Or, what to cook in your combi steam oven, March 20-26, 2023
Welcome to the latest instalment of The Steam Oven Meal Plan for real people!
New to this blog series? Check out the first Steam Oven Meal Plan for notes about how I do my meal planning and cooking, or just dive on in and add this week’s ingredients to your shopping list!
I use my combi steam oven pretty much every day, but I also include links to other recipes I’m cooking, from all around the web. This is the closest you’ll get to actually being in my kitchen and having dinner with us!
A steam oven meal plan with lots of salad and lots of snacks
Today’s steam oven meal plan is mostly about salad-y and meat free dinners, and snacks I can make ahead of time. My kids love to snack and I’ve been finding myself buying a lot of pre-packaged stuff recently. I don’t mind some easy grab-and-go foods, but the mountain of packaging gets me down and it’s definitely more expensive than making your own.
Because of that, you’ll find a few lunchbox-friendly snacks thrown in this week; I’m hoping by double-batching I’ll have quick, filling and appealing snacks ready to go until the end of term in a few weeks time.
There’s not much meat in the mix this week. What can I say; sometimes we have it a few times in a week, sometimes barely at all! You’ll still find plenty of protein-rich dinner options, they just aren’t based around red meat this week.
Happy cooking, see you here again soon.
Monday
Leftover sausage rolls from the freezer tonight. These are our favourite vegetarian sausage rolls (the kids don’t even know they’re vegetarian, they’re just ‘the ones Mom makes’).
I’m also kicking off the week making some protein-packed snack balls for myself and the kids. I occasionally buy a peanut choc chip protein ball as a filling treat, but they run about $3 each, which is crazy considering I can make about two dozen of them for roughly $10. The recipes below are delicious and adaptable; the loose plan is that the oatmeal balls are mine and the apricot ones will be for the kids (they’re nut free so can go in lunchboxes).
Tuesday
I have sous vide chicken in the freezer, so a Caesar salad is a no-brainer dinner! I like to bump up the vegetable content of this salad, using cubed roasted pumpkin and steamed or roasted broccoli to play with the crunch of the lettuce and croutons.
Wednesday
A quick batch of muffins in the morning means the kids will have one of their favorite snacks at recess, plus there’ll be lots for the freezer.
Dinner is salty savory rice with fried eggs and lots of pickled vegetables.
Thursday
I’m not sure what the kids will have tonight (probably last night’s rice leftovers), but I’ve been craving this cauliflower salad for weeks. Plus, we’ve been gifted a huge pomegranate that I can garnish it with, so it’ll be as pretty as the picture.
Friday
Friday fish! I don’t partake in Lent, but I’m happy to have fish anytime. A quick crumb topping and home made sweet potato fries should make everyone happy.
Weekend
We have a couple of families coming over this weekend, and my husband will be breaking out the smoker for barbecued pork or beef. That’ll take care of at least two meals, and we’ll supplement with soft and fluffy potato rolls, a huge garden salad and – wait for it – the most amazing baked brie and mushrooms from Smitten Kitchen. A big hunk of perfectly smoked meat and an oozy, melty baked cheese, friends, is what entertaining is all about.
