Daily Menu

Someone asked if I would post a typical day's or week's menu.

I fall somewhat in the middle of meal planner. I'm not anal about it, but I do like to shop with some recipes in mind. I generally hit Whole Foods on Saturday or Sunday and then again in the middle of the week, usually Wednesday because they have free music in the mornings for kids. So I just browse through my cookbooks and online sources and pick out a couple recipes I want to try, along with some tried and true recipes and staples. I make sure I have all the ingredients I need and then depending on how my day is going I will make certain things.

One big thing for me is leftovers. I always cook plenty of leftovers (which is possibly why I am really drawn to soups, casseroles, pasta and rice salads, etc) so that I have healthy & yummy meals stocked in my fridge. It's not uncommon that I eat leftovers for breakfast and lunch (not the same leftover).

Anyway, some staples that we usually always keep in our house (99% of these things we buy organic):
grains (brown rice, 100% whole wheat pasta, brown rice pasta, quinoa, millet, barley, whole wheat couscous, etc)
steel cut oats
unsweetened applesauce
rice milk
hemp milk
dry and canned beans in various kinds
tons of different spices
jarred fat free spaghetti sauce (WF makes an organic FF one that is great!)
Morning O's (WF 'cheerios')
fresh fruits and veggies (just depends on what looks good that day or what is in season. I always have onions and potatoes, both Yukon Gold and sweet)
frozen corn
frozen peas
frozen mixed veggies
frozen okra
frozen broccoli
frozen Ezekiel bread
Dr. Preagger's spinach littles (these are NOT vegan b/c they have egg white in them, but they are one of the only veggies my 14 month old will often eat, so I pick my battles. They are very simple ingredients (spinach, potatoes, egg whites, spices) and I have been trying to make my own that he'll eat with no success so far. Still workin' on that!)

-okay, so those are our big staples. More things get added to the list, depending on what I plan to make that week, but it's a start. many of these things we don't have to buy every time we're at WF.

So, now that you know I make large quantities for leftovers, a typical day is pretty easy.

It's rare that I drink something other than water, so I'm not going to comment on drinks for every meal.

Typical Day for Me:

Breakfast: freshly made steel cut oats (just can't do them leftover). I make 1/2 c (dry) and then I eat most of them. I add a dollop of applesauce, cinnamon and about 10 dried cherries.

Lunch: leftovers. Right now, I am eating leftover veggie korma with brown rice. However, I also had lentil and kale soup to choose from, and this quinoa/pea salad I had made the other night. If I don't have any leftovers (rare) or nothing sounds good, I will make a baked potato (or a couple if they're tiny) with some steamed broccoli and seasonings. I always keep cooked brown rice in my fridge so that makes any easy meal with some veggies added as well.

Snacks: a small amount of another leftover, brown rice cakes, fresh fruit, etc. A good treat is a rice milk smoothie made with that and fruit.

Dinner: a recipe that I make. I have some staples I make a couple times a week (the tostados, veggie and lentil stew, pasta with tomato sauce and salad, etc) If I really don't feel like cooking or something I will just have some leftovers or have my husband cook something he's picked out for the week.



Our 14 month old is a little more picky. Sometimes he loves things I make (lentil and veggie stew is usually a hit, but sometimes not!) His typical day:

Breakfast:
-bottle (yes, he still gets bottles and I don't care. Breastfeeding was traumatically and violently taken away from him at 6 months and I won't take his bottles away, now that he finally likes them, until he's ready) 5-7 oz. hemp milk.
-a few morning o's here and there while hanging out
-a small bowl of steel cut oats with cinnamon and applesauce
-sometimes he'll have some berries or banana in the morning or some later for a snack

Snacks throughout the day: fruit (he loves berries and really love matchstick sliced apples right now), brown rice cakes, Barbara's vegan cereal bars, O's, organic graham crackers, something yummy I've made like those pumpkin muffins.

Lunch:
He really likes this brown rice/quinoa mix we buy, but I try not to give him a ton b/c it has added oils, but he loves it. or
brown rice pasta with spaghetti sauce (a favorite) and/or
hummus spread on rice cake pieces or
PB&J sandwich and ww bread (he's not a huge fan of this)
sometimes he will eat some steamed broccoli

Another hemp milk bottle at midday nap time

dinner:
either what we're having or
spinach bites or
some of the lunch options - it just depends on what we have, what is made, what he ate for lunch
more pasta

another bottle with bed. He drinks water, only, in a sippy cup throughout the day and I'd guess he drinks about 10-16 oz of water.


So that's about it. I pretty much offer the baby whatever we are eating usually. Sometimes he likes it and sometimes not, but there are always healthy back ups for him.