Rice Noodle Salads

I have forgotten to take pictures of dinner the past two nights. This whole blogging gig is new to me, and I can't seem to remember to take pictures while I'm assembling meals, or of the finished product.

Neither Saturday or Monday's dinners were very photogenic, anyway. Chili? Well, I'm pretty sure you know what that looks like. And the Quinoa Red Lentil curry stew turned into a big pile of mush after being in the crockpot all day. For a recipe with a long list of spices (which I doubled), including fresh ginger slices, it was a pretty boring stew. Sigh.

Tonight's dinner has been a favorite for years. It is super quick, healthy, and very versatile. The kids like to eat the components separately- just tofu and rice noodles for the 4 year old, and tofu, rice noodles, broccoli, and edamame for the two year old. He also mixed some applesauce into his serving, but I wouldn't recommend that.

Cold Rice Noodle Bowls

Ingredients: (adjust portion of each ingredient to your liking. Like I said, very flexible recipe)

-Vermacelli Rice Noodles (I used Thai Kitchen brand)

-cut up veggies (tonight: red bell pepper, steamed broccoli, edamame, carrot, cucumber)

-Baked tofu, diced

-Newman's Own low-fat Sesame Ginger salad dressing

-chopped roasted peanuts

-minced fresh cilantro

Cook rice noodles according to direction. Cool. Place in shallow bowl. Top with vegetables and tofu. Add desired amount of salad dressing and top with peanuts and cilantro. Easy, peasy!

I do wish I'd gotten a picture of this one! It's a very refreshing and visually pleasing dinner. Enjoy!

Meal Plan 2/18-2/24

I do my grocery shopping over the weekend, and usually start my meal plan cycle on Saturday. I often cook something on Sunday afternoon that I can eat for breakfast throughout the week, and plan our dinners so we have leftovers to take for lunch on work days.

Sat 2/18- crockpot vegetarian chili

Sun 2/19- friends visiting. Lunch= salad in bread bowls. Dinner= pizza delivery

Mon 2/20- Holiday. Crockpot Quinoa Lentil Kale soup with roasted garlic bread

(Also making baked oatmeal squares for breakfasts)

Tues 2/21- Tofu, Veggie, and Rice Noodle Bowls

Wed 2/22- I won't be home for dinner, since I go directly from the boys' dance class to a doula meeting, but the rest of the fam will probably have "breakfast for dinner"

Thurs 2/23- my weekly dinner date with a friend, TBD

Fri 2/24- spinach and cheese stuffed shells, salad

Welcome!

I love reading food blogs. Nearly every evening, I spent a good 30-60 minutes browsing my favorites and getting inspiration for upcoming meal plans. I'm not a fancy or particularly experienced cook, but I do love food.

My goal with this blog is to document my meal plans, share recipes, and become part of the food blog community I so adore. I cook primarily vegetarian meals, and as a Weight Watchers member, most of the meals are healthy and focus on whole foods. I have a fairly picky husband, a very picky 4 year old, and a 2 year old who will eat practically anything put in front of him.

I work 4 days a week in public health, and also as a birth doula. Most of the time, I need to get meals on the table in about half an hour after getting home from picking the kids up from daycare. I also try to do a lot of meal prep and planning on the weekends.

Welcome to Hungry Hedgehogs!