Weekly Menu October 15-19

Coconut Dal Soup

When I think up a weekly menu, I try to plan it around a few basic concepts. It has to be healthy and versatile with a variety of ethnic foods (I had way too many tuna casseroles, hamburger helper and stroganoffs in my childhood to pigeon hole my kiddos into never wanting to try anything weird or foreign). It has to have a few different protein options, usually two nights of chicken or fish and two nights of other proteins like legumes, quinoa or soy. It needs to be jam packed with vegetables, the dinners have to be easy to make and one meal has to be for that night everyone has a crazy schedule so it can be made ahead or tossed together at the last minute. I usually also plan for a dish that can linger around in the oven for an unknown time span (in case I forget it or can’t make it home in time to pull out of the oven) and still taste great. The Weekly Menu October 15-19 is a mesh of all these criteria. Early in the week, stick a whole Organic Chicken(or 2) in the oven with a load of veggies for Lemon Roasted Chicken with Oven Roasted Fall Vegetables. Use the leftovers for your crazy schedule night and let everyone toss up Mexican Chicken Salads at their leisure. Extra Autumn Roasted Vegetables make Lentil & Roasted Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie with Easy Homemade Apple Sauce for a cool Fall evening of comfort food. For super easy Indian night, cook up Red Lentil Dal with Sweet Potatoes and Gingered Green Beans for a meal packed with protein and fiber. Turn all your leftovers into soup for the weekend. Dal becomes Coconut Lentil Soup, leftover chicken turns into Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup and the Mexican Chicken Salad leftovers become Tortilla Soup for a weekend of great leftovers and soup in the lunchbox on Monday. Click the Menu link for recipes and a shopping list. Have a great week.