Thursday, August 8, 2013

A Month of Gluten Free Vegan Meals


Planning a Repeating Month of Vegan Meals Makes
Meal Planning a Breeze!
A while back I did a well-received post on menu planning for a year - then a bit later, I did a Month of Vegan Menus, which quickly became one of my most popular posts.

Although I am not Gluten free myself, I have many friends who are. And, one day it occurred to me that a huge percentage of my menus are naturally Gluten-Free as well as Vegan, and that many of you might enjoy having a Month of Gluten-Free Vegan Menus.

While I LOVE having a meal plan, I really DON'T enjoy the pressure of having to whip up a plan every Saturday - or every Monday - or whenever people do these things. I like to have it taken care of and handy - not hanging over my head every week.

Which is why I make a plan for four weeks that can be repeated over and over. It can be used four ways: 1) strictly go through the schedule, using the days in order 2) if you don't like so much structure, but still want to enjoy the benefits, shop for a week's menu, and use it to glance at on those nights when you don't know what to cook, knowing that you have what you need on hand, or 3) use it for planning bulk cooking menus, and simply grab the meal you want out of the freezer or fridge whenever you want it OR (my most recently discovered use) 4) Sit down with your family and let them choose the meals from your chart that they'd like to eat in the coming week! This is especially helpful when deciding what to serve to house guests : )

I find it pretty easy to keep groceries on hand to make most of these recipes without a special shopping trip. I keep most of the pantry ingredients on hand all of the time, then I simply need to shop for produce. Since none of the recipes use meat and dairy which must always be served fresh, many of these recipes can be prepared without running out to the grocery for those basics.

I find this menu format the easiest to use- it is a simple word processing document, so I can cut and paste things where I need them. If we eat out, or I want to try a different recipe one of the nights, no problem! I've seen all sorts of fancy, artistic menu planners, with color coding and "pieces" to move about to different nights, but to me nothing beats the simplicity and ease-of-use of a basic computer document.

I have a print-out of this menu hanging inside one of my kitchen cupboards - just open the door for a menu at a glance.

I typically serve a variety of things with meals that are not listed here - maybe salad, slaw, fruit, bread, a pickle & olive tray, and dips or spreads, but I don't list these things on my menu in addition to the entrĂ©e. I think of them as accessories!

I'm a huge fan of Rice - I really PREFER it as a bed under beans or stews. But, if you prefer Quinoa or another Gluten-Free Grain or even Potatoes - of course swaps are good wherever I say "Over Rice" : )

In addition to being Gluten Free & Vegan, all of these dishes are ultra-Frugal! : )

When making these recipes, be sure to use the Vegan & Gluten Free varieties of the ingredients mentioned. One commenter reminded me that not all Soy Sauces are Gluten Free - you have to buy one that is (Thanks, Katie @ Gift of Curiosity) .  Similarly, such ingredients as Worcestershire Sauce, Earth Balance or Margarine, and many other things might have a variety that fits your diet, and one that does not. Be sure that all ingredients conform to your way of eating.

Notice that the menu is full of links to take you to the recipes!

Life With The Crust Cut OffThis is being shared on Gluten Free Fridays, Thrive at Home, Fun Fridays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Free to Talk Fridays, Weekend Wonders, Bible Love Notes, Gluten Free and Allergy Free Wednesdays, Feeding Big, Making Your Home Sing Mondays, Clever Chicks, Modest Monday, What'd You Do This Weekend?, Menu Plan Monday, In and Out of the Kitchen, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Teaching What is Good, Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays, Teach Me Tuesdays, We Made That, Encourage One Another, Wildcrafting Wednesdays, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Penny Pinching Party, Wise Woman, Simple Lives Thursday, Hearts for Home, Bible Love Notes TGIF , Mums Make Lists 
Food on Friday 

Traffic Jam Weekend



Sunday
Monday
 Eggplant Stew over Rice

 Fill Your Own Tortilla Night
Vat O' Salsa
and
Corn Chips
Tuesday
and
Corn Chips
and
Wednesday
Thursday
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
and
Fattoush (without the bread)
Friday
 Sushi 
 Szechuan Green Beans over Rice
Saturday
with
Hummus with Capers and your choice of dippers
and
 Moujendra ( Mejadra ) with Raw Veggies

26 comments:

  1. Menu planning is unfortunately one of my gifts, but it looks like you have a great system here!

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  2. Great plan! I like your suggestions for the different ways to use it. I tend to plan just 3-7 days at a time. When I post menus, though, I put up several weeks at once explaining what we actually ate, because I think that's more informative and inspiring. It's difficult for many people to imagine what you can possibly eat if your meals don't center around meat, so these real-life menus are important to get out there.

    I nominated you for a Liebster Award!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks SO much, Becca! : )

      I also keep a plan of what we will eat, as well as a record of what we DID eat - the two give me a lot to go on for future planning!

      Thanks for visiting - AND for the nomination : )

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  3. I just came over for the first time from Dreaming of Perfect's blog link up. Looks like I will have to come back. We are gluten free (along with all milk, egg, oat, soy, peanut, and fish - sigh) and I am always looking for recipes I can tweak and make my own with our allergens changed. Looks like I have found a few. Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. I'm delighted to be of help - that's quite the list of allergens! At least with Vegan recipes, you're automatically free of milk, egg & fish. Actually, this month of recipes should have almost none that you *can't* eat - just as they are! : ) So glad to have you drop by!

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  4. That's such a great idea!! Looks delicious, too. Thanks for linking up!

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  5. Hi Anna! Thank you for visiting my blog today! I know I have seen your menu plans before, and it's so inspiring! All the time you save!

    Gluten free is really sweeping the country, and I'm glad for the people who really suffer. You are really helping people here!

    I hope you will come by and visit again! I'd love to get to know you better :)
    Ceil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for dropping by to visit! Hope you found the clutter level "just right!" ; )
      I really enjoyed your post today on hospitality & cleaning house : )
      http://evangelize2me.blogspot.com/2013/08/hospitality-101.html

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  6. Thanks for some of these great ideas! We aren't vegan, but due to my son's food allergies we often end up eating vegan foods. Plus, my son and I are both gluten free, so this is great!

    I did want to point out that you link to several recipes that use soy sauce. Regular soy sauce is not, however, gluten free. It is possible to buy gluten-free soy sauce though, so these recipes can still be gluten-free if using the special soy sauce.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the mention of Soy Sauce - I will modify the post with your info : ) I'm used to the Vegan caveat "Use all Vegan ingredients" and should have also put that here for GF.

      So delighted that you like the menu : ) Thanks so much for visiting!

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  7. Wow, what an amazing resource for healthy vegan meals. You have put so much into this post, you could make it into an ebook! I loved the chinese recipes. They sound gorgeous.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your kind comments, Katherine - and thanks for hosting an awesome blog hop http://www.greenthickies.com/healthy-vegan-friday-55/ (and for having such adorable kids : )

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  8. I LOVE everything about this post! Thank you SO much! Awesome!

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  9. My husband and I have been moving in this direction for healthier eating, and so has my daughter and her family. Thank you for the opportunity to jump-start our menu plans.

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    Replies
    1. So glad you found something helpful here : ) Thanks for visiting!

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  10. Thanks for sharing at What'd You Do This Weekend. That is really true about planning. The pressure of getting it ready so that you can use it sometimes makes it not used! Great recipes in here for quick and tasty dinners that will help me avoid the go to junk in stressful times.

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  11. Wow what a list! Thanks for sharing it.

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  12. Great planning, Meal planning is most necessary part of our daily life.

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  13. Thank you! As a Celiac vegan who is allergic to soy, it is so frustrating to come up with new recipes that the family will enjoy. You are a life saver! You get it!!! You are the answer to my stumbling block... creating recipes for a few weeks at a time :) Thanks. I will definitely be here, a lot :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for visiting - I'm absolutely delighted to help! I love to help people be vegan who have other dietary concerns, too : ) I'll look forward to seeing you on future visits!

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  14. I am new to this, But I like the post. thanks for helping us and share your exp.

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  15. Thanks for sharing at What'd You Do This Weekend. That is really true about planning. The pressure of getting it ready so that you can use it sometimes makes it not used!
    here i also have something to share please visit@ http://veganmealplan.net
    Vegan recipes
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    ReplyDelete

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