Meal Plan Monday

One of my friends asked me on Facebook today about what I think about a vegan lifestyle and a holistic lifestyle, the conversation that continued really got me thinking about how I implement my thoughts on veganism to my day to day lifestyle. I don't consider myself a vegan by any means but I tend to cook vegan dishes about 90% of the time.



I don't really push myself to eat vegan, what I do is really focus eating healthy foods. I indulge in unhealthy stuff from time to time but the one thing that I know helps me with eating unhealthy on a daily basis is the fact that I plan my meals out. Before I go to the market I look through my cabinets to take a mental "inventory" of what I have so that when I get to the market I have somewhat of an idea of what I would like to make.

Today I wanted to share this week's menu plan AND an delicious recipe!



Meal Plan Monday!
Monday - Lentil meatballs {recipe below} over pasta with steamed broccoli
Tuesday - Roasted spaghetti squash and vegetarian chicken topped with a white wine sauce
Wednesday - Asian stir fry (depending on what veggies are on their last leg)
Thursday - Vegan stuffing topped with mushroom gravy and sauteed kale
Friday - Bean and olive quesadilla's
Saturday - open
Sunday - open



Yesterday I roasted some spaghetti squash and I made a big batch of brown rice to save some time during the week. I start my Week 3 of the LiveFit program so it's really important to make sure I have my meal plan down. If I don't have a meal plan we almost always end up ordering take out. Since I didn't go to the gym today I made the dish that would take the longest. Lentil meatballs! They didn't take that long to make but they take longer than a stir fry. These meatballs are meaty and hearty. Meatballs are something I miss as a vegetarian and the faux meatballs just don't always do it for me all the time. There's one brand that I like but they're so expensive! And let's face it, those are mostly processed foods. These meatballs are guilt free and taste like an indulgence.



Lentil Meatballs
2/3 cups lentils
1/2 medium red onion diced
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tbsp sunflower seeds, lightly chopped
salt and pepper to taste
chia egg (1 tbsp chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water

5 minute marinara or sauce of preference

For this recipe you can use 2/3 cup of pre-cooked lentils or dried lentils. If using dried, boil a few cups of water, add 2/3 cup of dried lentils and cook until done. About 20 minutes. Once they're done, strain and set aside.

In a non-stick pan, saute your onions for 2-3 minutes.

In a small bowl mix the chia seeds and water until it reaches an egg white consistency and thickens.

In a mixing bowl mix all ingredients except your chia egg and marinara, mix well. Once the mixture is thoroughly mixed add your chia egg and mix until just combined.

Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick pan. Mold your lentil meatballs and heat them until browned on all side. Be gentle with the meatballs, you don't want to mess with them too much, you want them to stick together.

Once nicely browned add your sauce and heat through. Serve and enjoy!