Weekly Meal Plan: 6 amazing meals from Black food bloggers you should totally be following

Editor’s Note: To say that this past week has been an especially hard one is an understatement — particularly for our Black friends, family, neighbors, and readers. We have always done our best on this site to be inclusive in different ways: by amplifying diverse voices and sharing perspectives from diverse moms and women; promoting gifts from Black-owned shops and restaurants in our gift guides, as well as gifts that support vulnerable communities; discussing issues impacting non-white communities as it relates to food; and sharing authentic recipes from different cultures.

It’s not a premise that’s new to us, though we know we do a lot more, and we will.

So I was happy to learn that Lisa had been sourcing her meal plan for her own family from Black food bloggers this week, which she’ll share below.

Please keep up the good fight, friends. Keep reading, keep learning, keep diversifying your social feeds and putting your money into Black businesses. And that especially includes independent publishers and writers, like food bloggers, who are often supporting their families through their writing, and who generously sharing of their stories, their families, and their kitchens with us.

Don’t just bookmark these recipes — follow the creators. Amplify them. Tag them in your own photos if you make their recipes.

As Michael Twitty wrote in The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South, “Food, racism, power, and justice are linked. What I’m trying to do is dismantle culinary nutritional imperialism and gastronomic white supremacy with one cup of zobo made from hibiscus, one bowl of millet salad with groundnuts and dark green vegetables, and one piece of injera at a time.”

Let’s all keep learning, and keep doing better. – Liz

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This week has been hard, y’all. When I’m not speaking out against the unconscionable injustices I’m seeing, I definitely find myself retreating into my kitchen, because that is where I find I do may best “solving the world’s problems” thinking. I have been baking a TON, and putting extra gusto into my nightly meal plans for the family.

You can’t keep up the good fight if you’re hungry, right?

So this week, I put together a meal plan from 6 amazing Black food bloggers that you should absolutely be following and reading. And if you realize you’re looking to freshen up your Instagram feed, just a reminder that Black food bloggers are writing about more than just traditional Black American foods. There are vegetarian and vegan bloggers, dessert bloggers, baking bloggers, gluten-free bloggers, classically trained chefs and recipe testers …you name it.

So grab a pen, or open up your AnyList app or other grocery app, and let’s plan out meals for next week. And when you sit down to share a meal with your family or friends, I hope you can use that time to have real conversations about what each of us can do to make a difference, if in our own small ways.

Top: Crispy Lemon Parmesan, Garlic & Herb Tuna Patties from Whisk It Real Gud,
Easy Philly Cheesesteak from Butter Be Ready

Sweet Potato Soul: Maple Teriyaki Tofu + Veggies

Start out Meatless Monday with this ridiculous good recipe for One Pan Maple Teriyaki Tofu and Veggies from prolific blogger, vegan chef and cookbook author, Jenné Claiborne of Sweet Potato Soul. Your family will devour it — yes, including any family members who tend to be tofu-adverse. I like using extra-firm tofu, as it holds together a bit better. And overall, this recipe is amazing because you can use whatever veggies you have on hand and use up what’s in your fridge. If your farmer’s markets are open, take advantage of the spring bounty with veggies like asparagus, leeks, and a fun variety of mushrooms.

Follow: @sweetpotatosoul

A Classic Twist: Shredded BBQ Chicken Nachos

Taco Tuesday is a thing for us, and by a thing, I mean my family expects a version of tacos on Tuesday every single week. This week, change it up with these Shredded BBQ Chicken Nachos from Zainab at A Classic Twist. My kids LOVE when I put a huge tray of nachos in the middle of the table for dinner. (I mean really, who doesn’t love that?). I like to double or even triple the amount of chicken I cook in the crockpot, so that I have an easy lunch solution for sandwiches or salads or even more nachos for lunches during the week.

Follow: @aclassictwistblog

Butter Be Ready: Easy Philly Cheesesteak

I have been nostalgic for a good Philly cheesesteak lately. Every summer, for as long as I can remember, my family has traveled to Philly for my daughter’s lacrosse tournament and eating a real cheesesteak is always part of the itinerary. This summer, that trip isn’t happening, so I need to fill my food fantasy here at home. This Easy Philly Cheesesteak recipe from Quinn at Butter Be Ready is about as authentic as it gets — Even though Quinn is living in Tampa, even our own Philly native here approves of her recipe. I suggest you wrap them in some foil, serve with potato chips, and bring them outside to eat, just like you’d do if you were at Pat’s or Geno’s.

Follow: @butterbeready

Whisk it Real Gud: Crispy Tuna Patties with Lemon Parmesan, Garlic & Herbs

Back in March, I stocked up on cans of tuna because I panic shopped (tip: don’t panic shop), only to realize about 3 weeks into sheltering-at-home that….drumroll…my kids do not like tuna sandwiches. So I was super excited to find this excellent tuna fish cake recipe from April at Whisk it Real Gud. The Crispy Lemon Parmesan, Garlic & Herb Tuna Patties are so freaking good that I have to double the recipe. Seriously, my 16-year-old son can down about five of them in 15 minutes flat. Freeze any leftover cooked patties (should you have them) and they make a super easy lunch your kids can reheat themselves later in the week.

Follow: @whiskitrealgud

The Hungry Hutch: Denver Omelet Tater Tot Casserole

The other night, my son declared Tater Tots were his favorite meal. (Don’t judge; we may have just eaten two bags of tater tots for dinner last week.) So this week, I am stepping it up a notch for him, thanks to this recipe for Denver Omelet Tater Tot Casserole from Aaron Hutcherson The Hungry Hutch. I think of it as a one-pot breakfast-for-dinner crowd pleaser. (And you know we like breakfast for dinner around here.) Serve with a huge bowl of fruit — and a bottle of ketchup, of course. Or if you really want to be the winner of dinner, make some Rainbow Salsa to serve with it.

Follow: @thehungryhutch

Brown Sugar: Stuffed French Toast with Strawberries

Saturday morning has always been pancake morning for us, but this week I am switching it up with this Stuffed French Toast with Strawberries recipe from Nicole Nares-Washington, AKA Brown Sugar Mama. Definitely use Challah bread, and if your kids don’t love cream cheese, you can change out the filling for Nutella or even bananas.

Follow: @brownsugarfoodblogger

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I put our weekly meals plans together based on food I am actually cooking for my family, and with you in mind. If you have suggestions, tips or recommendations for recipes or other food bloggers I should check out, please comment here, or shoot me a message in our Recipe Rescue group on Facebook. And if you need some company in your kitchen while you are cooking, turn on our SPAWNED podcast, like I do! It will feel like Kristen and Liz are sitting at your counter, sharing a glass of wine and good conversation while you whip up dinner. – Lisa