Vegetarian meal plan for mid spring

Monday

Roasted buffalo chickpea salad

if you're a buffalo sauce lover like me, this buffalo chickpea salad is for you! It's a vegetarian version of a buffalo chicken salad, replacing chicken with crispy roasted buffalo chickpeas.

Pro tip: make extra and prep a mason jar salad for lunch!

Recipe tips:

• If you don't like blue cheese, go ahead and swap for cubes of cheddar or whichever cheese you like.
• If you like a lot of buffalo sauce, drizzle more onto your salad with the dressing!
• Make the chickpeas ahead of time to save time.

Serve with:

• Extra buffalo sauce and ranch on the side.
• Sliced strawberries or your favorite spring fruit.
• Potato chips with avocado dip or yogurt herb dip.

Print this buffalo chickpea salad recipe including ingredient list here.

Tuesday

Lemony green olive pasta

This pasta is briny, buttery, lemony, and fresh yet luxurious at the same time. I love making this for a weeknight pasta dish for the family!

Pro tip: add a protein like veggie meatballs or white beans.

Recipe tips:

• If you can't find castelvetrano olives, go ahead and swap for your favorite pitted and unstuffed green olive. Or try kalamata olives!
• I like spaghetti noodles for olive pasta, but any pasta you choose will work.
• Make sure that the olives are unstuffed and pitted.

Serve with:

• Sauteed broccoli rabe.
• Garlic bread.
• A glass of your favorite wine.

Print this olive pasta recipe including ingredient list here.

Wednesday

Veggie sandwich with lentils and ricotta

These sandwiches are packed with so much protein! French green lentils, cucumber, avocado, and a walnutty herby ricotta cheese.

Pro tip: cook the lentils ahead of time for a super quick weeknight dinner.

Recipe tips:

• You can swap the ricotta cheese for cream cheese or whipped feta.
• Use any veggies that you love on sandwiches.
• Make it a wrap/pita to make it less messy.

Serve with:

• Quick burnt onions on your sandwich.
• Steamed artichokes.
• French fries or potato chips.

Print this veggie sandwich recipe including ingredient list here.

Thursday

Greek salad wraps

These come together in 10 minutes and are sure to be a hit with everyone in your family. Easy to customize, easy to double or triple so you have some for lunches. And soooo tasty.

Pro tip: serve a la carte and let everyone pick what they want for their filling.

Recipe tips:

• Store bought tzatziki is a great substitute for the yogurt sauce.
• You can swap the white beans for chickpeas.
• Skip the pita bread and eat the salad with pita chips or crackers instead.

Serve with:

• Pita chips or veggies with hummus.
• Garlic herb baby potatoes.
• Homemade greek fries.

Print this Greek salad wrap recipe including ingredient list here.

Friday

Honey garlic cashew tofu

This is my take on a vegetarian cashew chicken, and my family likes it just as much as take out!

Pro tip: look for super firm tofu, otherwise give yourself a bit of extra time to press the tofu.

Recipe tips:

• I think this recipe is best with torn tofu, but you can cube the tofu if you'd like.
• The flour can be swapped for arrowroot powder or constarch.
• If you don't like tofu, swap for tempeh or more veggies.

Serve with:

• Steamed or fried rice.
• Asian slaw
• Chinese egg rolls

Print this cashew tofu recipe including ingredient list here.

Saturday

Golden beet salad

Earthy flavor golden beets with starchy red potatoes, peppery arugula, herby tarragon, and tangy goat cheese. Toss some shallot and sunflower seeds into the mix and it's a flavor pairing you'll want to eat every night of the week.

Pro tip: You don't have to peel beets and potatoes if you wash them well! But, if the texture of root vegetable skin bothers you, go ahead and peel them.

Recipe tips:

• If you can't find beets with beet greens, that's okay! Just add another green of your choice like spinach or more arugula.
• If you have an herby dressing that you love, go ahead and use that rather than making your own.
• If you can't find tarragon, go ahead and swap it out for dill or fresh basil. But tarragon really is amazing with beets!

Serve with:

• Crispy tofu on top.
• Warm sauteed chickpeas.
• Olive rosemary focaccia bread.

Print this golden beet salad recipe including ingredient list here.

Sunday

Chickpea gyros

We keep the flavors as close to traditional as possible by cooking the chickpeas in cumin, paprika, oregano, smoked paprika, garlic, and lemon. Then wrapping the chickpeas in a pita with tzatziki, tomato, red onion, feta cheese, mint leaves, and fresh parsley.

Pro tip: The chickpeas can get dry while cooking, so you'll want to keep a glass of water nearby to add to the mixture. Don't worry, it won't become watery!

Recipe tips:

• Make sure to pat the chickpeas dry after rinsing them so that the big pieces of chickpea skins are removed. Pick them out of the chickpeas and discard.
• If you can't find Mediterranean pita bread, use some mini naan breads or thick tortillas.
• Go ahead and customize the toppings as you'd like.

Serve with:

• Homemade pita bread.
• Tzatziki.
• Tabbouleh.

Print this chickpea gyros recipe including ingredient list here.

Products:

• These produce saver tupperware containers are perfect for prepped fruits and veggies. I love ours for chopped greens!
• I like to use 8 ounce mason jars to make salad dressing. Just screw on the lid and shake!
• Food processor. We have Ninja food processor attachment.
• If you need to press your tofu, you'll need a tofu press or something heavy to press it like a heavy skillet.

Resources:

• Here is a list of all of the vegetarian meal plans on the site.
• Here are all of our spring recipes.
• And all of our dinner recipes!