Budget friendly meal planning can be easy. Look for weekly sales and build your recipes around what's on special. Another way is to go meatless one day a week. You will increase your vegetable intake and save money at the same time. Today we'll look at recipes for Meatless Monday or any other day of the week.
SWEET POTATO VEGGIE BURGERS
You can still have burger night with this recipe.
2 sweet potatoes
1 cup spinach
1/4 large yellow onion
¼ cup almond meal
2 T flaxseeds +3 T water
½ t coconut oil
1 T lemon juice
Cut up sweet potatoes into bite size pieces; Cook in pot over stovetop until potatoes are soft.
While potatoes are cooking, peel onion and slice in fourths.
Once potatoes are soft, place into food processor or high-power blender. Add onion and spinach and pulse.
After 30 seconds or so, turn off and add almond meal, flaxseed, water, oil, and juice.
Pulse until everything is combined.
From there, form mixture into balls, a bit larger than golf balls, and set on a baking try.
Use your hand or a spatula to flatten burgers, and place entire baking sheet into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, allowing the burgers to hold form.
After 30 minutes, heat a tiny bit of olive oil in a skillet and place burgers one at a time in the skillet, flipping over once they are golden brown.
Repeat this until all of your burgers have been cooked. Enjoy!
https://blog.paleohacks.com/sweet-potato-veggie-burgers/
CHOW MEIN
This has all the same flavor without the pasta.
For the Noodles:
2 medium zucchini
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded green cabbage
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
2 T toasted sesame oil
For the Sauce:
4 T coconut aminos
1 t coconut sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t ginger, grated
Optional toppings:
Chopped cilantro
Sesame seeds
Using a spiral slicer on 3mm blade, slice zucchini into noodles and place into a bowl.
Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery, cabbage and carrots. Cook 5 minutes.
Whisk ingredients for sauce in a small bowl. Pour sauce into skillet and stir. Cook 3 minutes.
Add scallions and zucchini noodles. Stir again. Cook 4-5 minutes longer. Finish with sesame seeds and cilantro.
https://blog.paleohacks.com/chow-mein/
RATATOUILLE
You've seen the movie now taste this sensation.
1 cup Crushed Tomatoes
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh Basil, sliced into thin strips
1 tsp Herbs de Provence
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Chili Powder
1 whole Vidalia Onion, (you may sub a red onion or shallot)
1 whole Zucchini, sliced, about 1 1/2 cups slices
1 whole Eggplant, sliced, about 3 cups slices
3 whole Roma Tomato, sliced, about 3 cups slices
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 6x9" baking dish and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the crushed tomatoes, oil and vinegar. Stir in the garlic, basil, herbs de Provence, salt, pepper, and chili powder.
Pour the tomato mixture into the prepared baking dish and smooth it into an even layer on the bottom of the pan.
Stack the veggie slices in alternating patters (e.g.: onion, zucchini, eggplant, tomato; repeat) and place them on their side in the pan, leaning against the edge of the pan. Repeat until you've formed a couple of rows of veggies, filled the pan, and used up all of the veggie slices.
Optionally, spray or brush the exposed tops of the veggies with oil to encourage browning in the oven. This is more for appearance, so feel free to skip this step if you want.
Bake for about an hour, until the tomato sauce at the bottom is bubbling and the veggies are tender.
Garnish with additional chopped fresh basil before serving (optional). Serve hot or cold.
https://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-recipe/ratatouille-2/
CHEESY CAULIFLOWER MUSHROOM RISOTTO
Cheese and mushrooms? Enough said.
Cheese Sauce
1 cup full fat coconut milk shake can before using
3/4 cup raw cashews
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Mushrooms
8 white mushrooms sliced
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 teaspoon olive oil
truffle oil to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or parsley
lemon wedges
sea salt flakes
fresh ground pepper
In a large fry pan sauté the cauliflower rice with 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat over the stove for about 3-4 minutes until soft (but not mushy!).
In a high powered blender puree all ingredients for the cheese sauce on high for a few minutes until completely smooth.
Toss all the ingredients for the mushrooms together on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Toast them in a toaster oven for a few minutes until cooked and slightly crisp (if you like them crispy). You can also bake them in the oven.
Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower rice and top with mushrooms and toppings!
https://paleoglutenfree.com/recipes/cheesy-vegan-cauliflower-mushroom-risotto/
PULLED BBQ MUSHROOMS
Who needs meet for a BBQ?
1 lb Portobello mushrooms
2 T coconut oil
2 t dried garlic
2 t dried parsley
1 cup Paleo BBQ sauce
Salt, to taste
Fresh chopped parsley, for garnishing
Preheat oven to 500°F. Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
Place the mushrooms face up on the wire rack and roast them for 20 minutes.
Remove the mushrooms from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before using two forks to shred them apart.
Heat up the coconut oil in the skillet. Add the shredded mushrooms and season with the dried garlic and parsley. Sauté for at least 5 minutes before adding the BBQ sauce. Stir well with a wooden spoon until the sauce caramelizes and the mushrooms are fully coated. Add salt to taste.
Garnish “pulled pork” mushrooms with freshly chopped parsley. Serve with cauliflower rice or roasted sweet potatoes.
https://blog.paleohacks.com/pulled-bbq-mushrooms/
GRILLED CHEESE
Ooey, gooey goodness.
1 medium head cauliflower raw, cut into small florets and stem removed
1 large egg
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian herb seasoning
2 thick slices of white cheddar cheese you can also use shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 450°F. Place cauliflower into food processor and pulse until crumbs about half the size of a grain of rice.
Steam your cauliflower and squeeze out the liquid. Make sure to get it dry.
Allow cauliflower to cool for a few minutes. Then add in egg and cheese. Stir to combine until smooth paste forms. Stir in seasoning. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Place onto large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Shape into square bread slices about 1/3 inch thick. Bake cauliflower bread for about 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes.
Using a good spatula, carefully slide cauliflower bread off of parchment paper. Now you are ready to assemble your sandwiches. You can do this a few different ways. You can either cook on the stove top as you would normally cook a grilled cheese. You can also place sandwiches into the oven and broil for several minutes (5-10) until cheese is completely melted and bread is toasty.
https://kirbiecravings.com/cauliflower-crusted-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/
Try a meatless night this week. It gives you a chance to try new vegetable combinations plus save money. That sounds like a win win to me!
Here's to your health (and your pocketbook)! Happy Cooking!