Meal Prep Monday is a weekly series where I share all of the food I’m making for the entire week. Because I am well and truly over spending my time and energy making dinner each night, only to have to make something else for my kids. This week, I’m focusing my energy on pulling from the pantry so that I can make use of what we already have.
This week’s menu has some old favorites mixed in with some new recipes to keep things interesting. I do still want to find a sweetish treat for myself to enjoy this week since I ate (and enjoyed!) the lentil brownies. So stay tuned for that. We’ve also finished off a few things in the freezer (mashed potatoes and the skillet potato kugel), so that’s been a feel-good accomplishment.
Something I’ve realized recently: people (i.e.—my kids) say they like things and desperately want them, only for said things to die a slow and moldy death in the back of the refrigerator. In the past, I’ve been the one to pick up the slack and eat them because I cannot stand wasting food, regardless of whether I actually like or really want them.
I can’t do that anymore with most of the foods that they like (thanks gluten intolerance) so they just keep going to waste. Watermelon, I’m looking at you. And while I’ve been creative with most of the extras (I made a watermelon limeade, watermelon sorbet, and watermelon gummies), they still tend to go to waste.
In an effort to stop wasting food (and money), a.) I’m not buying the things I know they can’t finish, and b.) I am focusing my efforts on cooking and meal prepping from our pantry and freezer reserves to start using what we’ve already got.
Prime example: Lentil week.
On this week’s menu:
- Firecracker Chicken. Yes, I’ve made this three weeks in a row and cannot see myself getting sick of it anytime soon. I very much look forward to eating it every day and get a little sad when I eat the last one. It also makes use of something I’ve had in my pantry for close to six months but kind of forgot about: chili oil!
- Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad. This one is for The Husband and is a great meal or snack that’s quick and easy for him. I omit the kelp and add in some banana peppers or chopped dill pickles for some extra crunch and a little sour. He’s been enjoying this one for years and is made from ingredients that we always have on hand, so that’s a big old win in my book.
- Slow Cooker Shawarma Chicken. This was a new recipe for me and I have to say it’s been a good one. The chicken came out so juicy and tender, and it put to use the tub of Kite Hill yogurt that I always want to have on hand but never manage to use in time. It goes really well with the Cauliflower Rice Pilaf that I made a double batch of a few weeks ago that’s currently stocked in the freezer. Oh, yeah!
And since we’ve been eating through our sides, I wanted to stock up on a few new ones. This is what I plan to make this week:
- Miso Sesame Dense Bean Salad from Bakerita
- Dense Bean Salad from Artful Homemaking
I will definitely be making one at the beginning of the week and one closer to the end of the week since they are both bean salads. And, apparently, both are dense. (I have no idea what that means 😂). The good news is, they make full use of things in our pantry so I’m alllll about that.