Some weeks, I’m inspired with my cooking. Other weeks…. nothing. Just nothing. Last week was one of those weeks. Meal planning is either the easiest part of my week or the hardest. Last week, it was the hardest.
On Sunday, as usual, I sat down to make my meal plan and my grocery list for the week. I flipped through my favorite cookbook (Oh She Glows) and my favorite vegan blog (can you tell I love her? Because I do.) I was blank. Nothing sounded good, we were already low on our grocery budget, and I didn’t feel well. I also knew that this week, I HAD to eat vegan and gluten free. I’ve been off “the plan” for too long, and I was really feeling it on Sunday (my scale was definitely “feeling” it HAHA).
Before I get into the details of this week’s meal plan, I want to talk about my goals for the month of July. I don’t normally make goals, but these few were really heavy on my heart of things I need to do, so why not just call them what they are – goals – and try to stick to them? This may become a monthly thing with udpates along the way. They should relate to my pillars, but you never know what may strike a chord one month 😉
July Goals:
-Eat strictly vegan, and strictly gluten free (I’m already failing at this.. but there’s always tomorrow, right?)
-Eat more salads
-Join a gym and work out at least 2x per week, in addition to my half marathon training
-Pay off as much debt as possible (hopefully the $4,600 we have left on our last credit card?!)
That’s it. Those are my goals this month. Of course, we have other goals for the month, but these are the ones that will be the toughest to stick to, and I need some motivation to stick to them.
Back to my meal planning. So considering the need to stay GFV (gluten free and vegan), my choices felt limited. I mostly eat GFV at home, so I know plenty of good recipes, but nothing was coming to me.
So keeping the dietary restrictions, specific types of meals wanted, and trying to not break the bank, here is what I came up with.
Breakfasts
Banana Bread Muffin Tops
Vegan Overnight Oats
Lunches
ALL THE SALADS!!!
Topped with Lemon Tahini dressing (recipe adapted from Oh She Glows Lightened Up Protein Power Goddess Bowl, here) I didn’t measure anything, and left out the Nutritional Yeast, because, ew.
Salt and Vinegar chickpeas (OSG Cookbook)
Carrot ribbons
Chopped cucumber
Cherry tomatoes
Avocado
Quinoa
Onion
I chopped and prepped all salad ingredients on Sunday, so it’s super easy to throw a big salad together in the morning!
Dinners
Homemade Pesto and pasta with Sun dried tomatoes (for some reason, I came home with Basil even though it was not on my list or in my meal plan, so I threw this together)
Rice and Beans
Tostadas (um TJs has a new Salsa Refried Beans that is VEGAN)
Rice and Beans
Rice and Beans
….rice and beans??
Dinners were my hardest to come up with for this week. I might get creative as the week goes on, but we will see.
Here are the items I purchased for the week and the cost (many items I always have on had, so I didn’t have to purchase this time, like the chickpeas, black beans, cinnamon, etc)
Produce:
Organic Romaine Hearts $2.49
Organic Mixed Baby Kale $1.99
2 Red Bellpeppers $1.98
Yellow Bell Pepper $1.19
Orange Bell Pepper $1.19
4 Count Organic Avocados $3.99
Organic Pear $0.89
2 Organic Cilantro $3.58
2lb Organic Red Onions$3.49
1lb bag Teeny Tiny Potatoes $1.99
2lb Sweet Onions $2.49
3 Limes $0.87
3 Lemons $1.17
2 Organic Granny Smith Apples $1.98
8 Organic Bananas $2.32
Organic Cherry Tomatoes $2.49
2 Organic Garlic $2.98
Organic Cole Slaw mix $1.99
Organic Power to the Greens Salad Mix $1.99
Organic Basil $2.99
Organic Carrots of Many Colors $1.99
Staples to Restock the Pantry Items:
Organic Coconut Oil $5.99
Grapeseed Oil $3.79
Organic Brown Sugar $3.49
Walnut Pieces $6.99
Other things:
Corn Tortillas $0.99
2 Organic Salsa Refried Beans $2.58
Tahini Sauce $2.99
Grand Total: $72.86! Not bad if it really does take us through 16+ meals, which would average each meal to $4.55 for two people each. Not. Bad. At. All! And – it’s all gluten free and vegan! Win win win. Especially when you factor in that many items will last us for a while – the walnuts, grapeseed and coconut oils, and brown sugar.
Also, I want to point out that the actual grocery bill was $104.25. I bought a single serve salad for lunch that day (not included in the 16+ meal count), a kombucha, two bunches of flowers, and vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake (NOT gf OR v) for my father-in-laws birthday on Sunday, which brought the rest of the total up. It’s interesting to see how just a few “extras” really up the food bill, huh?
Anyways, the week went well, and I felt pretty good. Salads got real boring, but I survived. The scale still hates me, and I have yet to sign up for the gym. Friday we will make our first payment on our LAST credit card, and the second (aka.. final?!) payment will come later this month. So, so far we are looking… good? It could be worse, so I’ll take it as a win! #GoMe
Linsey 