Meal Plan Week 18

The Meal Plan Week 18 week is going to be a much quieter week. We will be using up some of our leftovers from the weekend on our last meal plan. There is spaghetti and rouladen to finish and not waste.

The general rule in our house is we try to use as many leftovers as we can. This is for a few reasons, it is cheaper for us, it is less wasteful, and it saves us from having to cook a meal from scratch for at least one night. Leftovers are akin to a takeaway/takeout dinner in our home.

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Meal Plan Week 18

Meal Plan Week 18 In-Depth and Top Tips

Monday

Fried Spaghetti and Salad

The leftover spaghetti from Sunday night on the Meal Plan Week 17 will be reheated for the family’s dinner. Rob’s favourite meal in the whole world is leftover spaghetti that had been fried to heat it up. He adds a portion or two to a pan with a bit of water, covers with a lid and brings it to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering for 3-4 mins he removes the lid. Cook a bit to get any excess water simmered off. Then adding a tiny bit of olive oil and raising the heat to medium-high, he fries the spaghetti until slightly crispy. 

We will serve the fried spaghetti with a side salad of mixed spring lettuce, cucumber slices, cherry tomato halves, and orange pepper pieces. We will use Daiya dairy free ranch dressing on the salad.

Top Tip:

Instead of frying, baking the spaghetti can be a great way of reheating the food. Add in an extra jar of spaghetti sauce and mix well. Bake at 350 for 15-120 minutes or until warmed through. Top with ½ cup of dairy free shredded cheddar-like cheese and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. The cheese may not get totally melted as it doesn’t melt the same as dairy cheese. Any more than 5 mins on the pasta and it will get hard and crunchy. An alternative topping is to mix 1 C gluten free panko bread crumbs with 2 Tbsps of melted vegan dairy free butter like spread. Bake the topping for 5 - 10 mins on the spaghetti.

Tuesday

Leftover Rouladen and Sides

This is a really easy meal as all we have to do is reheat the food.  The original meal was one of two for the birthdays last week. An abridged recipe is in our Meal Plan Week 17.

We will reheat it on the stove by frying the mashed potatoes with a bit of water. The rouladen will get reheated in their sauce on the stove in a pot to a safe temperature. Any other sides may be microwaved in a microwave safe bowl and a bit of water to get them to temperature.

Top Tip:

If freezing the rouladen, try putting one portion of rouladen, mash, and veg with the sauce in an individual portion oven or microwave safe freezer container for an easy meal when thawed.

Wednesday

Dairy Free Lamb Tikka Masala, Steamed Spinach, and Basmati Rice

We will be using some of the lamb cubes we have in our freezer from when we bought our last lamb from a farmer we get some of our meat from. We will make the Lamb Tikka Masala and serve it with basmati rice cooked as per the package. Check the rice over for allergens well. We have found some brands are processed with top allergens. It may take a few emails to the manufacturer to make sure a brand of rice is safe for you.

We will also be steaming fresh or frozen spinach in a pot with 1-2 cloves of garlic minced and mixed in. After steaming we will drain the water and put a bit of dairy free vegan buttery spread in the pot base to melt over medium-high heat. Add the steamed spinach and garlic in and fry up for 2-4 minutes stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Top Tip:

This Tikka Masala recipe works marvellously with other meats like chicken and beef, if they are preferable.

Thursday

Daiya Mac and Cheese with fresh Veggies and Hummus

We need a super easy and quick dinner this night and are treating ourselves to something we normally don’t make, mac and cheese from a package. The kids like the Daiya Mac and Cheese. It really isn't my favourite but I am not a fan of macaroni and cheese that isn’t homemade.

We will cut up carrots, celery, tomatoes, and cucumbers to have with the meal so we feel like we are getting some nutrients into the kids. A bit of hummus on the side for protein. We love making the homemade hummus recipe from The Mediterranean Dish.

Top Tip:

We usually don’t use all the cheese on the macaroni. The kids find it too much so we will save the rest of it to put on their steamed broccolini tomorrow night.

Friday

Gluten Free Roast Chicken with Steamed Broccolini and Packet Potatoes

We will be barbecuing 2 roast chickens using our recipe for gluten free roast chickens. They will be roasted standing up to get the skin all nice and crispy.

Broccolini is on sale this week and will be using the leftover cheese sauce from the previous night’s dinner. We just drizzle a tiny bit on the hot broccolini to jazz the side dish up for the kids as a treat. 

The last side dish will be packet potatoes that are also cooked on the BBQ. They are super easy to make and for a roast dinner they make a simple side dish. The packet potatoes are sliced potatoes tossed in olive oil with a sliced onion. Sprinkled with salt, and pepper. Wrap in an aluminium foil packet and placed on the BBQ for 30-40 mins on the top rack for indirect heat. We have loads of herbs we are growing on the deck and will add fresh rosemary to the packet with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Top Tip:

We are making an extra chicken as it allows us to use the extra as leftovers for the next 2 dinners. Depending on how large the portions are with your family you may be able to use the leftovers, too.

Saturday

Summer Berry and Mint Salad Topped with Leftover Roast Chicken

With more and more summer fruits hitting the stores at a price that is more affordable because they are in season we will be making this salad and swapping out the prosciutto for leftover roast chicken breast.

Top Tip:

Try apricots, plums or nectarines instead of peaches.

Sunday 

Chicken Noodle Soup

To make this soup we will use our Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup recipe that uses the rest of the roast chicken. We make our own stock but you can use safe purchased chicken stock. This recipe uses up the leftover meat from the roast chickens we had earlier in the week. 

Top Tip: 

We often use rice instead of noodles in this recipe. The traditional noodle is an egg noodle which is not safe for anyone who is allergic to the top 8 allergens, do NOT use egg noodles.

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.