Dear Friend,
Here is your weekly meal plan and shopping list!
This week, you’ll have carrots on hand for making Monday’s Lentil Soup. Those show up again on Thursday night as a side dish for French Toast — you can serve them with a favorite dip if you like, or even with a little peanut butter. You can also serve cherry tomatoes that night if you have more than you need for Friday’s pasta dish. Please note that the pasta dish calls for orzo, which is pasta shaped like rice; you can use a different short pasta shape, like pastina or elbow noodles, if you prefer.
Green beans also show up twice, once on Wednesday when you can steam them and serve with burgers, and again in pasta on Friday. Shredded cheese is an ingredient you’ll use all week long, in tostadas, burgers and French Toast, so we recommend making things easier and more cost-effective by using the same type of cheese for all three — that way, you can buy a large bag or block of cheese, which tends to be more budget-friendly.
Finally, while the French Toast recipe recommends using thick-cut challah or brioche bread, it’s not necessary to seek those out. We recommend buying a single large loaf of a cost-effective bread your family likes (sandwich bread is fine) and using it to accompany the Lentil Soup and to make the French Toast.
Please note that the recipes provided may serve different numbers of people. The shopping list is built from the recipes, so depending on the size of your family, you may need more or less of some ingredients. Remember to check the serving sizes before you shop so you can adjust your list to work for your family!