meal plan
sunday:
dinner: grill and chill
brett grills burgers for dinner + one or two for lunch leftovers
+ frozen french fries + big bowl of melon
brett also grills chicken for dinners + plenty of lunch leftovers
when grilling, brett religiously follows anything he learns from his favorite cookbook or his favorite website
freeze a breast or two of grilled chicken for easy future meals
monday: sandwiches
why we love a weekly sandwich night
frozen sweet potato fries and/or bagged salad
big bowl of melon or our favorite watermelon salad
tuesday: quick, make-ahead, or crockpot
orzo salad with grapes, arugula, and feta
sub spinach or mixed greens out of personal preference
use the leftover goat cheese in the fridge instead, too?
brett can add sunday’s leftover grilled chicken to his
big ol loaf of our favorite garlic bread
big bowl of melon or berries or carrots or something
wednesday: pizza, pasta, or rice
sub leftover grilled chicken from Sunday
leftover garlic bread, if any
leftover fruit
thursday: quick, make ahead, or crockpot
burrito bowls or tostadas or my favorite bean and rice bowl
use leftover grilled chicken from sunday
instant pot black beans or slow cooker refried beans
I omit the onion in both recipes out of personal preference
freeze half in these containers
jk I can’t limit myself to only two favorite bean recipes. I also love this copycat chipotle recipe, or this beloved slow cooker bean recipe of mine. i love beans so much.
plenty of mashed avocado + pinch of salt to taste
pico, queso*, shredded lettuce, salsa, crema, onion, cheese, etc
could also grab sauces/sides/fresh tortillas from one of our favorite Mexican restaurants
we THRIVE on this Build Your Own Dinner and we thrive even more on the leftovers all week.
friday: leftovers or takeout
build your own BLTs
with whatever produce is still hanging around
saturday: snack dinner saturday or dinner with loved ones
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. (you’ll notice I allow space in my daily rhythm for potential meal prep.)
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 dinner components:
during the summer, I prep as much dinner stuff on Sundays as possible, so that KK and I can spend plenty of time at the pool after her nap
prep produce, make veggie box
prep ingredients for orzo salad with grapes, arugula, and feta
prep some sort of dessert for the week:
see here why this is our new favorite thing for our marriage.
make lemon zucchini bread I didn’t get around to last week (give second loaf to neighbors)
prep some things to make breakfasts/snacks/lunches smoother:
make sure to buy stuff for my favorite, go-to sandwich or my absolute favorite turkey wrap sanckbox for my lunches this week
make the weekly pot of beans so I can make this other favorite quick breakfast/lunch - instant pot black beans or slow cooker refried beans or this copycat chipotle recipe, or this beloved slow cooker bean recipe of mine
make strawberry muffins (and/or the chocolate chip muffins I didn’t get around to last week), freeze leftovers
make a batch of oatmeal like this
excerpt from my “my breakfast and lunch favorites” blogpost:
up until, like, a year ago, i swore I disliked oatmeal. but it turns out I was just eating the wrong kind. my mom one day made oatmeal like this with good oats, and served it to me plain with a generous slab of butter stirred in. it was this savory risotto-like situation. it was heavenly. and from then on, I was a converted oatmeal lover.
move some frozen mango/pineapple/cherries to mason jars in the fridge for KK like this
slice lemons for hot lemon water
make a big batch of carrot orange juice, if time/energy
read more about my juicing routine here
Need more ideas for make-ahead breakfasts and lunches to meal prep? Here’s my list of favorites!
favorite things
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.