EDIT 8/22/08: If you like these, try my vegetarian recipes for another month!
A friend of mine is pregnant (with twins!) and is confined to bed rest due to some worrisome high blood pressure. She’s the main cook in the family, so in an attempt to help, I’m taking them a few complete meals ready to eat or freeze.
For me, cooking gets to be a chore when I’m tired and just don’t want to think about it. I remember when my mom used to say “I’ll cook anything you want, so long as I don’t have to figure out what to have!” Now that I’m working and cooking, I know exactly what she means. My friend’s wife is a fine cook, but she works full (read: “over”) time and it’s not her favorite activity, so it occurred to me that planning meals might also be the worst part of it for her, too.
So I made up a monthly menu, complete with recipes and grocery lists. As I wrote, I thought some of you might like them, too. All the recipes are vegetarian – many are or could be vegan – and feature a lot of vegetables and whole grains. They can be adapted to be a little more homemade if you use garden produce and dry beans or a little quicker if you use frozen vegetables and canned beans.
This menu reflects how we really eat at our house. I’ve often looked at “monthly menus” online and in magazines, and it seems like all of them start with more meat than we eat in a week, enough cheese to kill me, and/or cans of prepared foods. The canned and prepared foods in the list below are things like plain beans and frozen vegetables, with an occasional sauce or pilaf. If you’ve considered trying to eat less or no meat, you might pick one or two of these a week. If the family riots, you could always add some chicken to the stir-fry or some ground beef to the Salsa Fry-Up.
Other features:
- Recipes assume you know how to cook (e.g., stir-fry some vegetables; cook rice).
- Recipes feed 2 adults dinner, plus 2 child dinners or one adult lunch.
- Five meals per week assumes some meals will be repeated, plus dining out or with friends/family. Weeks, as written, aim for a variety of starches, proteins, and flavor families.
- When beans are called for, use one 14.5-oz can (the standard small size, drained and rinsed) or cook about ¾ c. dry beans
- Each week has one or two “dead easy” meals that require little prep and are ready in under 30 minutes (unless you cook brown rice; then you’ll be done in 45 mins) .
- Each week has two “average” meals that will take 45 mins-1 hour for all prep and cooking.
- Each week has one more “involved” meal that might be best done on a weekend.
- All meals can be made omnivorous, if desired
The menu and a printable PDF of the recipes and shopping lists is available after the cut.
Vegetarian Menu for a Month (download in PDF format; includes recipes and shopping lists)
Items marked with an * are “dead easy”
Week 1
- *Salsa Fry-Up
- *Rice, Greens, And Egg
- General’s Tofu
- Pad Thai
- Lentil Herder’s Pie
Week 2
- *Coconut Chickpea Curry
- *Rice Pilaf With Tofu/Tempeh And Veg
- Lentil Stew Over Rice Or Quinoa, Veg
- Cabbage And Noodles (Or Potatoes)
- Tortilla Casserole
Week 3
- *Sag Daal
- *Veggie Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries, Veg
- Tofu, Mushrooms, And Broccoli Over Polenta
- Ginger Garlic Stir Fry
- Beans, Greens, And Cornbread
Week 4
- *Chili
- *Pizza
- Big Crazy Salad
- Creamy Veggie Pasta
- Dilled Beets, Apples, And Potatoes
Deborah said,
March 30, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Hi! I’m a friend of Michael’s and Jocelyn’s and I stumbled over from his post on cooking. This is wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing. You’re right about the online menus..they never sound like real food to me.
Anyway…I will definitely use some of these recipes!
Betsy Stevens said,
March 30, 2008 at 2:26 pm
You are very generous, thanks for the recipes! I downloaded the PDF and plan to read it later.
Always learning -
rebecca77 said,
March 30, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Hello and Thank You for this wonderful post! I am a full time mum/house wife and am always looking for inspiration – especially vegetarian! I am going to try your menu plan over the next month and will let you know how we go!
Rebecca
Momster said,
March 31, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Holy crap, batman! What a ton of work! I am taking your URL to my bookclub tonight and just sit there and radiate “proud”. You rock! We will slowly walk our way through this delicious journey!
Leanne NZ said,
April 3, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Oh wow thank you!!!
I have a teen dd wanting to be vege girl – we need to eat vegan due to food allergies.
This am I was at http://bean-sprouts.blogspot.com/, she is having a vegetarian challenege – I blogged about this – asking for ideas for vegan meals – then clicked on your blog (I pop into your blog often – but one of those shockers who don’t comment much) And I found your post
Wacko
Thank you!!!
I will get my head around this & let you know when I try a meal – not sure about tofu (shudder – it feels yucky – but I will be brave!)
Thanks for all your hard work – it is very much appreciated.
Love Leanne
Emily said,
April 3, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Hey, everybody, thanks for the nice comments! I’m so glad you’re finding these useful. They are really tasty – we eat everything on this list as part of our regular meal rotation.
Leanne, and anyone else who’s iffy on tofu…I don’t think it’s a wonderfood, but I do enjoy it sometimes. I used to hate it until I discovered super-ultra-mega-firm tofu. It has a texture more like mozzarella cheese (with tiny holes in it) and less like pudding. We’re lucky to be able to get it here, locally made and organic, for $1.29 a pound from a barrel in the co-op, but in some places, the closest you can get to that is Baked Tofu.
Janet Springfield said,
June 11, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Hi, Em,
I, too, am telling everyone I know about your blog……Momster is right on! I just downloaded the month of recipes. We’ll see how U.J. likes the new veg. meals! Thanks for a great resource!
Jan
Amanda P. said,
August 25, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I have recently started using your meal plan, and I wanted to tell you I LOVE it and thank you so very much! I had been searching for exactly what you provide….vegetarian low fat menu plans with shopping lists. We love the meals and they fit in the grocery budget too.
Also, your “General’s Tofu” converted my hubby to tofu! He has always had an issue with it, and was amazed by how good that dish was. He even went and got it out of the fridge later to snack on. So thanks again!
Emily said,
August 25, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Oh, Amanda! I’m so glad you’ve found this menu useful! And a new tofu eater? Do I get a toaster oven or something?
(P.S. – Try baking cubes of super-firm tofu with a sauce of 1/2 sweet chili sauce and 1/2 ketchup – stir often – and after 60 minutes or so, you’ll have a “vegetarian meatball” dish perfect for a hot appetizer that your husband will *crave*!)
Amanda P. said,
August 27, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Oooh I will definitely have to try that one….it sounds great! And I will be keeping an eye on your blog in future….it’s fascinating. Keep up the good work!
Vegetarian Menu said,
January 15, 2009 at 10:46 am
Sounds both nutricious and delicious! Good menu
Vegetarian Menu said,
January 15, 2009 at 10:47 am
My mistake for hitting submit too fast, that should say nutritious.
Dvora Swickle said,
January 18, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I love the recipes and they are realatively easy, thanks for the great ideas.
Mia said,
January 19, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Thank you for sharing this. It’s exactly what I was looking for
Mosquito hawk said,
February 5, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Thank You!! Type 1 Diabetic 17 year old college son going low fat and veg to be healthy and all those other environmental reasons. Knows I like trying new recipes and think this was his way of making me feel still a part of his life. Ha. Any way Thank you for sharing!! Makes the learning curve a bit easier when I have guided steps.
Joan said,
February 25, 2009 at 10:11 pm
For those who are reluctant to try tofu, here’s a tip: freeze it. When you thaw it, it has a completely different texture, more chewy, substantial, and it soaks up a marinade or sauce in no time flat. Try marinating it in soy sauce, cutting it into “fingers”, and frying in a little oil to get a little crust on. It will win over sceptics for sure!
Joan said,
February 25, 2009 at 10:14 pm
And, Emily, thanks for the great menus!
saintless said,
March 23, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Oh, this is heaven! Thank you for sharing it!
Anika said,
May 20, 2009 at 7:35 am
Thank you VERY much for the menu plan. They’re REAL recipes for REAL people, not the foo-foo stuff! Looking forward to getting started. You are awesome!
Mich said,
May 27, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I love tofu but I live alone and each time i buy a brick of tofu, I end up having to throw some. I would like to know how to freeze it? In water like when we keep it in the fridge? Also, already made tofu burgers. Can i freeze some of it after I open the air tight seeled package?
Thank you for this site, I really needed to find something like this!
Emily said,
May 28, 2009 at 8:33 am
Mich- I’d either cube the tofu and freeze it in an airtight bag, or pre-cook it and freeze it. Freezing does change the texture some – it drives out some water, making it more firm. You might prefer it this way, though I find it makes the tofu squeak on my teeth. *shudder* I think tofu burgers would do even better than plain tofu in the freezer.
Emily said,
May 28, 2009 at 8:33 am
Thanks for the compliments, everyone. Want to know the irony? I just found out I’m allergic to most beans and soy! *crushed*
michelle said,
July 1, 2009 at 2:50 pm
oh no, emily! i would be crushed too! i have no doubt that you’ll soon be coming up with delicious alternative recipes, especially since you’ll be feeling so much better without having to deal with allergies!
these recipes are amazing and you are so kind and generous for sharing them. thanks!
Jennifer said,
July 11, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Hi there! I just wanted to say that I have spent the last month cooking your recipes, and they are wonderful! I am a vegetarian and a school teacher, so I work way too much and have no energy at the end of the day to plan meals and eat well. But these recipes have given me hope that this upcoming school year, I can cook real food (as opposed to eating things out of boxes) on a regular basis without much fuss. I look forward to trying the next month’s set of recipes too, and I thank you so much for sharing your ideas and recipes.
Emily said,
July 11, 2009 at 9:32 pm
You’re making me a teary, Jennifer.
I’m glad you like the recipes…hope the second month is tasty, too.
Menu July 12-18 « Allison Cooking & Menu Blog said,
July 12, 2009 at 10:31 pm
[...] Rice Pilaf with Tofu/Tempeh and Veg [...]
michelle said,
August 24, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Wow-thanks so much for your monthly menus. I made the lentil herder’s pie tonight, and it was a hit! Can’t wait to try the other recipes, especially looking forward to general tofu. I love that the recipes are not too complicated, nor do they require a multitude of exotic ingredients!!
Jodi said,
September 6, 2009 at 10:13 am
This is so awesome. Thankyou so much. I just got married and am having a hard time finding/comming up with this to cook that are different, not too hard, and nutricious. Thank you so much for all your hard work. They all look wonderful.
Terri said,
October 4, 2009 at 12:18 am
This is so helpful. I’m trying to break away from my tried-and-true recipes and you’ve provided a lot of inspiration. Thanks!!
Jessica said,
October 11, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Just wanted to say that I’m in love with you – not in a creepy, Internet stalker sort of way, but in a thank goodness I don’t have to figure out dinner for two whole months sort of way. Your recipes are so good and easy that even my four-year-old daughter said as we were eating Lentil Stew over Rice, “Is this a Martha Stewart recipe? Because I like her recipes the best because they are so good and this is really good.” High praise, indeed!
Emily said,
October 12, 2009 at 8:58 am
Jessica, I am touched and flattered.
And you can tell your daughter, no, it’s not Martha Stewart – it’s a slight modification of an old recipe from teh Joy of Cooking, which assures us that tastiness is achievable by mere mortals. 