sunday: our beloved grill and chill ritual
no grilling this week!
rice + naan + fruit
monday: sandwiches
why we love a weekly sandwich night
grilled ham and cheese on brett’s sourdough bread
the best tomato soup, pulled from the freezer
I froze the soup in these containers
here’s how I freeze + thaw soups
see full list of how I prepped for baby #2 here
see full list of what I froze for postpartum here
strawberry spinach salad or apple pecan salad with creamy lemon dressing
big bowl of fruit
tuesday: something easy
pulled from the freezer - more details on how I freeze this in the below link
see full list of what I froze for postpartum here
strawberry spinach salad or apple pecan salad with creamy lemon dressing
big bowl of fruit
wednesday: pizza/pasta/rice
and/or roasted asparagus
and/or a big bowl of fruit
brett’s sourdough bread
thursday: something easy
slow cooker refried beans, but I omit the onion in both recipes out of personal preference, and often times I’ll use black beans in the refried beans recipe
bacon, roasted potato, cheese, salsa, tortillas, etc
or pancakes, bacon, and eggs
or build your own tostadas
I usually have all these ingredients anyway, so I’ll just see what we’re feeling that day for dinner.
friday: date night or something from the freezer
Date Night at some restaurant from our Local Places List
one of my monthly routines is to plan a Date Night or two
but here are a few other things that help us prioritize Date Night
but, tbh, we haven’t been sick in awhile, so I have a sneaking suspicion another Toddler Cold (or something!) is on the horizon. and if that be the case, we’ll postpone the date and rest at home with some of those frozen Trader Joe’s dumplings and egg rolls (or one of the options listed for Thursday’s dinner) instead. <3
saturday: snack dinner saturday or dinner with loved ones
If we’re feeling up to it, we’ll be doing our next stop of our Year of Beer for lunch! YAYY!!
And for dinner I’ll clear out the fridge and make some sort of snack platter: produce, cheese, crackers, meats, dips, whatever’s hanging around. (I could also do some frozen chicken nuggets or fish sticks or taquitos or PB&Js - nothing’s set in stone here.)
see a full list of alllll the things we love for Snack Dinner here
but know I also love Yummy Toddler Food’s Snack Dinner blogpost, too
and, and! we LOVE doing a muffin pan snack dinner like this
And really quick, here are few of my favorites for making dinner even remotely possible:
a tripp trapp chair for Baby Boy with this incredible newborn insert
aka the only way we can eat dinner as a family…and with my hands free.
and our twin-size kitchen helper stool (and a second tripp trapp chair) for our toddler
I talk more in my baby prep blogpost about how I set up my home for life with a toddler and a newborn, if you’re looking for more of my must-haves!
meal prep
i usually do a little meal prep on Sundays as a part of our Grill and Chill, but I may instead do a bit here and there throughout the week. below is the list of what I hope to meal prep this week - it may not all happen, and that's okay! even 5 minutes of prep is super beneficial.
prep some sort of dessert for the week:
see here why this is our new favorite thing for our marriage.
none this week - I’m tired!
prep some things to make eating at home this week smoother:
prep produce (like wash + destem grapes)
also make veggie box
prep gooooood salad ingredients for the week
let’s just chop up a bunch of produce to make salads like my favorite green salad, strawberry spinach salad, and/or apple pecan salad with creamy lemon dressing
we learned we eat a ton more salad 1) when it’s gooooood salad and 2) when I do the prep work for multiple salads ahead of time
(ie prep greens, cut produce, make dressing, crumble cheese, etc)
could make some Mason Jar Salads for Future Haley’s lunches, too.
make a salad dressing or two
pick up our ranch dressing for the week if needed
and/or make homemade salad dressing for this week’s salads in my favorite dressing containers
make the weekly pot of beans
for a quick dinner if I’m too tired to cook (like Our Quesadilla Dinner), for a quick lunch, and/or a quick Leftover Night option
I love to eat beans plain, with eggs, with rice, in this favorite quick breakfast/lunch of mine, as my favorite tostadas, in breakfast tacos, in quesadillas, in a bean and cheese taco, as nachos, etc etc etc
recipes I love:
instant pot black beans or slow cooker refried beans, but I omit the onion in both recipes out of personal preference, and often times I’ll use black beans in the refried beans recipe
my slow cooker pinto beans, omit sausage
freeze leftover beans in these containers
see full list of what I’m freezing for postpartum here
prep a few things for quick, easy breakfasts/snacks/lunches
pull a batch of our favorite yogurt muffins from the freezer
I love love love these muffins when eaten like this!
prep smoothie cups in these containers
make a big stack of freezer pb&js
make our weekly batch of beloved oatmeal
make bread, if time/energy
we’ve been getting into sourdough, so finger’s crossed we have time to make a loaf or two for the week. we find a lottttt of joy in homemade bread, and I love how it also stretches our grocery budget…and elevates our dinners.
favorite things
our Year of Beer - aka what we’re calling THE BEST GIFT EVER
my Local Places List - aka the simplest, most joyful list that helps us prioritize family time, Weekend Adventures, and Date Night. we swear it’s the secret sauce to our marriage - an easy way to instill adventure into our days, even when not in seasons of solo getaways and faraway travels.
big book of big dinosaurs - kk and brett’s current favorite book to read together
ordered this Valentine’s Day coloring book for KK’s Mr. Valentine Basket to color during Evening Quiet Family Time
see a peek into our Mr. Valentine Baskets for this year - Brett and I each get one, too!
here’s a full list of our simple Valentine’s Day Traditions
added these acrylic hearts to KK’s February Play Dough Tray
see KK’s February Play Dough Tray - and all her other easyyy February activities - in Our February Month of Play
ordered these disposable barf bags to keep in our medicine cabinet, per the recommendation of a dear friend
gave a video tour of how we organize our games and our art supplies on Instagram - or see this new blogpost, see my “art/game room” highlight, or see my Amazon store where I linked what I could!
the big list of things, systems, and routines that help me feel my best - I’m always updating this post and it’s the best place to start to get a lot of FAQs answered!
want more?
i’m always sharing our favorite routines, our favorite systems, and our favorite dinners on Instagram.
and know that when you share kind words with me or share my page with your followers, I do a happy dance. your support means everything, and your support allows me to spend time creating free content, like this menu plan. xo.