Healthy....ish with Jen O.

Welcome back dear readers! We are nearing the end of summer…. Or we would be if we lived anywhere other than Phoenix….  Which means it’s time for fabulous late summer produce!!! Can’t you feel the excitement? This is the time of year when they start selling sweet delicious corn for 10 cents an ear and they practically give away tomatoes. It is fairly glorious and has inspired my menu for the week.
 
A quick note on my menus: The last few years I’ve been cooking mostly vegetarian with some vegan recipes and the occasional meat recipe…. I always make sure there’s protein in my veggie meals in some way and I do like tofu BUT I generally refuse to eat fake meat… it’s just not for me….. so sometimes I need to get creative. As time goes on, you’ll see what I mean. Without further ado, here is this week’s menu:

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Sunday: Corn soup
https://minimalistbaker.com/simple-summer-corn-soup/
This recipe will be tweaked! I have a ton of tomatoes and mini peppers, so I will be using these for a garnish. I will not be using almond milk…. I will be using a splash of half and half because A) half and half tastes awesome and B) that gives me an excuse to have half and half in the house to use in my coffee everyday this week (a rare treat for me). I will also be using chicken broth because I find it more flavorful, but there’s nothing wrong with veggie broth if you’re a strict vegetarian.
 
Monday: Tomato soup
A cross between this: https://minimalistbaker.com/creamy-roasted-red-pepper-tomato-soup/

And this: http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/home/2011/7/19/roasted-tomato-soup.html

I know what you’re thinking…. Soup again??? Yes. The husband and I have been sick and need some serious soupage….. also, I feel like soup is the number one most fabulous thing to cook because it’s fairly easy and the flavor payoff is huge. So anyway….  I LOVE Minimalist Baker….. The gal who runs it, Dana, has amazing recipes and is super creative. I have made her recipe for tomato soup in the past, and it is wonderful. The problem? I have one trillion fresh tomatoes…. So I decided to roast my tomatoes and mini peppers and use these in place of the canned ones called for. I’m still going to use coconut milk (a can of full fat because if you buy the lite coconut milk you are paying for water…. Don’t allow yourself to be ripped off friends). I will be using tomato paste from a tube (cheaper in the long run than buying cans and wasting half of each can) and I will not be adding any sugar (I try not to add sugar to recipes if at all possible, but I will if I feel it’ll make a difference in taste…. In this case, I don’t).  Lastly, I will be serving this with garlic cheese bread because….you know…. Protein…
 
Tuesday: Lemon, Ricotta, and Spinach pasta
https://www.katiebirdbakes.com/lemon-ricotta-spinach-pasta/
So, last week I made a baked ziti with ricotta cheese….. but they sell ricotta in ridiculously large quantities which pretty much ensures that you will throw some of the cheese away….. however, I am far too frugal to allow this to happen….hence another ricotta cheese recipe. I’m going to follow this one pretty much as written except for the following: No recipe really calls for one clove of garlic…. Gonna do more than that…. I will use whole wheat pasta or lentil/chickpea pasta for protein… I will add a can of cannellini beans to this dish….. 'why?' You may ask….. Cannellini beans are awesome in pasta. The flavors work well together and the beans add protein that help fill you up and reduce the amount of pasta you eat….This trick has saved me a zillion (ish) calories over the years. Don’t knock it til you try it guys.
 
Wednesday: Leftover night!!!! I have a ton of leftovers from the weekend and I am super busy, so that’s happening.
 
Thursday: Open faced Italian tomato sandwiches Loosely based on this recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/italian-tomato-hoagie

Again with the ricotta…. I for real have a lot of ricotta…. Waste not want not and all that. I will use sourdough toast for the base. I will use fresh tomatoes and roasted tomatoes (for added flavor). I will use a vinaigrette I have leftover from a delicious restaurant meal (The Smith….. their balsamic dressing is divine and I sweet talked them into giving me some in a to-go container for free….thanks guys!). No pickles will be on this sandwich as that sounds gross to me.
 
Friday: Party Time!
 
Make sure to check out my Instagram ( @the.foodie.clinician ) for pics of this week's recipes! Have a good week all!!!