Mac 'n Cheese & Weekly Meal Plan

Before I get into meal planning, I just want to say if you have not tried the Mac 'n Cheese Bites from Your Vegan Mom (note: I used Daiya cheddar for mine), you are seriously missing out. Words cannot even describe their deliciousness, you just have to try them to know what I mean. These are going to become a weekly (daily?!) staple in my kitchen now.

Mine doesn't look like much, but trust me on this one...

Now. Meal plans. I am not the most organized person. In fact, you could say I'm quite the opposite. However, when I actually do plan meals for the week life is 1,000 times easier. Not just avoiding the "What do you want for dinner?" conversation and physically preparing the food, but also weekly food shopping becomes quite efficient and cost effective. 

When thinking about the week, I plan for 5 nights. This way the work week is covered. You are sure to have leftovers in the fridge at some point for snacks/lunch/the weekend/the night you don't feel like cooking again. If I know we are planning to go out for dinner or get take out, I make that part of the plan. Plus, 90% of the time we make sauce for pasta on Sunday, so that's covered.

Here is my (somewhat ambitious) plan for this week: (as you can see I'm using my new cookbook, Vegetarian Times: Everything Vegan, quite a bit) 

-Italian Wedding Soup  

-Teriyaki stir-fry with seitan, mushrooms, broccolini and noodles

-Curried Potatoes w/ brown rice and spinach salad

-Pasta with red onion, kale, cauliflower, and white beans

-Quinoa and Spinach Soup with a multi grain baguette

Plus I have an acorn squash that's been sitting around for way too long that I'll roast up for one of those nights (pasta night?), even if only for a snack.

You may have noticed I didn't included the days of the week. I generally don't go so far to specify which day I'll make what, but will mentally note the specific days in the beginning of the week. Frankly I've found when I get *that* specific on paper, I often change my mind anyway. So why waste the ink?

Occasionally, (once), I try to also plan breakfast for myself, but I usually end up wanting to sleep in instead, so...

Anyone have any quick and easy (but warming, filling and delicious) breakfast ideas for me? My current fave is steel cut oats with cinnamon and agave. Although it freaks me out a little bit, "quick cooking" steel cut oats are a life saver!

What are you eating this week?

P.S. Really need help getting organized? Try a lobotome. I don't actually use these, but I do think they are pretty nifty.