YOUR MISSION:
To create your own favourite collection of Plan B meals.
CHALLENGE DATE:
From 26th July 2021
HOW TO JOIN:
Leave a comment below saying how many Plan B meals you would like to try.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
1. Think about your current pantry meals. Do you have any that you love?
2. Review the list of recipes below.
3. Choose 1 recipe to try first. Save it to your favourites.
4. Leave a comment on the recipe page after you’ve cooked it letting me know what you thought.
5. Repeat until you are happy you have enough Plan B pantry meals in your repertoire.
RECIPE LIST
MASTERCLASS RECORDING
NOTE: Don’t feel like you ‘have’ to watch the masterclass to participate in the challenge.
It’s just here if you are inspired to learn more.
RESOURCES:
30-Day Simple Kitchen Reboot: Your Pantry, Fridge & Freezer
– – – – – – –
Possibly this exercise wasn’t aimed at me, as I have made and commented on 15 of these already, i.e.
Plan-B Spinach & Eggs
Easy Spinach & Feta Frittata
The ‘Next Day’ Shakshuka
Big Pea Bowls with Goats Cheese & Olives
Chicken Satay Curry
Everyone Happy Cashew Masala
‘Plan-B’ Green Bean Nicoise Bowls (ahem…)
Tuna Fried Rice
Salmon, Pea & Feta Bowls (sort of)
Chilli Con ‘Tuna’
Gorgeous Greens Tart
Spinach & Feta Burgers
Broccoli & Bacon Bowls (sort of)
Chickpea ‘Chilli’
Red Lentil ‘Risotto’
so how about I make the Broccoli & Bacon Bowls with actual bacon this time, and the Buy Nothing New Curry which I have been meaning to try since the Go-To Dinners Challenge in October last year, and call it close enough?
Yes I think you may not have been the target for this exercise Mark – if only more of my students were like you!
I haven’t officially signed up but am following along and loved the Quick Veg Curry. That something so simple could be that good made it all the better!
Jules, really appreciate how you have all of these grouped as a convenient, stand alone meal plan.
Glad you enjoyed the curry Melanie!
AM planning to add to this list in the future – we all need more plan B ideas 🙂
I’m a bit late to the challenge but am going to try Broccoli & bacon bowls (because I have some cooked chicken in the freezer that I need veg for), Plan B Spinach & Eggs (for a lunch with hubby when I have no leftovers in the fridge), Chicken Satay Curry (because I have almond butter in the pantry and never know what to do with it!) and Buy Nothing New Curry (because there’s only the two of us and we’ve always got leftover cooked meat in the freezer).
Fantastic Natalie 🙂
I am in, though we know I don’t cook much. But I have bought (a couple weeks ago) what I need for spinach and eggs. So guess I’ll start there.
Brilliant Lynne!
And maybe think about stopping telling yourself the story about how you don’t cook much – it may be true but it’s not helpful – could you think in stead I’m learning to cook more or even ‘I’m experimenting with cooking more’ or ‘I want to cook more’? Our thoughts are very powerful
Excellent suggestions. I can definitely shift my thought process on this.
Great Lynne – our thoughts make all the difference.
Yesterday we had cabbage carbonara, a firm favourite that I’ve made a few times.
Today was bacon broccoli bowls, another that already appears on my meal plans.
So I am planning egg fried cabbage, sun dried tomato omelette, and also green beans Nicoise. Tuna is not always my favourite but I have tins to use up and do like a Niçoise salad so will give this a go.
Sounds like a plan Sue
I have chosen Broccoli Pantry Curry, Plan B Spinach and Eggs, Cabbage Carbonara, Next Day Shakshuka and Tuna Fried Rice. I have all but 1 ingredient in stock in pantry or freezer and am anxious to use up some older ingredients purchased for Covid hibernation. With the new variant surge predicted I want to restock with fresh items. This is just a perfect time for this challenge!
Brilliant Linda!
There are so many recipes that look yummy. Cabbage carbonara is already something I make often but I want to look for meals that work for the whole family, not just me. I am going to try Plan B Green Beans and the Shakshuka.
Excellent Myfanwy!
I’m starting with the Easy Almond Pizza, Red Lentil Risotto and the Spinach And Feta Burger. I’ve got all the ingredients already. Excited to start and excited to reduce the amount of food I will need to purchase for upcoming week!!
Brilliant Lynn!
Seeing the list of recipes was exciting. Several are already among the ones I make regularly. I have added the Spinach Soup with Smashed Feta and Walnuts to my menu plan for next week. What’s going to be fun is that we’ve actually had a lot of rain (for us in the desert) and the amaranth plants are taking over our yard. I will use hand-picked fresh amaranth in place of spinach, since the flavor is very close. I was just out in the yard, thinking I needed to pick a recipe where I could use amaranth/spinach and was happy to find one that sounds very good to both of us.
You know I tried to grow amaranth years ago Susan – you’ve reminded me to try again – it’s meant to be super nutritious.
If you like amaranth, you would love that it grows wild here – as long as we get rain. With enough rain I’ve seen it as tall as 6 feet. For doing that recipe, I’m operating on the assumption that we’ll actually continue to get rain. It is our monsoon season, but these days that doesn’t mean much. Our area is apparently quite unpredictable, weatherize, as well as being desert. I hope you succeed in growing amaranth. If you let a plant or two go to seed, they should keep coming back.
Hi Jules,
The video is asking me for a password.
Is this my SMP password?
Cheers,
Bells.
I am a nong.
Just found it. How close I was, yet so far. 😉
Bella.
Sorry Bella! No the video password is SMP.
I’m in! As I’m moving this week and have a bag of frozen peas to finish up, I will try the big pea bowl to start.
Sounds like an excellent plan Mariette 🙂
Hello! Since it’s for the month, I’ll make five. One each week and a bonus! I’ve been wanting to use up some pantry goods and with a glance, I see a few Im interested in: red lentil risotto, tuna fried rice and shakshuka jumped out at me. I will go thru it more carefully soon.
Love the idea of one a week Laura – brilliant!
I’m going to try 3 Plan-B meals.
Wonderful Diane!
I’d like a week worth – say 5 – in case there is a week that goes totally off the rails or where I can’t hit the store.
A Plan B-ish meal I’ve been loving (so I’ve already got one!) is the Minimalist Minestrone. The zuchinni and pesto normally keep more than a week so it’s not totally plan B but not meat I’ve defrosted or something else with a hard timeline so it can flex on what night we fix it.
Excellent Amy!
I was thinking of including the minestrone here but didn’t because of the zucchini 🙂
Besides a Frittata I’m lacking in the Plan B department.
Would also like to stock some Plan B essentials in my pantry.
I’m in for 2 meals!
Awesome Leesa!
I will commit to one meal. I have just done a big shop! But with the lock down it will be good to have some plan “B” recipes
Fantastic Denise 🙂
Busy week for me, so will commit to one meal.
Brilliant Bella! And we’re going to be running it all month
Hi Jules,
With lockdowns/restrictions etc. pantry meals is a great and timely idea. I’ll start with one meal and plan to work up.
thanks
Erica
Sounds like a plan Erica 🙂
Looking forward to it as I need this. I will start with 1 meal. I can then try the others as I go and add to my favourites.
1 is the perfect place to start Anna 🙂
We have a pantry cupboard full of things bought on health kick whims- for which I’ve long forgotten the recipe or intent, so if you have something for red sorghum, soya beans, barley kernels or bourghal or red quinoa, I’m in! ( not all in the one dish :). )
That would be an interesting dish Ruth 🙂
Actually for this challenge I’m not really using any of those grains.
But I do have some recipes on the site for quinoa (which are really good) and barley – just do a search and they’ll pop up.
Would love to join in!
Brilliant Nikki
Wonderful idea, Jules! Pantry meals are always a good thing to depend on for emergencies and surprises.
Yes Kathy!
I’d love to join in and I will make two meals. Hopefully there are some that can be made vegan as I’ll be cottaging with a friend that is vegan.
You should be able to make some vegan – apart from the egg ones Jenny. Enjoy your ‘cottaging’ – that sounds fun!
What does Pantry mean exactly? Does freezer count? – and is it possible to do “Pantry” without preservatives? I think Pantry/Plan B is a great idea, but eating preservatives isn’t appealing.
YES Sandra!
Fridge and freezer totally count. Any ingredient which lasts for longer than a month or two – so even fresh cabbage is OK.
And yes it’s totally possible to do it without preservatives.
Drying, canning, freezing and cryovaccing are all methods to preserve food without using chemical preservatives.
Actually I don’t think any of the ingredients I’ve used contain preservatives – apart from maybe the sun dried tomatoes.
Thanks for asking the question
Jx
Just what I need Jules! I was planning a pantry week for this week, but then the new meal plan came out and I wanted to cook every.single.thing! So really, it’s a bonus that I put my good pantry intentions on hold because I’m ready to join the challenge! I’m going ambitious with 4 meals (plus side salads to get my fresh veg fix).
Great minds Matilda 🙂
I’ll go for 2 recipes. Looking forward to seeing the list!
Fantastic Allison!
Hi Jules, I like challenges – I usually learn a lot. Looking forward to trying say 3 of the recipes but could add more over time.
Great idea! Heather
oh yay Heather!
Challenges are fun aren’t they.
And I’m working on some new plan B recipes at the moment so will definitely be running the challenge again
Looking for new “Plan B” meals. I just added my son to my household (he’s grown) and he likes his carbs. Heretofore my go-to meals have been ones like cheesy chickpeas. Not enough to satisfy him. So new recipes are needed. I plan to try at least 3.
You could always do cheesey chickpeas and toss in some pasta for his serve Diane – I do that for my boys all the time.
I hope to try 2 meals. I’ve been slow at catching on to all this. 🙂
You’re not slow at all Susan – there’s no rush. You’re exactly where you need to be 🙂
I could use 3-5 meals. My pantry is overflowing as a result of overstocking last year and I need a few great meals to get the food into regular rotation. It’s great to be prepared, but it’s more useful to have a plan for taking advantage of the abundance. Looking forward to choosing some new favorites.
Brilliant Lynn
I’ll try for three and see how I do. I could use a few good and quick, no brainer meals! Looking forward to it!
Excellent Jessica!
I’m going to start small with one recipe, as I rarely cook. Maybe this will help get me going! Thanks
Starting small is the very best place to start Mira 🙂
Ooh sounds interesting, I use quite a few go-to quick meals, but not sure what pantry meals are now that we don’t eat pasta! Hope there aren’t too many tinned tuna options though, as those are never my favourite.
Going to go for 3 meals and anything more is a bonus!
There are plenty of idea that don’t involve tuna Sue 🙂
Looking forward to more pantry meals! Especially ones that can also be very flexible as far as the veggie component. I often have carrots, kohlrabi or such that get forgotten. I go to Plan B about twice a week.
Yay for plan B Murphy 🙂
I will not be cooking again until starting August 3, but I’m very interested to see what recipes you recommend as pantry ideas. At this point most of my pantry meals are breakfast, with a couple of lunches thrown into the mix. So getting some dinner ideas would be good. I plan to check out your list and then add in recipes as I have a place for them.
You can do this challenge any time Susan – so it will wait until you’re ready 🙂
Challenges are fun for me! Thanks Jules. I’ll try 5-7 recipes and try to use up my over-stuffed pantry and freezers.
Excellent Nan – planning more challenges in the future too 🙂
This is great! I’d like to try for 5 but I’d be happy with 3 meals. Looking forward to the recipes!
Fantastic Michele
I would like to have a week’s worth of pantry/freezer easy meals at hand. I live in a very rural area and the Covid Delta variant is spreading in the southern US. I have a lot of supplies stored that I need to start using – this is a great idea!
Excellent Linda!
I would like to try 5 meals, I want to add more meals to my repertoire. I am repeating too often!
Fantastic Elizabeth!
It would be very handy to have up to 7 or more plan b meals. I live out of town on a farm in snow country
I live out of town as well Megan 🙂
Great idea! looking forward to trying the new dinner recipes ?
GReat Valerie – how many will you try?
I think Ill try 3-4 dinners
Great Valerie!
Wonderful idea! My pantry is in sad shape. It would be great to have quick access to 3-5 recipes I have tried and all the ingredients to prepare. Thanks.
Fantastic Laura!
Inspiring idea. Also good to motivate me to put a more functional order in the pantry! I d love to have 4-5 pantry based meal recipes.
Excellent Maria!
I would like to have 5 Plan B meals for the days when life doesn’t go as planned.
Excellent Lori 🙂
It would be great to have 3-5 PLan B meals for the days I work late and haven’t thought about dinner for the crowd (so I guess it becomes to the Plan A? 🙂 .
Excllent Sharon – maybe we need a plan A challenge next 🙂
Good idea, I will try some new recipe for the days when no time/possibility for shopping fresh!
Brilliant Christy!
Hi Jules,
I’d like to have 5 – 8 Plan B meals to use as lunches for our family 🙂
Peri x
Excellent Peri! And thanks for being the first to join the challenge