAVE! Thanks for the ideas!
Kim
http://trendkeeper.me — NYC TRAVEL GUIDE!
Those lentil sloppy joes are delicious. Thanks for the reminder to make those again!
My husband is so picky! He’s currently training for a new job, he’s been gone 6 weeks, comes home on the weekends. I miss him while he’s gone, but I love eating the foods that I miss out on when he’s here. Before we had a baby I would make us separate meals. I was okay with that, but since we have a 2 year old toddler, there’s no time. I’ll be switching up my meal plan this week to add a one or two of your meals posted as next week he’s back for good!
All of these look delicious. I want to try those vegan sloppy joes. May have to add those grocery items to my list for next week. Since I cook for 1 most of the time, I tend to eat the same things: salad for lunch and I try to meal prep a recipe that serves 4 for my dinners Monday to Thursday so that one day of the week is flexible or something from the freezer.
I’ve got salsa verde chicken, cilantro lime rice and a black bean salad planned for tonight! I’m really looking forward to it!
Oh man these all sound so good! Sully luckily has started to enjoy a FEW vegetables which as opened up a whole new world to me!!! The sloppy joe recipe reminds me of one I love by the Lean Green Bean! And that broccoli soup…I’m all in! 🙂
Deconstructed food is the way to go over here as well with our two year old. I could put all her favorite foods in a dish, thinking it’s going to be her favorite meal ever and then she haaates it. Even though it’s literally made up of all her favorite foods. Lol