Last week was week 10 of meal planning and prepping. This is achieving my goals of reigniting my love of cooking, overcoming autistic executive function issues and eating better.
On the menu last week was apple fritters with coconut yoghurt for breakfast, and a version of a Cobb salad for lunch. The bill from Aldi was $31.70, and those purchases, along with what I had in the pantry and freezer, yielded six lunches and 6 breakfasts.
This version of a Cobb had cos (romaine) lettuce, boiled eggs, roasted pumpkin, avocado, feta, bacon, and marinated crocodile meat. Why modify the classic Cobb salad? Because of food sensitivities – the roasted pumpkin replaced the tomato. Because of economies – the crocodile meat was in the freezer. Because of preference – I don’t like blue cheese as the texture is a sensory issue, so feta was a good, sharp, substitute.
Apple fritters, or apple pancakes, if you like, weree made using a bought pancake mix, gluten free, 4 Granny Smith apples, grated, 280ml water, 1/2 cup of rice flour, an egg and vanilla paste. It made 18 pancakes – three got eaten as quality control… they weren’t perfect, but they were good enough for me. Two pancakes plus two spoons of coconut yoghurt made a perfect breakfast.
So what do I have planned for week 11?
A breakfast oat bake with berries, and a “super” coconut yoghurt. “Super” coconut yoghurt is a vanilla yoghurt with enough vegan chocolate protein powder in it to make it thick like a chocolate mousse.
Lunches this week will be premade coleslaw, from a bag that says 5 serves. To that, I’ll add chicken, apples, onions, avocado and sultanas. Diced chicken thigh fillets marinated in a honey soy sauce should provide a pop of flavour, and extend the coleslaw beyond 5 serves.
And all for $40.39, plus what’s in the pantry and freezer.
For the coleslaw dressing… from the freezer, a cauliflower “mayonnaise” I made, mixed with some left over blue cheese dressing from last week.
What’s cauliflower “mayonnaise”? A cauliflower head, chopped and cooked in the pressure cooker, then blitzed in the food processor with a little bit of coconut yoghurt, honey, and mustard powder, and a little water to get to the right consistency. It made very big batch, so I froze what I didn’t need.
For snacks, I’ll pack cheese and rice crackers, and grapes or a plum. It’s late in the season for plums, but they are still so good to eat.
So here’s to being autistic, using your autistic strengths to overcome autistic deficits and cheap, nutritious meals.
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