currently eating
here is our meal rotation for all our breakfasts, snacks, lunches, and dinners:
currently cooking
sunday:
dinner: grill and chill
brett grills chicken thighs or wings + plenty of extras
artisan bread + big bowl of fruit
monday: sandwich night (+ soup/salad, if we're feeling it)
why we love a weekly sandwich night
dinner with friends yayyy! but i’ll keep the following menu in mind if we need an easy, filling lunch at any point this week (just because it’s a week of holiday meals + dinners out, and sometimes that affects our leftovers-for-lunch plan)
turkey club panini (or just make grilled cheese with leftover artisan bread)
that boxed tomato soup lurking in our pantry
leftover salad + fruit
tuesday: taco-ish tuesday
one of our absolute favorite dinners: build your own breakfast tacos
or our favorite tacos. haven’t decided yet.
big bowl of fruit
wednesday: pizza, pasta, or rice
date night
one of our monthly routines is the reminder to plan a date - and four times a year I coordinate with my mom a few times in the following few months she and my dad can watch KK. and i put the agreed-upon times on our calendar to prioritize those dates. brett and I learned if we don’t plan in advance, we’re not as likely to go on dates, so coordinating with my parents at the start of each season reallyyyy works for us.
(my family and I are not originally from this area of Texas, but I’m so glad we all ended up near eachother. i’m endlessly grateful for their support.)
at the start of each season, I sketch out potentialllllll date nights, adventures with KK, and family/friend gatherings. it’s so much fun, and it helps us prioritize our loved ones. if you’d like more examples, here’s a full list of what I do in December.
thursday: chicken, fish, or sausage
baked cod or leftover chicken from sunday
leftover salad or apple walnut quinoa salad
garlic bread avocado toasts (with leftover artisan bread, if available)
big bowl of fruit
friday: takeout or leftovers
our new year’s eve food tradition
saturday:
our new year’s day food tradition (click link for what we do for breakfast and dinner - it’s SO good!)
breakfast: homemade monkey bread or cinnamon crunch bread + the other things listed in the above link
dinner: see above link
currently using
my beloved salad dressing containers (i have two, but may need a third)
our steam mop - aka our favorite thing on this earth. huge thanks to a dear friend (bless you, sydney!!) for turning us onto this gem. our floors have never been cleaner, and never with this little work.
these kitchen towels - my new cooking BFFs
See my Amazon storefront for more things we use and love!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thank you so much for your support!
currently meal prepping
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.) at a minimum, I try to always do this - makes the whole week SO much smoother!
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:
make salad dressings
make quinoa, if time
prep some sort of dessert for the week:
one of my favorite podcasters said this is an incredibly easy way to plan joy into your week and I SO agree. see here why it’s our new favorite thing for our marriage.
old fashioned crumb cake or peanut butter cookies or soft oatmeal cookies
prep some things to make breakfasts/snacks/lunches smoother - at a bare minimum, I try to always prep some sort of eggs, some sort of oats, and some sort of muffins/waffles/pancakes for our breakfast rotation, and I try to change up the recipes each week so that cooking stays fun for me and so KK is exposed to variety:
pull mini blueberry muffins or yogurt muffins out of freezer
pull baked apples out of freezer
move some frozen mango/pineapple/cherries to mason jars in the fridge for KK
slice lemons for hot lemon water
make a batch of kale apple lemon juice (similar to this), if time/energy
make banana oatmeal muffins, strawberry overnight oats, or applesauce cookies with oats and cinnamon
make no bake oatmeal energy balls, if time/energy
make instant pot hard boiled eggs or a double batch of egg muffins with bacon and cheese (freeze leftovers) (I sometimes omit bacon so that they’re cheesy egg bites nommmm)
Need more ideas for make-ahead breakfasts and lunches to meal prep? Here’s my list of favorites!
currently reading
this book. the author is the founder of the company that makes our favorite vitamin c drops for KK, and I love reading about her twelve habits she swears by for happiness and health. she’s big into “creating structure creates freedom” and “structure provides comfort in trying times” so you know I’m 10000% interested in all she has to say. i may not be interested in implementing the habits that work best for someone else, but I sure do love reading about them.
curious how I read so often? read that answer - and other FAQs - here!
currently streamlining
a list of local places I’d like to try for takeout or date nights, and a list of local places we’d love to go with KK (like kid-friendly breweries, restaurants with playgrounds, beautiful hikes, amazing nearby parks, and highly-rated coffee shops to swing by before the aforementioned parks). these lists were so much fun to create and it got us so excited for the New Year! that first list will be particularly fun for Friday Dinner and I’m definitely referencing that second list for future Sunday Grill and Chills. YAY IDEA LISTS! YAY INTENTIONAL LIVING!
currently loving
my full list of favorite routines - enjoy the story of The Meltdown of 2017 - aka what started this journey and what motivates me every day
these last two weeks of the year. I’m resting, brainstorming, and enjoying…and therefore resharing content I’ve made in the past. new content to come in the New Year!
everything. i mentioned this on instagram, but lately I’m just feeling so deeply grateful. 2021 was rocky with its pregnancy loss, and while that loss, the resulting trauma, and the months of bloodwork were trying, to say the least, I’m so happy where we are today. 2021 changed me. 2021 brought me a renowned purpose to take care of myself and to take care of myself well. 2021 reminded me to prioritize date nights, plan family adventures, and create seasonal rituals. 2021 gave me the opportunity to remember how much I adore cooking dinner, to join (and love!) my local Fit4Mom, to add a third poodle to our family. and lately, it feels like 2021 shone a spotlight on everything I have. 2021 was the year of healing and for that, I’m so deeply grateful. wishing you a happy New Year, friends.
currently working on
making sure KK knows this about our dinners
finishing my December routines
currently sharing
always sharing our favorite routines, our favorite systems, and our favorite dinners on Instagram - come say hi! your kind words make my day. truly.
and know that when you share my page on Instagram 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.