October is a beautiful month. Both in the US (where I am currently) and back at home in India, October is a month of celebrations. In the US, October means pumpkin delights, spiced lattes, falls leaves and Halloween preparations. In India, October is the month of celebrating 9-days of Navratri, of non-stop Garba, Durga puja, Dussehra, finally culminating in the grand celebrations of Diwali! It is the month when everyone puts all their dieting plans aside and indulges in Diwali sweets and savories.
What’s your favorite of all desserts?
Sometimes I wonder how did different cultures choose their festivals? In India, Diwali signifies the return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after defeating Ravan. It is the victory of good over evil. It is also the beginning of the winter season. The rains have just stopped, the weather is still humid but the temperatures are getting cooler and right after Diwali, there usually is a significant drop in temperatures. So it could also be that in ancient times these festivals were decided with the cycle of seasons. Maybe? I am just writing out aloud 🙂
What do you think?
October Happenings!
Over here October has been a month of making with new friends and immersing in some handmade crafts along with the weekly SEL classes at school with deep learnings for myself in every class. Here are a few reflections from this month. Like always if you wish to jump directly to the 1-week vegan meal plan simply click here.
(re)Connect
A lot of people ask me how do you do it? How do you move every 2 years and start a community again? It is not easy but it is not difficult either and I have felt this very need to build new connections every few years has changed and helped me come out of my introvert self.
This month I organized and also went to a lot of gatherings — a coffee morning, a baking class, a museum outing, a laughter yoga session… just about everything that appealed to me 🙂 But the most amazing thing was connecting with own neighbor. In my intention to connect with more people, I started staying back in the common areas of the building a little more and engaged in conversations with anyone who would want to stay back a little as well and this led to a beautiful unfolding with my own next-door neighbor and now we often get together for a simple cup of chai!
Art from Heart (heArt)
I love crafting but it’s been some time since I set myself for some quiet time with my pens and papers. This month I decided to go back to some heArt activities and made different gifts from embroidered cards to painted stones. With Diwali, being so close soon it will be time for sharing gifts till the New Year and nothing is better than a handmade delight.
Click here for some delicious food as gifts idea!
Bowing to Emergence
The SEL classes with children have been a real opportunity to learn from. Sometimes I wonder who is the student and who is the teacher. There is no real boundary between us and these sessions are more of a co-learning space. My latest lesson was to let go and bow to the emergence! As an educator, I am so trained to be prepared with lesson plans. But recently I re-learned that nature has it’s own rhythm regardless of human plans. Some days it is too hot and somedays it is too rainy to be outside and yet at somedays kids just want to be outside despite the mess rain left behind!
7-Day Vegan Meal Plan
…and now on to this month’s weekly vegan meal plan! The first week to 10 days of October was pretty hot but soon after there was a sudden drop in temperature. Over here we had a difference of more than 10ºC in a day. Within a week, I shifted from cold salads to warm soups! Also, it’s the month of all the hearty fall vegetables — pumpkins, squashes, beetroot, and carrots. We are going in a pretty red and orange theme for this month’s meal plan. I hope it gives you ideas for your meal planning!
The table below has links to most recipes. If any dish doesn’t have a recipe and if you would like to know anything about it, do connect with me through the comments. Click here to download the meal plan with grocery list and prep notes.
| BREAKFAST | LUNCH | DINNER | SNACKS (for in-between meals) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MONDAY | Baked Oatmeal | Tomato toast | Multigrain Khichdi | Cookies and fruits |
| TUESDAY | Besan ka cheela (chickpea flour vegan pancake) | Beans and Sweet potato Salad | Carrot & Parsnip Soup and bread | Roasted Acorn Slices |
| WEDNESDAY | Almond yogurt Granola bowl | Leftover Carrot Soup | Rajma Curry, Brown Rice, and Fennel & Radish Salad | Sweet Potato Wedges |
| THURSDAY | Blueberry Oatmeal | Veg stir fry with leftover rice | Sweet Potato and Peas, Yellow Moong Dal, and Bajra Roti | Bread Slice with nut butter |
| FRIDAY | Pumpkin & Oatmeal Smoothie [use pumpkin purée instead of banana] | Pita wrap with leftover sweet potato & peas sabzi | Quinoa Salad | Guacamole and chips |
| SATURDAY | BRUNCH red rice poha and Fruit Smoothie | Assorted vegetable pita pockets with Hummus | Date bars Fresh fruits | |
| SUNDAY | BRUNCH Aloo Paratha and mango lassi | Eat Out | Anything you wish (Chips/ cookies/ date bars/ fruits/ nuts...) |
Access more meal plans here.
Connect with me
If you try this meal plan or any of the recipes here a try, I would really love to know. Tag your picture with #weekendkitchen on Instagram or connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and/or Pinterest.
Or join our newest (and a little slow) journey into Recipe Videos.
Leave a Reply