Monday Meal Plan: Tuscan Bean Soup

So ...

I had a severe case of pregnancy brain this past week.  despite 3 trips to the grocery store within 2 days I somehow still managed to forget ingredients that I needed for last week's meal plan.  As a result, we ended up ordering pizza one night and the tikka masala I had planed was pushed to this week. 

Oh well.

The meal plan for this week includes: 

Tuscan Bean Soup

Tuscan Soup with Kale

So sorry for the slow down - it has been a crazy (good crazy) couple of months!  We recently discovered that we are going to be traveling to Europe twice this summer doing mission work - and we have been super busy preparing for the trips (more on that in a future post)!  Plus, my husband's "Spanish mama" (a family friend) is flying in today and visiting for a few weeks!  Hopefully you'll see some Spanish recipes up here soon!

I know this is the second soup in a row - but I love soup!!!  We probably make a batch of this soup every other week when it's cool out - but we eat it in the summer too! For an extra nutrition punch, add chia seeds at the end.  I've also been known to make a double batch and freeze half for a night when I'm short on time! 

20-Minute Minestrone Soup

This simple minestrone is rustic, healthy, Italian, and always there for me (sounds like my husband!)

   This was one of those "I'm staving and need to eat healthy but I'm exhausted and haven't gone grocery shopping yet" kind of meals.  As I mentioned before, I recently started an awesome new job.  New job = new flow.  New flow = new quick, healthy, go-to recipes.  I call them pantry meals - chances are that I'll have all the ingredients on hand and all the ingredients will keep for a long time.  Basically, pantry meals are awesome meal-planing back up plans. This recipe is super easy to customize, so feel free to add extra veggies, switch out the pasta, whatever you like!

Caprese Salad (3 ways!)

A caprese salad is probably the most refreshing, simple, and elegant vegetarian dish I know of.  My husband and I often enjoy it along with pasta, and I frequently have leftover bits that are difficult to transfer to lunch bags... it just becomes too sloppy! 

For this post I've included the classic recipe for a traditional caprese salad, as well as two of my own treatments that make it easier for lunches and even parties or showers!  It could even add some festive color to your Christmas table. 

Tip: Opt for part-skim fresh mozzarella for the lowest fat content and most protein.