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)
I’ll have Brett roast a chicken - he loves referencing the above linked cookbook for this!
or he loves this recipe
or I may have him roast our favorite, favorite spicy honey whole chicken
(or our favorite, favorite spicy honey thighs!)
easy, customizable garden salad or apple pecan salad with creamy lemon dressing or strawberry spinach salad
prep enough for thursday’s dinner and for mason jar salads, too
monday: sandwiches
why we love a weekly sandwich night
bigggg bowl of this mandarin berry fruit salad (sometimes I omit the dressing altogether, but i always omit the poppy seeds out of personal preference)
leftover cucumber salad
tuesday: taco-ish, IP, or crockpot
cheese quesadillas + biggg bowl of Jack Allen’s Smashed Guacamole (my favorite)
could use leftover chicken and/or meal prepped beans for quesadillas (or on the side), too
could also make crunchy black bean tacos or burrito bowls instead
bigggg bowl of this mandarin berry fruit salad (sometimes I omit the dressing altogether, but i always omit the poppy seeds out of personal preference)
wednesday: pizza, pasta, or rice
costco tortellini + jarred sauce
freeze leftovers like this for quick toddler lunches
a big ol chopped caesar salad (with added veggies?)
and/or canned green beans
and/or whatever Trader Joe’s frozen veggies we have in the freezer
the frozen breadsticks in our freezer
big bowl of fruit
thursday: soup + cheese + bread
best tomato soup or classic minestrone soup or my favorite chicken noodle soup
freeze leftover soup in these containers - here’s how i freeze (and reheat!) soup
easy, customizable garden salad or apple pecan salad with creamy lemon dressing or strawberry spinach salad - whichever we had on Sunday!
and/or a biggg bowl of fruit
leftover macaroni grill rosemary bread*
a wedge of some sort of trader joe’s cheese*
*I’ll offer these separately, but if Brett wants to make himself a grilled cheese he can go on ahead.
friday: clean out the fridge or takeout
or a snack board using leftover cheese/produce/meat/etc like this?
saturday: snack dinner saturday or dinner with loved ones
chicken nuggets + french fries + whatever leftover produce is still hanging around
or a snack board using leftover cheese/produce/meat/etc like this?
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.
the oatmeal cookies I never got around to making last week…or the week before
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
favorite bean recipes: instant pot black beans or slow cooker refried beans or this copycat chipotle recipe, or this beloved slow cooker bean recipe of mine
make a batch of rice so Brett can eat burrito bowls with Sunday’s roast chicken for lunches
let’s prep smoothie cups in these containers, too
pull a batch of muffins out of the freezer
I think I have chocolate chip, sweet spinach, and the best banana from which to choose
make our weekly batch of beloved oatmeal
try freezing leftovers like this article?
make a double batch of my favorite egg muffins, if time/energy
(I omit the bacon out of personal preference for the yummiest cheesy egg bites)
freeze leftover muffins - see my list of favorite things to freeze here
slice lemons for hot lemon water
make a big batch of carrot orange juice, if time/energy
read more about my juicing routine here
favorite things
fyi: the menu plan newsletter is being paused until I get some energy back - which may be after baby boy is born! (missed the pregnancy announcement? see the post here!)
september’s sensory bin…and bookshelf…and play kitchen items
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.