Well it has clearly been a busy week for me guys, because I only got one new post in since last Sunday's mealplan! But let's start fresh this week with some plant-based inspiration..
I am so glad many of you loved last week's week one of Meal Plan Sundays! I received some great feedback and so I am happy to say I will continue the series. I don't know if I will keep to the exact same format each week, one week I might jump around and do a smoothie lovers' week with seven featured blends. Or maybe a salad challenge to challenge you guys to try at least one new salad every day. Sounds kinda fun, right? I love a good challenge!
But for this week, I wanted to infuse a whole bunch of recipes ideas once again - same style as last week.
A few people said that they really wanted to have a shopping list along with the menus. Well, my best response to that is that I totally understand that some people want to follow an exact diet, a 100% committed plan for the week, but the truth is, that is not really the message I want to send through my menus. I want you guys to just get a bunch of seasonal vegan recipe ideas and be able to choose maybe one or two recipes a day. Or jump around days. Skip one day and do the next day as it shows. Eat leftovers. Just eat a bunch of fresh fruit for breakfast one day, eat out with friends, whatever your life's schedule allows -- and really above all....
Eat when you are hungry. Stop when you are full. Listen to your body. Stock up your fridge with as many plants and healthy goodies as possible and use these recipes as a guide for your week of meals. I just love the idea that we are all getting inspired by the same recipes, and can make this collection together, in a casual sense.
So let's get to it. In today's post I will show you the week two menu as well as sample menu for how I typically eat on a workday.
Thank you for joining our HHL Meal Plan community!
This week you will notice... Plenty of peaches, smoothies and salads! As well as a few easy soups too. A few sandwiches and a bunch of summer desserts too. And of course, you can pull ideas from last week's menu as well.
download + print week two menu
Vegan Meal Plan Sundays: Week 2 (July)
Monday
breakfast: Trinity Smoothie with turmeric
lunch: Quickie Cheeseless Quesadilla (made using hummus!)
dinner: Curried Chickpea Cool Cucumber Wraps
Tuesday
breakfast: Pineapple Smoothie aka DIY "DOLE Whip" - paired with some almond butter toast
lunch: Toast Tuesday!.. Avocado Hamil-Toast (avocado toast with skillet plantains) -- Meal plan note: Avocado Toast of any kind is always a great sub for breakfast lunch or dinner. You can add toppings to make it heartier or just eat it light and simple.
dinner: Taco Tuesday! Fiesta Taco Salads
Wednesday
breakfast: Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Smoothie (add granola, hemp seeds or other toppings to boost it a bit!)
lunch: Farmer's Market Cobb Salad - Use seasonal veggies to create your favorite summer salad!
dinner: Broccoli Potato Bean Soup
Thursday
breakfast: Cherry Berry Chia Seed Pudding
lunch: Summer-in-a-Jar Salad
dinner: Simple Pesto Pasta with black olives - give this pasta a boost by adding tempeh bacon on the side or right on top!
Friday
breakfast: Banana Island Spirulina Shake - if you do not have spirulina, you can add in a handful of baby spinach for the 'green' part.
lunch: Summer Caprese Salad Sandwich OR Tomato + Tofu "Feta" Sandwich -- feature summer tomatoes in your sandwiches this week! Even something simple like hummus + tomato is a great combo.
dinner: Cheezy Roasted Broccoli with Quinoa paired with Soup. Try Garlicky Two-Bean Soup or Raw Avo-Coconut Soup
Saturday
breakfast: Cinnamon Orange French Toast - add seasonal fruit like fresh berries or sliced peaches
lunch: Share this Summer Pita Bowl
dinner: Cauliflower Pizzas
Sunday
breakfast: Loveliest Lemon Vegan Pancakes
lunch: 5-Step Raw Kale Salad and/or a Peach-Provolone Grilled Cheese Sandwich (vegan of course)
dinner: comfort food Sunday! Two choices.. Rustic Creamy Cashew Tofu Pot Pie with country veggies or Broccoli Black Bean Enchiladas or Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
*had to squeeze in this vintage Nelly shot. love her. miss her.
Dessert Ideas:
Banana Splits! (Try these with a store-bought vegan ice cream, DIY vegan ice cream or even blender banana ice cream..
Pie craving? Try my Summer Peach Pie!.. (video)
Featured Drinks:
Fresh Ginger Tea
Snacks of the Week:
Fresh Summer Fruit! Yes yes yes. I load up on fruit all day long. It is my favorite. Peaches, melon, berries...
Chewy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Wellness Mantra of the Week: This week, let's meditate on: Priorities. There is so much noise in today's world. Noise from people and even noise from food and lifestyle. Focus on what is truly important to you and truly what makes you thrive and feel happy and joyful and nourished. Think about what those things in each day are, and put them at the top of your list for the day!
For me, simple things like a big smoothie bowl, a tennis session with my husband, a focused work session during my workday, eating whole foods with simple but vibrant flavors, taking an hour to walk and listen to a Podcast or just clear my mind. Laying in the sunshine or taking a nature-break. Being with close friends and family. Or doing something that makes me laugh outloud or glow with peace.
And after you kind of figure out what you want to focus on, and what good things you want to infuse your day with, then you can pause and soak in some GRATITUDE that you have those things, people and even foods in your life. Gratitude is life-changing. I try and write in my "gratitude journal" on my phone at least once a week. It is so awesome to look back on week's before and read the good things I have in my life --- even when challenges come, as they will!
Sending you lots of focus and clarity this week! xoxo, Kathy
Be sure to tag me if you make any of this week's recipe ideas!
Twitter: @lunchboxbunch and @findingvegan ---- Instagram: @KathyPatalsky ---- Facebook: /findingvegan and /lunchboxbunch
Bonus Chat for this Week!..
People often ask me, as a vegan "What do you eat? How do you eat?" Those people are usually curious about vegan diets.
I probably never have the same menu and eating schedule twice. Working from home makes things very random. Which is great for listening to your body, but not so great in that you have to work to create your own mealtime structure. Especially as a food blogger, surrounded by yummy things all day long! That is where learning to really listen to your body is so magical and just plain helpful! Your body knows what's up.
My "Typical" Eating Style During the Week...
Workday at Home
breakfast: fresh fruit upon rising or I dive right into a giant smoothie if I am really hungry. If no smoothie, I will nibble something else, a muffin, oatmeal, nut butter toast or a fluffy-warm waffle from my fave waffle maker ever.
mid-morning: giant matcha latte
(Somewhere in between here I might take a break and run on the treadmill to get my blood pumping! I find it helps me to be more productive while working. If I don't work out during the day I will do it right before dinner or skip a day of working out. I definitely do not "workout" every day, but I at least try to take a walk or do something active! Sometimes cooking + photographing is enough workout for me!!)
lunch: Depends on how hungry I am or how much I ate at breakfast. Sometimes big warm whole food bowls or leftovers from last nigt's dinner. But usually since I nibble all day, something light like soup and/or avocado toast or if I didn't do a smoothie in the morning, I will have a giant smoothie bowl for lunch. If I am having a big smoothie bowl for lunch, I always do it after working out, and load it with some extra protein powder, Brazil nuts, almond or peanut butter or pumpkin or hemp seeds. Sometimes I skip a typical "lunchtime" lunch and end up snacking on hummus, crackers, veggies, nut butter, fruit, avocado toast, mini smoothies and more - and end up eating my big lunch smoothie around 4 or 5pm -- but that is only on weird long busy days. (Confused yet? Ha. I guess you can say I do not follow a strict, usual day of eating... Work from home problems!)
I usually snack all day long, and hydrate as much as possible. Water, kombucha, smoothies, coconut water, water, water, water. I bring a water bottle with me when I am out and about.
dinner: Giant salad, sandwich, burritos, loaded sweet potatoes casserole, rice or quinoa bowls, tacos, basically a big array of all the entrees I share on these menus. My dinner is still usually the largest meal of my day. I have tried to change that around over the years, but I just find that I have more energy during the day when I eat more heavily at night. I try to eat dinner at least 3-4 hours before bed. Dinner is really where I LOAD UP on things like legumes, grains, veggies, healthy fats, nuts and seeds, protein-rich foods and carbs too. Complex carbs like sweet potatoes and whole grain breads are always welcome.
dessert: always. Ice cream is my summertime habit. But I also love banana ice cream bowls, watermelon ice cream or just loads of fresh fruit. Yes, I eat fruit after dinner... Some people don't think that is good for digestion, but for me it works well. Right now we are doing strawberries after dinner.
bedtime: sleepytime tea and a few bites of almond yogurt, usually.
Important to note!!.. This is just a really casual look at some basics to my eating day. Basically, I eat to FUEL my BODY and make it HAPPY and SATISFIED. And to keep my blood sugar up (I cannot work or function when it drops too low). I try to never get to a famished / hangry state because then I just feel like crap and need to eat double portions of everything to feel satisfied and happy again. You always hear that lots of mini meals throughout the day is the best way to go, well I generally agree, but usually mini meals until dinner, then one larger meal. Like, I said, that's just how my body seems to like things. YOUR body might be completely different!
Also, I am very much so just rambling a bit about my food style. So please please don't take any of it too specifically and prescribe it to what YOU should do. Every single body is so so different. I just know that it can be fascinating and helpful to hear how and what others eat, when you are trying to improve your diet or infuse it with more vegan meals. Above all eating should be something that makes you feel comfortable.
As someone who suffered from an eating disorder for over 12 years, I know how even talking about food and menus and certain 'diets' can be triggering to struggling people. All I can say is that I hope we can work, as a society, on helping young girls maintain HEALTHY relationships with food and self esteem. Eating should be easy, joyful and something that makes you feel energized.
If you find yourself obsessing or counting calories or feeling BAD about eating certain foods, stop, check yourself and hopefully you can confide in someone who can support you and remind you that you are a ROCKSTAR. You are popeye and food is your spinach.
Also important, for me, I don't always pick things that are the "healthiest option." For me, it is very healthy to not always eat healthy. That may sound strange, but it is so true for me. If I want a white grain sourdough bread for my avocado toast instead of a sprouted grain bread -- or loads of vegan cheese on my pizza or pasta -- or french fries or a slice of homemade pie or cookies before dinner --- or way too many fried tortilla chips with a whole bunch of guacamole - or eat out on date night or any night, I just do it. I try to eat whatever the heck I want, whenever I want to to feel good. If you just want to eat straight from the vegan ice cream pint after dinner, that's what ya do. If you want a maple vegan donut from Whole Foods, buy one.
What works for me, I eat vegan and besides that: Rules suck. Eating rocks.
What foods and meals make you feel good? And bonus if they just happen to be healthy things. (When eating vegan, that is pretty often!)
Next week I will share a typical weekend eating style.
ARCHIVE Meal Plan Sundays:
- WEEK ONE
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