Beetitudes

Hello again! With the two blogs officially consolidated and a little face lift, I’m bringing back more content! Something I had done for a while, but stopped doing even long before I began YouTube, was sharing my weekly meal plans. This is something I have to do every week to plan for my household, so why not share it?!

I am plant based and will always have a plant based meal or two for myself (the rest of the week I just whip things up from my fridge and pantry staples). My teenage sons are not plant based, and I respect their decision because, as much as I wish they were as nutrition-focused as myself, that is something that cannot be forced and everyone must choose for his or herself.

So with that, I bring you the first weekly meal plan of 2024!

For myself, I’ve chosen a black bean enchilada, which I haven’t had in quite a while. Instead of buying store-bought enchilada sauce, I’m choosing to make my own green enchilada sauce, similar to salsa verde. I just prefer the flavor to the traditional red sauce – and while I can get a store-bought version of it, it is not very health containing both oil and sugar.

So, I’ve opted to get the ingredients to make my own. I’m also growing tomatillos for the first time this year, as well as onions and jalapenos. So maybe by the end of summer I’ll be able to make my own salsa verde straight out of the garden!

The green enchilada sauce recipe that I’m using can be found here, if you’d like to make it too. As for the enchiladas, I have no recipe. So I will just explain how I make it.

I start with sauteing some diced red onion and minced garlic. Then I add a couple of cans of black beans, some frozen corn, and fire roasted diced tomatoes. I season with a pinch of salt and pepper, ground cumin, and some red chili flakes. Once it’s cooked down a bit, I put a good dollop of the filling inside of a whole wheat tortilla, roll it up, and place it seam-side down in a baking dish.

Once the baking dish is full, I will pour the green enchilada sauce over it, and pop it in the oven at 400 for about 15-20 minutes (I always just check on it and pull it out once it’s starting to brown on top. You can also whip up a cashew cream sauce if you like to dollop on top when serving (I’ll be making this in the vlog, too – you’ll just need raw cashews, plant milk, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast)!

I will have this meal plan out on Wednesday, so if you’d like to make anything from it for the upcoming week, you have time to plan and gather your supplies. I do plan on making the enchiladas in my YouTube vlog this week, which will be out on Sunday. Feel free to head on over to my YouTube channel if you’d like to see me make it in action! I will also try to remember to come back and link the exact vlog here once it is live (I can’t generate a link until it’s public)!

As for the salad, I am just going to put some roasted edamame that I picked up from TJ Maxx onto a bed of spring mix salad greens (and I may have some ready in my greenhouse soon too!), then top with whatever toppings I like – probably red onion and sun-dried tomatoes, hemp seeds and green olives. For dressing, I just drizzle on a small bit of pure maple syrup, and either the juice of a lemon or some red wine vinegar.

As for the Chicken and orzo recipe I’m making for the boys, I will link that for you here if you’re interested.

Happy Cooking!

Love,
Loren