June 27 - July 4

Meal Plan

June 27 - Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Mango Vinaigrette
Save for the romaine, I don't bother separating the salad ingredients from the dressing ingredients. I  dump everything in a bowl and toss to coat. I serve on a bed of romaine and with a side of tortilla chips. This is always a hit and is great this time of year when mangoes and avocados are both in season.

June 28 - Peanut Veggie Wraps (sorry for the orientation on the photo...I've tried a couple times to fix it and can't seem to and I don't want to fuss any more with it...go ahead turn your screen...you'll make it work...I believe in you!)

I've been making this one for years, can you tell from the photo? I cut the tofu block in half and dry the halves between two towels and under some weight (usually a cutting board topped with a pot). Then, I cube the tofu and bake in the oven at 350 while I prepare the rest of the dish. When it is time to add the tofu, I remove from the oven and toss it into the pan. All this makes the tofu more dry and has a slightly firmer (dare I say "crunchy?) exterior. For the sauce I double the recipe and also add an additional 2 TBS of almond butter (that's in addition to the peanut butter already listed). If you don't like cilantro you can easily sub basil. I also serve with GF tortillas, as I've found corn tortillas don't really cut it with this one.

June 29 - Taco Salad
Open a can of black beans, drain, rinse, toss into a pan to heat.
Chop a tomato, an avocado, a lime, cilantro (if you roll like that), and a couple leaves of romaine lettuce.
Open your favorite bag of tortilla chips, can of black olives, salsa, sour cream, and pre-grated Mexican blend cheese (sure, you could be classy and grate your own cheese, that sounds like work to me).
If you're feeling really adventurous and have the tortillas around, you can make some quesadillas with the extra cheese.

Assemble salad according to the wisdom of my great-grandmother: "Put what you like!" I start with a bed of lettuce, add beans and veggies, and top with salsa. I eat with a small handful of chips (small because otherwise I'd eat the whole bag: Yum!)

June 30 - Falafel Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries and Brussel Sprout & Kale Salad
I discovered this recipe last fall and it has been a stand-by ever since. I usually top with hummus. I have used extra burgers as a foundation for breakfast and topped with a fried egg. Double yum. Be sure to use the same pan you cook the onion, garlic, and carrot in to fry the burgers, that'll give them a lot of extra flavor. Also, I added some lemon juice to the pan to de-glaze after the onion mixutre cooked, and it worked well.

Again, I buy the Alexia sweet potato fries (or SPF's or speefs as we call them around here) and the salad is a kit I get at Fred Meyer. I omit the croutons because of the evil gluten.

I was a little industrious today and made Banana Bread. Don't be too impressed. It was mostly because the temperature outside has been in the high 90's and, despite my climate controlled home, all the fruit (ALL OF THE FRUIT!) is ripening at a break-neck pace around here. What were lovely bananas on Monday were freckled messes by Wednesday. Ugh. I use this recipe and substitute a combination of coconut flour and GF flour blend I found at Costco (called "The Perfect Flour Blend" by Namaste Foods). I use about a cup of each. I've found with GF flours, though, that being a little scant with them is never a bad thing. They all dry out much quicker than wheat flour does. I don't always use nuts. I usually add some cinnamon and vanilla (about 1 tsp of each). Sometimes I add chocolate chips. The title of the recipe doesn't lie, it really is all-forgiving.

July 1 - Coconut, Almond, and Broccoli Chicken
This is great because it is super easy and fast. I also love any meal that really only takes one pot to cook. Fab. Note that I add 1 TBS of Sriracha Sauce to the sauce mixture and sometimes we serve it with more on top. I also think topping with fresh chopped green onions (in addition to those that are in the sauce) adds a nice vibrancy.

July 2 - Leftovers!
I chopped up some of the extra shrimp from June 27 and mixed with leftover beans from June 29 and stuffed them in a quesadillas (corn tortillas). We topped with salsa and chopped tomatoes. Easy-peasy.

July 3 - Turkey Sandwiches or Ice Cream (if you ask my toddler, he'll tell you ice cream was dinner)
We met friends at a splash pad and I made yummy sandwiches with hummus, pesto, roasted turkey breast, romaine, and tomato. All on GF bread, of course. I use Udi's from Costco. It is the best taste and from them, easily the best price.

July 4 - Hot (turkey) dogs, Baked Beans, Chips and (because otherwise it would really just be all junk) Green Salad
To know my husband is to know a man who loves encased meats. Poor guy. He married me. I make sure to honor this "traditional" meal at least once a year. He's stoked. Make sure you check your dogs for additives that contain gluten, seeing as most dogs (even the turkey kind) have so little real food in them, it can hide easily there. For added flavor, boil your dogs in beer (use a GF brand if you're sticking to that diet!). I serve on GF buns (a pack of those will cost you roughly as much your first tank of gas). I have the tiny can of vegetarian baked beans. We bought the Pepperoncini flavor of Kettle Chips and I'm making a really basic green salad with romaine, tomato, cucumber, carrot, and peppers. Happy fourth, all!