I guess I kid of went quiet for a little while there. Have not been feeling the motivation as of late. My readership seems to have taken a nose dive lately so I have been feeling a bit bad about my writing.

Anyway, I am working on my grocery list so will share my plan for the week. Last week’s plan was ok but my activities changed enough that the plan changed a bit. Yesterday I took my daughter to visit her new university and get her ID which I wasn’t expecting to do so that made for a day of eating out especially after dealing with train cancellations and chaos getting home. None of that was in the plan but I still stuck to plant based even if whole foods went completely out the window.

This week I know things will be weird. We have another birthday and a few days away for me and Alan. This is the last birthday of the year at least. Alan and I are going to be spending a few days on a narrowboat to see what we think of it. It won’t be moving at all so that give us a chance to see how living on a boat feels. I should be cooking while away but I am fairly certain Alan is aiming at a vegan pizza boat he has heard about as well as a nearby Indian restaurant so my cooking will be limited and I don’t mind that really. For those days I will get pizza and burgers for the kids to work through while we are away.

So what is the plan? Simple, already in the house, a bit of taste testing and a spicy night. Really a good all around family meal plan.

1. Risotto: I am thinking this one will feature brussel sprouts as someone bought many large bags of them . I thought the bags were small so told her to grab several as I had two meals planned. We have been working through some bags and others went in the freezer. I have never made brussel sprout risotto before so should be interesting. I will pretty much do the same as my asparagus risotto but sub in the sprouts.

2. Pasta with plantballs: I know that sounds a bit weird. Plantballs are just plant based meatballs and I managed to buy a couple of packs of the new Ikea ones the other day. I am going to use them in a typical spaghetti and meatballs sort of way with my pasta sauce and probably fusilli as I prefer that shape over spaghetti. I will see about taking a few pictures and writing a review for next week on the Ikea Plantballs.

3. Cheezy Chips: it is good. I will likely do some sort of faux meat or crispy tofu in there. The Vivera plant bacon was excellent last time so likely either that or maybe the taco flavoured beans from Aldi. I also added some Applewood Mexicana vegan cheese last time and that will happen again. I had intended to sprinkle some Chipotle salad topper over it last time and forgot so maybe this time. The main things are the nacho cheezy sauce and the oil free chips which are both 100% healthy.

4. Veggie Soup over barley: quick and easy to make. I will likely use frozen veggies and the instant pot for the soup and just cook up the barley on the stove. I like the nutty, chewiness of the whole barley contrasted with a pureed vegetable soup. I first saw this way of making and serving soup on one of the Starch Solution YouTube videos and gave it a try. Will likely always eat my soups like this in the future.

5. Miso Soup: I need a bit of spice in my life and that miso soup recipe of mine just popped into my head. I have most everything I need for it so just a clementine and courgette to add to my shopping list. I am very much looking forward to this one and it will likely be my Thursday meal because I am so keen for that soup.

6. Frozen pizza: my children might be 17 – 20 years old and perfectly capable of fending for themselves but I will leave frozen pizza for them to heat up so otherwise one would just forget, one would eat tens of pounds of cereal, and the third would just eat a baked potato (at least I have one that would make proper food).

7. Burgers: again for while I am away. They will all likely get something plant based for a burger as I am not buying three different options. One is a vegetarian, one likes beef burgers, and one prefers chicken burgers so what they will get is probably Aldi no beef burgers. I haven’t had one of those myself so experimenting with the kids first. If they likely those I might try them in the future.

Breakfasts will still be oats for Alan but I think I might make up more breakfast wraps for myself. Back in the US I really fell for breakfast burritos but they are completely NOT plant based so I had to get creative. I did that last week and have been enjoying the product of my efforts even though not perfect. I will see about adding that recipe later.

Lunches will continue to be leftovers for me most days. I always seem to cook too much so leftovers solve that problem. I actually fear one day cooking for only two people regularly. I am not sure how to cook for less then my small army. I guess maybe it will mean only cooking twice a week and eating leftovers most of the time. That is still well in the future though.