Please note: This post was started in early February but did not get published. I thought it might be timely to show how you can still create a meal plan for the week when you are trying not to go out for big grocery shops (social distancing and self-isolating is a real concern now, so it is a good time to put the pantry into action. And by the way, by “pantry” I mean that one cupboard I have where packages of impulse buys are shoved).
Time for a tidy up of the fridge and pantry. I had some leftover veggies from Lunar New Year meals, and a few pantry items that I bought on sale a while back but haven’t worked into my plans yet.
So, the first step to plan this kind of week is to take stock of the perishables that need to be used up:
– A salsa salad and a package of romaine hearts
– Some gai lan and some sugar snap peas
– A head of cauliflower
So, that salad is a no-brainer. I just combined the packaged salad with the romaine (after cleaning, cutting and drying it) to create a mass of salad greens, ready for lunches. Put that in a large container (or pack ready in lunch containers) and return it to the fridge. I usually put a piece of paper towel in with the greens to keep them dry and crisp. Then I took the packaged dressing and added in some more salsa from the pantry. I left some of it chunky and blended the rest so that it would have a dressing consistency. You can always add in a bit of sour cream, blended cashews, or yogurt if you want it creamier. It also came with some little taco chip things, so I put them in a container and added some pumpkin seeds to create a crunchy mix to put on top. 10 minutes and done!
On to the gai lan, peas and cauliflower. The possibilities here are endless, but I really didn’t feel like making anything too elaborate, so I had a quick peek in the pantry, where I found a package of ready-made vegan vindaloo curry sauce that I’d been meaning to try. I first thought of using the cauliflower in the curry, but then realized that I could use it to make a low-carb rice to go with the curry, so instead I grabbed the box of soya chunks that were in the pantry.
I made some rice (mixed white, brown, and wild blend) in the instant pot, and chopped up the cauliflower to add at the end of cooking (the heat of the cooked rice was enough to cook the cauliflower without making it too soggy). 5-10 minutes prep and then the instant pot did the rest:
While the rice was cooking, I started with the vindaloo:
I chopped some onion and began frying it up. To that I added some black beans (mushing about half of them with a fork), and tossed on a package of chopped red peppers from the freezer.
On to that I dumped a few handfuls of the soya chunks and beefless broth (ps- I do not bother presoaking soya chunks or TVP when I cook with them. Instead I add extra flavoured liquid- like broth- and they soak up the flavour of that instead of becoming soggy with water).
While that was simmering, I chopped up the snap peas and threw them on top,
… and then added the pre-packaged sauce to simmer for a few more minutes.
I can never resist adding a few frozen peas in at the last minute as well:
I was going to chop up the gai lan and add it too, but instead I just gave it a quick fry to wilt it down and had it on the side along with my curry and rice. I used the same frying pan after pouring the curry into a serving bowl- less washing up and it takes all of 30 seconds to cook gai lan in a pre-heated pan. With a drop of oil and a splash of water, it de-glazed the pan as well- easier clean up and gave a bit more flavour to the gai lan.
That’s it- a super easy prep for several days’ meals, all done in about 45 minutes.
Here are the steps in a nutshell:
- Figure out what perishables need to be used up, and create your meals around them. It helps to go with a theme (Indian style dinners, salsa lunch salads)
- Check what you have in your pantry that will fit in with the themes (vindaloo sauce, rice, soya chunks, salsa, black beans)
- Don’t forget the freezer- especially if, like me, you are always looking for more ways to sneak veggies into your meals (frozen peppers, peas).
That’s all. Stay safe everyone in this crazy sad time.
Jo
Fork In The Road 