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Menu Plan Monday: when things don’t go as planned!

I started doing Menu Plan Monday (MPM) again last week in an effort to get myself cooking regularly again. I ended up making a few new dishes (Vietnamese Shrimp Salad, Summer Rolls).

I realized though that I can’t decide on Sunday what I’m going to eat on Wednesday or Thursday or even the very next day (Monday). I usually don’t know what I want until 10 seconds before it’s time to eat… Unless I plan a salad, because I’m always in the mood for a salad.

Last week I made 2 noodle dishes that were really yummy (will post soon). I brought them for lunch, but I don’t like having noodles for lunch. I like having a salad from downstairs, or oatmeal, or some other weird Maggie food that probably smells funny.

Anyhow, I did find a new breakfast favorite. I have been eating eggs cooked in butter again after listening to these podcasts (Dishing Up Nutrition). Along with my eggs I have veggies – cabbage sauteed in some butter is simple and delicious. I tried a few other veggies but none were as good as the cabbage and butter.

Source.

I told my dad he should try eggs with butter for breakfast and he looked at me like I was nuts. But I really do believe that healthy fats are so important and my skin is agreeing with me. So are my energy levels and my mood.

I won’t be doing an MPM this week, but I will be eating my usuals – lots of eggs and veggies for breakfast; salads, sushis, oatmeals , and whatever else I want for lunch; and probably salads and veggieful meals like these ones for dinner. I also plan on lots of Whole Foods hot/cold bars for lunches and dinners (which happened a lot this past week).

I had a really great weekend in New Jersey (we got back last night) and I do have a few pictures and adventures to share, but I want to go enjoy the last moments of the weekend so I’m going to save that for later. I have also been walking with my new iPod (built in pedometer) while listening to those podcasts I mentioned earlier, and I still love the step count way more than measuring my walks in miles. I like walking and steps are a great way to measure my walks.

One more thing I want to mention is yoga – I haven’t talked about yoga recently because I haven’t really been doing it, but I have snuck in a few 20-minute yogadownload sessions and they have been great. I want to start doing these a few times a week. Just have to get in the habit of doing them after work or after dinner.

What are your favorite standard eats?

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Recipe: Fresh Vietnamese Rolls (Spring? Summer?)

I served these on Sunday night (according to my menu plan) alongside the Vietnamese Shrimp Salad. It was a lovely Asian meal… better than in a restaurant, and cheaper too. These rolls are a great compliment to any meal, not just a Vietnamese one! Making these rolls (wraps) with rice paper is a really fun activity – might be a good project for kids who want to learn how to cook.

Maggie’s Fresh Vietnamese Rolls

Ingredients

  • rice paper (large or small circles) (I used small this time)
  • bean sprouts
  • green beans
  • cooked noodles (I used ramen leftover from my salad)
  • cilantro, chopped
  • iceberg lettuce, chopped
  • anything else you want! – shredded carrot, shrimp, crab, pork, pickled radish, etc…

Directions

  1. Prep all the ingredients – lay them out so they are easily accessible.
  2. Soak a rice paper in a bowl of water for 10 seconds. Lay the paper on a clean towel. Stuff with the goodies (put them in the middle). Wrap up like a burrito. Repeat!
  3. Dip in…

Dressing (per 1 serving)

  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar

Mix dressing ingredients together with a fork. Adjust ingredients to your liking (I usually add more peanut butter). Dip the rolls in the dressing.

I made 3 rolls with the noodles and 3 without. I prefer them without, but with the noodles it is easier to burrito-wrap them. I guess it’s a tradeoff.

What’s your favorite kind of wrap?

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Recipe: Vietnamese Shrimp Salad

For vegans, sub in tofu for the shrimp. Yes, it’s that easy.

(Instead of eating out last night according to the plan, we ate in.)

After this meal Bobby said, “I guess we don’t have to go out for Vietnamese anymore.” This meal was better than most Vietnamese restaurants we have found in the city. It cost about $5 for everything (that’s overestimating), which is much cheaper than eating out in New York.

As an alternative dressing you can add on a peanut sauce – mix together peanut butter, hoisin, rice vinegar, and fish sauce – heavy on the peanut butter – and you will have a really fabulous topper. We used that in addition to the dressing below because I prepared the peanut dressing for a side dish.

Maggie’s Vietnamese Shrimp Salad

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce (romaine is fine too), chopped
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 servings Asian noodles (I used ramen – real ramen, not the dorm food) (vermicelli are great too)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
  • 1.5 cups frozen cooked shrimp
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped

Dressing ingredients

  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or lime)
  • 1-2 teaspoons sugar
  • ground pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Make the dressing by stirring all dressing ingredients together until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a pan on high heat. Add the garlic and onions; saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the shrimp and saute for another minute or 2. If the shrimp is uncooked, cook until they are done through. Remove from heat.
  3. Cook the noodles as directed on the package, then rinse with cool water until they are room temperature. Drain, but not too much (sometimes noodles can dry out depending on what kind you used).
  4. Mix together the lettuce, cilantro, scallions, and noodles; top with the shrimp mix. Add the dressing.
  5. Eat!

I served this with spring rolls (recipe will come tomorrow). Here is my old spring roll recipe.

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Menu Plan Monday (vegetarian/vegan)

This menu plan is vegetarian and vegan aside from the shrimp. Can’t stop eating my shrimpies! The last time I did a Menu Plan Monday was almost a year ago on April 26th, 2009.

Menu for the Week of April 18 – April 24

Sunday

Monday

  • Spring rolls and Vietnamese shrimp salad with vermicelli noodles

Tuesday

  • Maki sushi rolls and egg drop soup

Wednesday

  • Avocado shrimp cocktail with green apple and tabbouleh

Thursday

  • Miso sesame noodles and spring salad

Friday/Saturday

  • One night out; one night leftovers

Extra meal (if I don’t feel like doing one of the assigned meals)

  • Cold soba noodles with tofu and garlic mushrooms (new recipe)

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the great menus at Organizing Junkie.

And if you like these meal ideas, be sure to try out some of my older recipes…

I will be posting these recipes as I make them this week. Now I’m off to Chinatown to get all the groceries I need!

What is on your menu plan this week?

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Recipe: Raw Eggplant Tea Salad

This innovative recipe uses loose tea leaves for a fun and fresh take on a salad. The raw eggplant is delicious and almost meaty… I didn’t know you could do this with eggplant until I had it the other day.

Raw Eggplant Tea Salad

Ingredients

  • 1/2 of a large eggplant, diced in ~1cm cubes
  • 2 small tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 small/medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon loose rooibos tea (any kind)
  • chili and garlic powders, to taste
  • salt, to taste
  • 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Method

Mix everything together. Let sit for 20+ minutes for the flavors to really mesh.

The inspiration for this recipe came from the chef of Sanctuary T Restaurant, who was demo-ing his tea spice mixes at Whole Foods. Unfortunately for him I didn’t buy his spices, but I did make my own version!

I served this with my easy pizza dough recipe for dinner. For the flour mixture I used a mix of Jiffy cornbread mix, whole wheat flour, and oat bran (out of wheat bran, which I usually add). I topped the pizza with extra sauce and some cheddar cheese (light on the cheese, just how we like it). We each had half. We eat a lot of pizza.

What’s your favorite pizza topping?