Whether you’re budgeting, social distancing, under quarantine, or weathering out a natural disaster (hello hurricane towns), it’s nice to know that you can survive off of these pantry meals for about 4 weeks and not need to make many (if any) return trips to the grocery store.
Many of these ingredients and recipes are vegetarian and gluten-free. That’s because beans are more affordable and are easier to store than meat is! But I promise you that they’re still full of flavor and as much health as possible.
I don’t mind eating the same thing a few days in a row when it comes to breakfast and lunch. But dinner needs to be new each night, for me. So this menu follows that pattern.
Grocery Shopping
Open this editable spreadsheet and add your groceries or edit as needed!
Four Weeks of Meals
Week One
- Breakfasts: Hardboiled egg, toast, a smoothie, coffee
- Lunches: Sandwiches (Peanut butter and jelly, lunch meat and cheese, or grilled cheese)
- Dinner #1: Homemade black bean patties and potatoes cut into slices, for french fries.
- Dinner #2: Vegan black bean quesadillas with a side of seasoned rice
- Dinner #3: Macaroni and cheese with frozen or canned peas and a side of steamed broccoli
- Dinner #4: Spaghetti and Vegan Meatballs
- Dinner #5: Seasoned rice, Mexican black beans, tortilla chips or fritos, and salsa
- Dinner #6: Chicken noodle soup (from a can or box), and homemade bread
- Dinner #7: Greek Chickpeas and Rice with Lemon and Tahini
Adjustments
Week Two
- Is no freezer or refrigerator available? Switch out your smoothie for these greens or Carnation Breakfast Essentials.
- It’s hard to stock vegetables like mushrooms, so just omit those or use a similar vegetable that you have on hand, when necessary.
As always, feel free to substitute or change up any meals that you don’t enjoy. In these four weeks of meals, you can easily repeat meals from week to week or every other week.
- Breakfasts: Oatmeal with sliced almonds and coconut shreds, coffee
- Lunches: Sandwiches (Peanut butter and jelly or homemade tuna salad) or ramen noodles
- Dinner #1: Vegan chili with homemade bread
- Dinner #2: “Fancy” ramen noodles
- Dinner #3: Black bean & chickpea tacos (look. up a recipe or just season a mix of black beans, chickpeas, and a can of diced tomatoes with tacos seasoning)
- Dinner #4: Homemade pizza (Use a jar of pizza sauce, make your own crust, and top with veggies, cheese, and/or pepperoni)
- Dinner #5: Tomato soup and grilled cheese
- Dinner #6: Black beans seasoned with barbecue sauce, served with homemade bread and green beans
- Dinner #7: A pasta dish, wilted kale (or can of veggies), served with homemade garlic bread
Week Three
- Breakfasts: Homemade pancakes and oatmeal or grits
- Lunches: Leftovers, Sandwiches, Ramen Noodles, or Soups
- Dinner #1: “Fancy” Ramen Noodles
- Dinner #2: Cheddar Broccoli Potato Soup with homemade bread
- Dinner #3: Spaghetti with vegan “meat” sauce (use lentils to replace the meat)
- Dinner #4: Mexican Black Bean Quinoa Casserole
- Dinner #5: Pesto pasta with steamed broccoli
- Dinner #6: Veggie fried rice with homemade black bean burgers
- Dinner #7: Chinese Chow Mein
Week Four
- Breakfasts: Quinoa breakfast bowls
- Lunches: Leftovers, ramen, or sandwiches
- Dinner #1: Vegan Chili and homemade bread
- Dinner #2: Spaghetti noodles topped with leftover vegan chili
- Dinner #3: Veggie or chicken pot pie
- Dinner #4: Loaded baked potatoes
- Dinner #5: “Fancy” Ramen Noodles
- Dinner #6: Herbed Lemon Quinoa and roasted sweet potatoes
- Dinner #7: Tinfoil packets with whatever you have and seasoning. For example, Sweet potatoes, black beans, and ranch seasoning. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and enjoy!
