sunday:
dinner: our beloved grill and chill ritual
brett grills chicken like this for tonight’s dinner + plenty of lunch leftovers
freeze a breast or two of grilled chicken for easy future meals
or pull grilled chicken from the freezer if too tired to grill
pasta with our favorite garlic alfredo sauce
sourdough bread (or garlic bread)
monday: sandwiches
why we love a weekly sandwich night
frozen sweet potato fries + big bowl of fruit
tuesday: something easy
gooood oatmeal with a fun topping bar using things we already have
offer various bowls of fruit - as potential toppings but also as an easy side
or pancakes (from mix) + eggs + fruit?
wednesday: something from freezer
this could be something I froze to prepare for postpartum. this could also mean frozen chicken nuggets and tater tots. this could be an easy freezer favorite from Costco. (or anything from that Trader Joe’s run we did rightttt before my induction to grab postpartum snacks + freezer meals.) anything goes.
my favorite veggie rice soup, pulled from freezer
i need to write out the recipe for my favorite veggie rice soup, but know the gist is good chicken stock + cooked brown rice + sauteed mirepoix, heavyyy on the carrots
I used IP chicken stock
I froze leftovers in these containers
my favorite strawberry spinach salad or my favorite green salad
thursday: something easy
tamales from freezer
or Quesadilla Night with Sunday’s leftover grilled chicken
big bowl of mashed avocado
big bowl of fruit
friday: takeout or leftovers
saturday: snack dinner saturday or dinner with loved ones
I’ll clear out the fridge and make some sort of snack platter: produce, cheese, crackers, meats, dips, whatever’s hanging around.
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 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 greens/carrots/etc to make a basic green salad like my favorite green salad
and/or let’s prep ingredients for my favorite strawberry spinach salad
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
prep ingredients for my favorite strawberry spinach salad
make some Mason Jar Salads for Future Haley’s lunches, too.
prep smoothie cups in these containers
prep a stack of my favorite simple lunch wraps
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
hopefully returning to instagram this week - but time will tell. it’s been so nice stepping away from my phone to fully savor the blissful newborn bubble. (i forgot how much i love the newborn phase, oh my word.)
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.