2 Dishes, 5 Days

It seems like I'm always starting my blog posts with, "Brett and I just got back in town" OR "Brett and I are about to head out of town again." This post won't be much different either, because it's true. Brett and I just got back from Virginia on Sunday and are heading to New York City on Friday. This month has been a whirlwind. Thankfully the craziness of it all doesn't seem to affect Brett and me and we're always excited for our next trip. 

Since we weren't going to be home for very long, I decided to make a couple main dishes that Brett and I could eat throughout the week. The theme ended up being Mediterranean. On Monday I made a big batch of tabbouleh with quinoa and chickpeas, baked falafel and some cranberry apple muffins for easy snacks on the go. I wanted something that could be versatile so we wouldn't get sick of it by the end of the week. Tabbouleh and falafel are easy to stuff inside a pita, eat over-top of a salad or enjoy plain so I figured they were a good choice. 

I made some freshly ground Guatemalan coffee to drink while I cooked up a storm. Enjoy some pics of my "What I ate Monday...while meal prepping". 

Breakfast:

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes

Oh man. These turned out great! 

Since we had just gotten back from being out of town we didn't have many groceries available for breakfast. I whipped up these beauts and Brett and I started our day happy and full.

Lunch:

After breakfast I picked up groceries for the week and then started cooking away.

Can I just say that I cooked dried beans for the first time this week?

It took awhile, but was so easy and one cheap bag made a bunch of beans!

I also love knowing that there is no added salt in these bad boys like when I buy them from a can.

Look at how pretty!

I used the chick peas I cooked make one of Brett and my favorite dishes: 

Tabbouleh Salad with Quinoa and Chickpeas from the Forks Over Knives cookbook.

I haven't made many recipes from that cookbook yet, but this is the second time I've made this salad.

I enjoyed some tabbouleh salad over spinach as I relaxed by our friends pool.

Rough.

Before I dug in I topped my salad with some baked falafel fresh out of the oven.

They had great flavor, but I stuck the rest back in the oven for a few more minutes because these were still a little mushy on the inside.

I haven't had the greatest experience with meatless balls since going vegan. 

They usually turn out a little mushy.

I'm gonna keep trying though!

I also whipped up some Cranberry Apple Muffins.

The smell of these muffins makes me so nostalgic. 

My mom always made them when I was growing up and they are the first memory I have of making muffins on my own. 

I made some substitutions to "veganize" them and they turned out great!

Brett ate two as soon as they came out of the oven.

Recipe coming soon!

I had to try one too!

Dinner:

For dinner it was more Tabbouleh, chickpeas and falafel.

Hopefully we won't be sick of Mediterranean food by the end of the week!

Head over to peasandcrayons, hosted by Jenn, to get some delicious creativity from others!