I've been hoping to focus on meals that don't depend on using substitutes, with few things out of a box. I'm hoping to do more meals using various types of plant food as the star of the dish, including fresh veggies (preferably in season). Also, would like them to be fairly simple without needing lots of different ingredients that might not get used often and will end up needing to be tossed out. Am I dreaming? 
Yeah, I know... I need to develop a whole new way of thinking about food preparation. When I was growing up, veggies were a side dish, came out of the freezer - and were usually over-cooked. Yeccch! No frozen veggies for me, but I still have lots to learn!
Seems like the biggest challenge I have is finding meals that are filling, while keeping starchy foods and soy (not good for me) to a minimum. For me, the key may be in keeping those things to a minimum vs. eliminating them altogether, and perhaps doing the same thing with eggs and poultry. Soups do sound like a great way to go (until weather gets warm again), so I think I'm going to work on expanding my repertoire there, for now. With a salad, makes a nice, varied meal.
BTW, I cooked a big turkey over the holidays, cut it up and froze pieces in sizes that would get used up within a few days. (Comes in very handy during weeks I don't have time to cook.) With the carcass, I made a great soup with sliced onions and garlic, lots of interesting spices, and garbanzos, using a recipe I got from someone years ago. This time (first time ever) I used fresh garbanzos - or chick peas - instead of canned. It was much easier than I thought, just requiring a little bit of advanced planning. (So many benefits to not opening a can...!) Very tasty, very filling and when not frozen, makes for an easy, quick meal. Sometimes I throw in a bit of cooked brown rice, to add a little variety and get more meals out of a batch.
I have another recipe I like that's kind of like a chili, but with a variety of different beans. To those of you with more experience, can I throw a bunch of different types of dried beans all together in one pot for overnight soaking? That would make it much easier to completely get away from opening cans, with all the sodium, chemicals, etc. (Probably a lot less expensive, too.)
I think lentils are another great food to eat more of. Might be interesting to learn to make some Indian and Asian dishes... 
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