Meal Plan Week 11

Meal Plan Week 11

The meal plan week 11 has my birthday in it. We celebrate birthdays by letting that person choose our dinner that night. This is something we did well before allergies and it has continued. Sometimes it has been tough but it also has fueled our figuring out how to cook our favourite dishes allergen friendly over the last few years.

The dinner on Saturday is the one I chose to celebrate my birthday. It is a bit funny choosing my own birthday meal as I do most of the meal planning for the family so in reality I feel like most dinners are ones I have chosen. This meal though is a bit of a splurge as steaks can be expensive for 6 of us. The kids and Rob will be baking a cake. I always ask for my favourite, our Allergen Friendly Chocolate Cake as it is an adaptation of my Mum’s recipe for the cakes she made us as kids.

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Meal Plan Week 11

Meal Plan Week 11 In-Depth and Top Tips

Monday

Baked Coconut Cream and Lemon Chicken Thighs and Rice

In our enamelled dutch oven we will use a bit of olive oil and brown the chicken thighs. Removing them from the pot to a plate when the outside has seared on all sides, usually about 3-4 mins a side. In the same pot one onion and 3 garlic cloves all minced will be sauteed in 2 tbsps olive oil until translucent. We will add 2 yellow peppers that have been cut in larger chunks and cooked for 2 mins while stirring.

Then add in 2 C of chicken stock, 1 can of coconut milk, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme stripped from the stalk, juice of 1 lemon, salt/pepper, and the zest of the lemon. Stir well. Add the chicken back in and bring to a boil. Cover and pop in the oven to bake for 25-35 mins at 350F or until the chicken is at least 165F internally.  Serve the Chicken on the rice with the sauce over all of it.

Rob will be making the rice for this dish as he makes it better than any rice cooking machine. He will make it on the stove-top. He will probably choose a whole grain or basmati rice. Do check if the rice is safe for you as we are noticing more and more are listing they may contain top allergens through cross contact.

Top Tip:

Always pat the chicken dry with a paper towel before browning or the oil can splatter at the water naturally on the skin and cause burns on anyone nearby or damage to the kitchen.

Tuesday

Chicken Fingers and Roasted Herbes de Provence Potatoes

We will be cooking our roasted potatoes in the air fryer using our recipe. The chicken will be boneless skinless breasts we cut into tender sized strips. We will dip the chicken strips in a bowl with ½ C of plant milk and then dredge in a mix of gluten free bread crumbs (plum Good is our fav), salt/pepper, and ¼ teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano. Really press the breading into the chicken.

Place in an oven safe casserole dish that has been sprayed with neutral oil. Place the chicken in the dish and spray the top with a bit of oil. Bake at 375F for 12 mins, remove from the oven. Flip the chicken fingers and spray the top side with a bit more oil on any parts where the breading looks pale. Return to the oven. Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is 165F internally.

Top Tip:

Serve with ketchup or a sauce like the Nando’s Lemon & Herb sauce.

Wednesday

Breakfast for Dinner - Chickpea Eggs and Bacon and fruit

Tonight needs an easy and fast dinner tonight as all the kids have activities so our dinner has to be super early and easy. We will be scrambling chickpeas using our Scrambled Chickpea Eggs to make them taste like real eggs without any actual eggs. 

Cooking our bacon in the oven is the easiest way as we are making it for all 6 of us. We bake it at 350F for 10 mins, then flip and cook for another 6-10 mins, until the fat is cooked and the bacon is crispy. The key to cooking the bacon is to put it on an oven safe rack that fits in a cookie sheet with sides so the fat drips off and doesn’t run all over the oven.

The bacon is laid out piece by piece on the rack. When cooked we move the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to crisp it up. Be really careful with the cookie sheets as they will be full of bacon grease and it can burn skin. Serve the chickpea eggs and bacon with a bowl of fruit that is on sale, probably strawberries or grapes and gluten free toast.

Top Tip:

If you are looking for a different kind of “eggs” check out the It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken Runny Egg Yolk. It is fabulous with Gluten Free Toast, Like Little Northern Bakehouse. It uses nutritional yeast so check with the manufacturer and your medical team that it is safe for you as it can contain gluten and other top allergens. 

Thursday

Chicken Caesar Salad with Plant Based Dressing

A few heads of Romaine lettuce chopped or torn in bite sized pieces tossed with either a pre-made plant based caesar dressing like President’s choice plant based caesar dressing (contains Mustard) or a homemade one like this recipe we love from Ambitious Kitchen that uses (Sesame) Tahini as a base for it. With the recipe we omit the mustard and add a bit of horseradish and turmeric instead. We have also used pureed chickpeas instead of tahini and it has been super tasty.

We will grill chicken breasts that have been marinated for 30 mins in ⅓ C olive oil, 2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, and 2 sprigs of thyme. To grill we will cook them on the BBQ on both sides until they are a minimum of 165F internally. Let the chicken rest before slicing and serving on the salad. Sometimes we grate Violife dairy free Parm-like cheese or Follow Your Heart/Earth Island Parm like Shreds.

Top Tip:

To make gluten free croutons take 5 slices of gluten free top 8 free bread, like Little Northern Bakehouse or Carbonaut Gluten Free and cut it in crouton sized cubes. Put the bread in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil mixing so all the pieces get coated lightly. Sprinkle on garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper and mix again. Lay the bread out in a single layer on 1-2 parchment lined cookie sheets. Broil for 2-3 mins watching carefully so they do not burn, flip the croutons to ensure all sides are toasted and broil 1-2 mins on each side until done. Really watch them as they can catch quickly, if they burn. Remove from the oven and let cool before using.

If croutons are not for you try topping the salad with roasted chickpeas.

Friday

Pizza Night

We will be doing our usual “Make Your Own Pizzas” with the dough from our recipe. There are  already made dough that are top 8 free like Judy G’s or Daiya pre-made pizzas to speed dinner up. 

We use the store brand of pizza sauce as some of the brand name ones contain soy or dairy. You can also make your own with a recipe like this one from Jamie Oliver. We are hearing great things about Don Pepino’s Pizza Sauce but have yet to try it. 

You can top the pizza however you like, I love roasted garlic, spinach, tomatoes and prosciutto but the kids prefer ham and olives on theirs. We use Violife cheeses as we find they melt and taste the best but the trick to the vegan cheeses is put them on the pizza only in the last 5 minutes of cooking or they get rock hard.

Top Tip:

To make this a dessert pizza use the same base but cook it for 12-15 mins until the base is starting to crisp and let cool. Make a sauce with Violife dairy free cream cheese and a bit of powdered sugar mixed with the smallest splash of plant milk. Start easy on the powdered sugar and plant milk when mixing with a stand mixer or hand mixer. Taste for the right sweetness for your family. Top with your favourite cut fruit and drizzle with melted enjoy life chocolate chips.

Saturday

Steak, Baked Potatoes, and Grilled Veggies

We will probably marinade the steaks in coconut aminos, a bit of rice vinegar, crushed garlic cloves and crushed fresh ginger. If we marinade the steaks we can get cheaper tougher cuts to save a bit of money. I am planning on having mine patted dry and rubbed with the Trader Joe’s Coffee and Garlic rub. Rob will barbecue the steaks to each of our preferred cooking levels. 

We will throw a few washed and skin left on potatoes wrapped in aluminium foil on the top shelf of the grill for 45-50 mins to bake. Before wrapping they will be brushed with a bit of olive oil and salted with coarse kosher salt.

The veggies will be chunks of orange pepper, red onion, whole button mushrooms, and whole cherry tomatoes on skewers brushed with an allergen safe high smoke point oil. They will be put on the grill until just cooked, about 5-7 mins. Turning often to get all sides.

Top Tip:

If not using a rub on the , melt a bit of plant based dairy free buttery spread like Earth Balance Soy Free and mix with 2 -3 cloves of garlic. After cooking the steak and plating it, brush a bit of the garlic plant spread on the steak for extra flavour.

Sunday 

Beef Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Veggies

We make a lot of roasts the same way. Season with salt and pepper or use a rub on the meat. Place the roast on a bed of gravy making veggies, carrots, celery, garlic cloves, onions and a few scrubbed potato peels from the mashed potatoes. Add 1 cup of water to the veggies and put the roast on a rack on the veggies to keep it out of the water.

Some recommendations will warn against adding water but we find that our veggies will burn and not give us any gravy drippings. The key is to not put the meat in the water instead above it. Follow our recipe from our Roast Chickens to see how we make gravy. The only difference is to use beef stock or the potato water instead of chicken stock.

For mashed potatoes we use a starchy potato like a russet. Wash and peel 1 per person and cube them. Cover the potatoes with water so they have 2 inches of water above them. Bring to a boil over high heat and turn down the heat from a rolling boil to a moderate boil. Cook until the potatoes can be pierced by a fork. Drain the potatoes from the water, return the potatoes to the pot, and mash them. Add plant based milk, salt, pepper, and plant based buttery spread to taste and mix well. We will be steaming in season veggies like asparagus.

Top Tip:    

For full beef cut and cooking times and internal temperature we follow the Beef- It’s What is For Dinner advice.

We Love Feedback!

Did you make any of the meals we did let us know? What is on your meal plan this week? Drop a comment on this post or tag us on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.

• Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes
• Budget Friendly Chicken Stock
• Cold Asparagus Salad with Dill
• Lemon Garlic Roasted Potatoes
• Allergen Friendly Lebanese Chicken Shawarma Recipe

We have to remind everyone that we are not medical professionals or dietitians, so these meal plans are not balanced for nutrition, they are for information purposes only. Please discuss any dietary concerns, changes, or proper meal plans with your medical team.

Always check the labels for any products to make sure they are right for you. We also encourage you to contact the manufacturers in addition to checking that the process of manufacturing is also safe for you, and that there aren’t shared lines. One product or ingredients may be safe for one person but not another. Always check the products and ingredients before purchasing.