fyi: the menu plan newsletter is being paused until I get some energy back - which may not be until after baby boy is born! (missed the pregnancy announcement? see the post here!)
meal plan
sunday:
dinner: grill and chill (or Brett cooks something from his favorite cookbook)
brett grills chicken for tonight’s dinner + plenty of lunch leftovers
freeze a breast or two of grilled chicken for easy future meals
see full list of what I’m freezing for postpartum here
set out the following ingredients so we can make quesadillas, tacos, tostadas, my favorite bean and avocado bowl, burrito bowls, nachos, etc. whatever speaks to our heart for dinner!
instant pot black beans or slow cooker refried beans
I omit the onion in both recipes out of personal preference, and often times I’ll use black beans in the refried beans recipe
freeze half in these containers
see full list of what I’m freezing for postpartum here
plenty of mashed avocado + pinch of salt to taste
pico, queso*, shredded lettuce, salsa, crema, onion, cheese, etc
flour tortillas, tortilla chips, tostadas, rice
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. and that way if I’m too tired to make dinner later in the week, nbd. we just throw together some quesadillas or my favorite bean and avocado bowl or something.
monday: sandwiches
why we love a weekly sandwich night
build your own grilled chicken sandwiches OR build your own grilled chicken wraps
set out grilled chicken (leftover from sunday)
set out goooood sliders and last night’s leftover tortillas
also set out: lettuce, tomato, mashed avocado, bacon, red onion, cheese cheese, bacon, ranch dressing, buffalo sauce, honey mustard dressing, caesar dressing, etc
like, Brett’s #1 favorite is to do a buffalo ranch style slider or wrap with blue cheese crumbles, but I almost always do a chicken caesar wrap with crushed croutons and parmesan cheese. or a grilled chicken slider with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. THE BEST.
another one of our absolute favorite Build Your Own Dinners - we usually have these ingredients on hand anyway, and the leftovers serve us well all week.
with a big bowl of fruit. or sweet potato fries. or frozen French fries. the heart wants what the heart wants.
tuesday:
parmesan garlic linguini or garlic butter pasta
Brett can add leftover grilled chicken to his
and/or a big bowl of fruit
and/or the frozen breadsticks in our freezer that need to be used
and/or veggie box
wednesday:
Brett’s birthday - so whatever birthday boy wants!
trying this cake for his birthday! (but will make the 9x13 pan version, per the recipe’s notes)
thursday: soup, bread, salad, cheese
the best tomato soup I never got around to making last week
freeze leftovers in these containers
here’s how I freeze + thaw soups
see full list of how I’m prepping for baby #2 here
see full list of what I’m freezing for postpartum here
some sort of gooood bread
either from the bakery, from Brett, or from this recipe
that wedge of Trader Joe’s cheese we have
can be eaten separately, or can be turned into grilled cheeses
or my favorite ranch dressing + salad
and/or veggie box
friday: leftovers or takeout
KK is going to my parents for the weekend so Brett and I can do a babymoon/birthday celebration/trial run for Baby Boy’s birth/the first child-free weekend we’ve had EVER.
read more about this weekend in my blogpost on how I’m prepping for our second baby
so all that to say we’re eating out tonight and tomorrow! at places without kids menus! weeeeeeeeeee!
saturday: snack dinner saturday or dinner with loved ones
see above. :)
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
pick up our ranch dressing for the week
make croutons - post coming soon!
prep some sort of dessert for the week:
see here why this is our new favorite thing for our marriage.
trying this cake for Brett’s birthday! (but will make the 9x13 pan version, per the recipe’s notes)
prep some things to make breakfasts/snacks/lunches smoother:
make the weekly pot of beans so I can make this other favorite quick breakfast/lunch or my favorite tostadas
I’ll use whichever recipe I make for Sunday’s dinner
prep ingredients salad ingredients
could make some Mason Jar Salads for Future Haley’s lunches, too.
let’s prep smoothie cups in these containers
make our weekly batch of beloved oatmeal
make a double batch of raspberry muffins, freeze leftovers
slice lemons for hot lemon water
favorite things
the big list of things I love to freeze
aka what I’m freezing for postpartum
how I’m prepping for our second baby
aka how we’re streamlining our household + taking care of our future selves
so a lot of the post isn’t necessarily baby-specific, especially since I had a lot of nerves
our Christmas gifts + how we simplify Christmas
yes, yes. I know it’s early. the post explains why I have to plan early.
our new couch covers I couldn’t stop talking about on stories this week
see my “home favorites” highlight for more
finished one of my September tasks of taking inventory of our medicine/first aid stash - seeing what’s low (or what we’re out of), getting rid of any expired things, and replenishing everything in this week’s grocery order
see my “hallway closet” highlight on Instagram - there I show how we organize our medicine/first aid things, how I use these lazy Susans, how I file our home/adulting papers, our stash of toddler/preschooler Decide Once gifts, and a deeper dive into this twice-a-year routine of taking medicine/first aid inventory!
these woven baskets in our playroom
and in these baskets we keep our absolute favorite toys - here’s my amazon board of our favorite toys (or here’s the blogpost if that’s more your jam)
like, one basket has this produce sorting set, this smoothie set, and this salad set. and kk loves to play with them together. LOVES. oftentimes just pulling this basket out is enough to spur KK into playing for 20-30 minutes.
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.