Weekly Meal Plan: Week Beginning 29th Feb
After so much positive feedback (thank you all) I’m back with another weekly meal plan. I’m away travelling this weekend – a cheeky weekend “a deux” in Japan – lucky me! It did, however, mean I had to be more forward thinking than usual in terms of next week’s meal plan.
Will be trying to keep my week ahead as simple as possible because I’ll be arriving home late Monday night and will be away again on Friday and will have lots of washing and re-packing to do. Hence, two of this week’s meals will be straight from the freezer – The cannelloni and the Bolognese! Don’t forget, whenever making casseroles, stews, pasta bakes and so on, make double and freeze one – same effort double the rewards!
Monday (29/02/16): Spinach & ricotta cannelloni – serve with garlic bread and side salad. A long standing family favourite even before we started trying to follow a Meat Free Monday diet. Best to make double and freeze one meal for the next time. This recipe isn’t one you can whip up in a hurry. There are a few stages to it but well worth the time & effort. On the plus side you can prepare this dish up to a couple of days ahead.
Tuesday (01/03/16): – Beef Yakitori – Reminiscent of Japan! I’ve used this recipe a few times now and it’s a winner. Serve with brown rice and a large bowl of edamame. Kids always seem to love food on sticks!
Wednesday (02/03/16): Spaghetti Bolognese – this dish couldn’t be simpler and i’m sure you all have your own version. If you are trying to cut down on carbs then I’d suggest making spaghetti for the kids and for the adults make some courgetti – spiralized courgette! I don’t even cook my courgette, I find the hot bolognese sauce softens it adequately for an “al dente” texture.
Thursday (03/03/16): Pork Schnitzel – Heading back West with this meal. You can use chicken instead of the pork and I like to add parmesan to the breadcrumbs. Goes lovely with a greek salad or some green beans and broccoli.
Friday (04/03/16): Teriyaki Salmon Parcels – back to the Japan theme here with some fish for Friday. All the veg will be nicely tucked into the parcels so no need to dirty any extra pans. Serve with rice or quinoa for a change if you’d prefer to cut down on the carbs. If you’ve not yet ventured down the quinoa route yet check out this post.
At the weekend:
Get ahead: For one of your weekend meals why not roast a chicken (or two), either freeze the leftover meat or transform into a Leftover Chicken Pie or a pasta bake later in the week.
Bake some snacks: Try these no sugar no bake Quinoa and Cacao Pops, by Deliciously Ella – they will come in handy for packed lunches or a healthy snack if you are craving something sweet and needing to cut down on carbs and sugar. If you live in Hong Kong like me, Quinoa Pops are not a common supermarket item (I couldn’t even find them on iherb) but I did eventually find this brand at Just Green for HK$78 for a 120g box. I used up the whole box of Quinoa Pops and doubled this Deliciously Ella recipe to have enough for the whole family in snacks for the week ahead. This yielded 12 cupcake size pops and a 6 x 6 square slab, which I naughtily drizzled with melted white chocolate….. needless to say these were the first to get eaten!
Quinoa is not a grain but a seed and has an unusually high ratio of protein to carbohydrates. Unlike grains its proteins contain all the essential amino acids. That means quinoa doesn’t need to be eaten with legumes to provide complete proteins, a key consideration for meatless diets.
The raw cacao and coconut oil you should be able to get at the health shops in Hong Kong but at a price. I shop for most of my health products on iherb.
New to iHerb? Use Rewards Code TJZ407 for up to $5.00 off your first order.
If you make any Gillian’s Kitchen recipes (there are two in the weekly meal plan this week!) take a picture and share on Instagram! Use the hashtag #gillianskitchendotcom.
And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!
Any comments or suggestions then please feel free to express yourself in the comments box below – would love to hear from you!
Happy baking and cooking. Have a great week! gx
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