Example 7 day shopping list:

apples

oranges

bananas

corn (on the cob)

bag yellow/Yukon gold potatoes

onions

peppers

broccoli

blueberries

Cheerios

Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

brown rice

canned black beans, cannelloni beans and chickpeas

BBQ sauce

Frank’s hot sauce

soy sauce

corn starch

nutritional yeast

Wasa crackers or Whole wheat matos

Almond milk

extra firm tofu

frozen peas corn carrot mix

frozen corn (if corn on cob not available)

frozen peas

Planning your meals:

You already know it is important to choose food you like. As you look down this menu, you might be wondering where is the lasagna, pizza , chili and hot dogs she promised? It is built into this system that you can substitute those recipes and build a custom menu beyond my foundational one.

I hope you give this simple food system a try. It will help you have quick food access, flexibility, and taste security by having two or three meal options available at all times. You can easily incorporate whatever other recipes you are interested in and come up with your own menu plan, or follow this example.

Choose your meals: I cook for three and we all eat a little different. This may or may not apply to you. This is a typical week of meals for a crowd of three or more.

I used a variety of cooking methods but I admit a modern pressure cooker/instant pot is my favorite tool for easy food.

Before I had that, I used a rice maker, microwave or the stove top method. I like the convenience of the air fryer but you can also crisp foods by roasting them in the oven.

BFF Menu Plan Example: my 7 day eating and cooking schedule

Day 1

7am Breakfast: leftover Cheerios with blueberries and plant milk

9am: Make grocery trip- buy and unload.

11am Instant Pot: Batch cook 1 bag of yellow potatoes, with 2 cups water, 8 min, high pressure. This process takes 1/2 hour to complete. There is a keep warm option on Instant pot. I wait until I am ready to eat to open the Instant pot. I set leftover potatoes out to dry and store them in fridge.

Boil 6 cups water in 8 cup stock pot. Once boiling, add 6 cobs of shucked corn. Cook on stove 10-15 min. Set on platter to cool. Store in fridge.

12:00pm Lunch: steamed potatoes with BBQ sauce, corn on the cob

5pm: Start Rice Maker or Instant Pot: batch cook rice, 2 cups, 3 cups water. While that cooks, water saute cut up veggies on stove. You can add spices or sauces during cooking or after.

6pm Dinner: rice with saute veggie stir fry, terriyaki sauce or hot sauce.

anytime snacks: oranges, apple, bowl of whole grain cereal, leftovers, hummus and crackers, corn on the cob etc.

I like to eat a snack mid morning around 10 and early evening around 7pm.

Day 2

6:30am Instant Pot: batch cook 2 cups oatmeal, 4 cups water, rice setting 3 minutes.

7am Breakfast: Fresh oatmeal with added blueberries,sweetener- optional, and plant milk

12:00 pm Lunch: microwave leftover rice with sauteed veggies, terriyaki or LaCHoy Asian veggies (from a can).

4:30 pm- Instant Pot: put soup starter legumes, broth, frozen veggies and spices in instant pot. Add more water if thinner soup desired. Set veggie soup to cook for 8 min, high pressure, natural release. It takes about 20 min total until the lid can be opened.

4:40 pm- Meanwhile, I will prepare potatoes. Cut up leftover steamed potatoes into wedges, season with seasoning salt and nutritional yeast, crisp, on parchment, in air fryer 400F, 20 min.

5pm: Soup is done and cooling. I make second batch of potatoes and start 400F, 20 min cycle.

(you can store potatoes in 250F oven to keep warm, if desired.)

5:10 pm- Clean broccoli and cook/steam with water on stove or in microwave. 8 min.

5:20 Heat up corn on the cob.

5:30 pm- Eat Dinner: Veggie soup, crackers, crispy air fried potatoes, steamed broccoli, corn on cob

snack: Frozen banana nice cream (in freezer from leftover bananas and fruit)

Day 3

7am Breakfast: oatmeal with banana and plant milk

12:00 pm Lunch: soup with added diced steamed potato, crackers

4:45pm Make savory Rice Casserole in Oven -1 hr. cook time

5:45pm Take casserole out of oven. Let cool at least 10 min. Reheat broccoli or make fresh.

6pm Dinner: savory rice casserole, steamed broccoli

Day 4

7am Breakfast :microwave oatmeal, cut up banana, add plant milk

12:00pm Lunch: Microwave soup with crackers and/or savory rice casserole

5:00 -start Dinner: make crispy air fried potatoes,microwave leftovers or make a new quick recipe?

Day 5

7am Breakfast: microwave oatmeal with frozen blueberries, or add fresh after. add sweetener and plant based milk.

12:00 pm Lunch: microwave soup with crackers or pick up vegan sushi from Publix, or leftovers

4:30- Cut up potatoes and veggies (carrots, zucchini, onion, pepper, etc. ) season with pickle juice and rosemary. Add 2 cups water. Roast in oven for one 1hr.

I also sometimes roast cut up yams and apples, with cinnamon, 1/2 cups raisin and 2 c water, and cook it on different rack at the same time and the veggie potatoes. I check on them for desired doneness, after the first 1/2 hour and at 10 min or less intervals after that.

Set to cool on stove. Cover to keep warm.

6pm Dinner: roasted potatoes with carrots and onions

8pm snack or meal; good hot or cold: roasted yams and apples

Day 6

7am Breakfast: Cheerios with apples and cinnamon, plant milk

12:00 pm Lunch: microwave leftover steamed or roasted potatoes

5pm- check for leftover rice or make fresh rice in instant pot or rice maker. add brussel sprouts to rice cooker/steamer. Start air frying seasoned tofu in air fryer. (I would prepare tofu after lunch to prep it for dinner.)

5:30 pm- Dinner: rice with brussel sprouts and/or air fried tofu nuggets, teriyaki sauce

Day 7

7am Breakfast: Cheerios with plant milk

12:00pm Lunch: microwave soup with crackers

5:30pm Dinner: microwave leftovers

7pm.snack: optional: use leftover apples blueberries to make apple berry cobbler