This week is low in fat and calories, and gives options for family members who do not want to restrict calories. If you want to lose a little weight for the summer, or are trying to lower your cholesterol, there are a few options noted. You can check the packages, but a whole grain English muffin is usually lower in calories and higher in fiber than a hamburger bun. On Day 5, have the salad with the Marinated Tofu Cubes instead of the Crispy Fried Tofu Cubes, and a small amount of the barley will fill you the rest of the way up and be healthier than a piece of bread. On the day when you serve the Vegetable Sauté, have a bowl of cashews, almonds or sunflower seeds on the table for family members to add to their meal if they want some extra calories.

About making the Mentsuyu, or soup base for the Udon Noodles:  We’ll be using this again in the summer for cold Soba, and one batch will keep for a long time. There is a reason why I looked for this recipe for ten years, and why it is one of the most popular posts on the blog. People search for this recipe every day. It is really good, and well worth making if you can get to a store with a decent Asian specialty department to get the mirin. If you already have mirin, I’d try using it if I couldn’t get hon mirin; it would have to be worth a shot.

Spring

Week 1

Day 1
Pasta Verde
Calories 388
Fat 9.9
Fiber 10.2

Day 2 – Vegan with egg substitute in burgers
Bean Burgers
Calories 137
Fat 2.6
Fiber 6.1
Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”
Calories 81
Fat 1.2
Fiber 2
Steamed Green Beans
Whole grain Hamburger Bun or English muffin
Condiments

Day 3 – Vegan
Fresh Vegetable Sauté

Day 4 – Vegan
Spring Udon Soup

Day 5 – Vegan
Barley with Asparagus and Peas

Crispy Fried Tofu Cubes
Or
Salad with Marinated Tofu Cubes
For shopping list, download document here or see….

Shopping List

Produce

4 oz. enoki mushrooms
1 large carrot
about 2 inches daikon radish
greens, such as kale or chard
Green Beans
Greens and salad ingredients
2 – 2 ½ cups assorted seasonal vegetables per (full-sized) person (Check what you have – this is for the vegetable sauté, which is good for using up what you’ve got on hand.)
Lettuce or sprouts and tomato for burgers
2 medium onions
1.25 lb. dark orange or garnet sweet potatoes
garlic
1 large shallot
1 ½ lb. spinach
asparagus
1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh basil (1 teaspoon dried)
fresh tarragon, chervil, mint, lemon thyme, dill or parsley
1/2 cup parsley

Pantry

olive oil
sunflower or sesame oil
cup apple cider vinegar
low fat salad dressing – Chinese or Asian style
1 to 1 1/2 pounds linguini or fettuccini
cooked beans (one 14 oz can)
or 1 cup dried beans or lentils
rolled oats
grain for serving with stir fry
4 bundles udon noodles
1 cup pearl barley
vegetable stock (optional)
1 cup flaked nutritional yeast
1/2 cup wheat germ
garlic powder
curry powder or spice mix of your choice
cumin, oregano and coriander, or mixture of your favorite spices
1 nutmeg seed
Japanese red chili pepper (optional)
good quality dark soy sauce – San-J tamari is good
{mirin (hon mirin, the kind with alcohol in it, is preferred)
granulated or superfine white sugar}
Or
Kikkoman Memmi soup base

Dairy

3 1/2 cups firm tofu
1 cup ricotta cheese (low fat will reduce the calories by a little)
freshly grated parmesan
1 egg
8 oz. soft (silken) tofu

Freezer

frozen peas

Bakery

Whole grain Hamburger Buns or English Muffins

Notes

Honmirin is regular mirin, which is fortified sake, with alcohol content. There is also mirin cho-miryo- or mirin flavoring, which is alcohol-free mirin. The better quality mirins only come as hon mirin.

Decide which sauce you will be using for the stir fry and check the ingredients list for what you will need.