Cold - Weather Menu

I finally got around to making a dinner menu for the Winter. I thought I'd share it. The difference between this one and our Summer menu is that this one has more soups and in the summer we eat more fruity-type meals. If a recipe is on the internet, I'll link it (most of them are from greenereating.com).  Feel free to ask me for any recipes that are not linked, if you are interested. Maybe I'll paste the rest on an upcoming blog.  We have started eating mostly Vegan, but I still use cheese and eggs on a few dishes. I just can't live without cheese on occasion!

These are just dinner meals.  For breakfast we eat a green smoothie with some sort of grain (oatmeal, pancakes, toast, etc.) and for lunch we eat Veggies or salad with left over dinner (if there is some), eggs, or cheesy toast. Sometimes I'll make a wrap from the left over dinner or some veggies we gave in the fridge.   Maybe I'll jot down my favorite green smoothies in an upcoming post as well.

What I do is make a list of 30 meals (6 meals for 5 weeks - on Sundays we usually visit family, eat leftovers or eat something quick, like spaghetti).  When we're through with the 30 meals, we start over.  I tried to keep it down to 24 meals, but there were just too many meals I liked.  Then I make a grocery list for each week. The grocery list only includes items I don't normally have on hand or those that we go through really quick and we need to replenish on a regular basis.

If I need to prepare something ahead of meal time - I wrote it in little writing next to that meal so that I don't forget. For example, I don't usually use canned beans so I need to remember to soak or sprout the beans and then cook them before a meal.  Sometimes I'll use the leftovers of something for another meal, so that is also in the little print.

Here is our list. Following it, is our grocery list.

Week 1

M:Pasta Primavera 1

T:Northern Bean Soup 2 Northern

W:Orange Salad   3 Northern

Th:Autumn Stew 4

F:Veggie Curry  5  Northern, Rice 

S:Hawaiian Haystacks 6  Rice, Beans

Week 2

M:Artichoke Pasta  7

T:Spinach Minestrome 8 Garbanzo

W:Cowboy Caviar  9 Black

Th:Mexi-Bean Salad 10 Rice Caviar

F: BBQ Veggie Joes  11 

S:Chinese Fried Rice  12

Week 3

M:Broccoli/Pine-nut Pasta 13 

T:Enfrijoladas 14 Pinto

W:Lara’s Pear Salad  15

Th:Butternut Soup 16 rice, garbanzo

F:Savory Sandwiches 17  Garbanzo

S:Honey-mustard Salad 18 Garbanzo

Week 4

M: Enchiladas  19 Filling

T: Chili  20 Kidney

W: Spinach and Fruit Salad  21

Th: Breezies Bean Soup 22

F: Stuffed Green Peppers 23  Chili

S:Black Bean Burgers 24 Soup 

Week 5

M: Angel Hair w/Veg 25

T: Vegan Split Pea Soup 26

W: Potato Sloppy-Joes 27

Th: Taco Salad 28 Navy

F:  Artichoke Wraps 29 Navy

S: Tex-Mex Burgers 30 Navy

I print my grocery list on the front and back of one piece of paper and keep it in my planner so that I have it with me whenever I'm out and about and go to the grocery store.  Here is the grocery list:
(The numbers in parenthesis correspond to the meal I need them for.  This helps me if I want to leave out a meal one week or if I need to mess with it in some way.)
"-" means I can't usually buy it at Sam's club, so I need to get it somewhere else.
"*" means I can make it, so I only buy it if I'm extra busy or lazy that week

Week 1

Carrots (1) (2) (4) (5) (6)

Celery (4) (6)

Broccoli (1) (5)

-4 Yellow Squash (1) (5)

Mushrooms (1) (3)

Potatoes (2) (4) (5)

-Cilantro (2)

-Red Leaf or Romaine (3)

-Noodles (1)

Tomato (3)

-Red Onion (3)

-2 Oranges or Mandarin (3)

Cauliflower (5)

-Pearled Barley (4)

-Northern Beans (3)

-Sliced Almonds (3)

Canned Pineapple (6)

Frozen Corn (2)

*Italian Dressing Mix 

Basics
Eggs, Milk, OJ, Bananas

Spinach, Salad, Lettuce (3)

Bag of Veg (5), Fruit, Frozen Fruit

Canned Tomatoes (4) (5)

Check

-Coconut Milk (5) (6)

-Curry (5)

-Coriander (5)

Week 2

Celery (8) (11) (12)

Carrots (8) (11) (12)

Tomatoes (9)

Cilantro (9)

Lime (9)

Avocadoes (11)

Corn tortillas (9)

-Artichokes (7)

-Noodles (7) (8)

Garbanzo Beans (8)

Lentils (11)

*Buns (11)

Basics
Eggs (12), 

Milk 

OJ 

Bananas

Spinach (8), 

Salad, Lettuce

Bag of Veg, 

Fruit, Frozen Fruit

Diced Tomatoes (7) (8)

Check

Ketchup (11)

Week 3

Broccoli (13)

Carrots (15)

Celery (17)

-Green Onion (17)

-Butternut Squash (16)

Tomatoes (17) (18)

Cucumbers (18)

Tart Apples (16)

Pears (15)

-Noodles (13)

Cheese (14)

Corn Tortillas (14)

Walnuts (15)

Salsa or Pico (14)

-Coconut Milk (16)

-Dill Relish (17)

*Bread (17)

Basics
Eggs, Milk, OJ, Bananas

Spinach, Salad (18), Lettuce (15)

Bag of Veg, Fruit, Frozen Fruit

Canned Tomatoes (13)

Check

Pine-nuts (13)

-Garbanzo Beans (16)

-Curry (16)

-Lemon Juice (17)

-Mayo (17)

Week 4

6 Green Peppers (20) (22) (23)

Carrots (20) (22)

Celery (22)

-Red Onion (22)

Avocadoes (19) (21) (24)

Fruit (21)

Walnuts or Pecans (21)

Tortillas (19)

*Buns (24)

Cheese (23)

Basics
Eggs (24), Milk, OJ, Bananas (21)

Spinach (21), Salad, Lettuce

Bag of Veg, Fruit, Frozen Fruit

Canned Tomatoes (20) (22)

Week 5

Broccoli (25)

Carrots (25) (26) (27)

Celery (26) (27)

Potatoes (26) (27)

Red Potatoes (27)

-Avocadoes (30)
-Green Onions (30)

Angel Hair Pasta (25)

-Dried Split Peas (26)

-Barley (26)

*Buns (27) (30)

*Taco Seasoning (28)

*Wraps (29)

-Artichokes (29)

-Falafels (29)

*Italian Dressing (29)
-Green Chilies (30)

Check

Ketchup (27)

Salsa (28)

Tortillas (28)

Corn (28)

-Bread Crumbs (30)

-Cornmeal (30)

-Navy Beans (30)

Basics

Eggs, Milk, OJ, Bananas, 

Spinach (29), Salad, Lettuce

Bag of Veg, Fruit, Frozen Fruit