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 makes one of the following (and makes plenty of extras for his lunches this week):
or, or! make our favorite, favorite ground beef tacos that I never got around to making last week
make a double batch, freeze leftovers in these containers for postpartum
see full list of what I’m freezing for postpartum here
monday: sandwiches
why we love a weekly sandwich night
one of our favorites: the easiest, most delicious Build Your Own Dinner ever
or Build Your Own Breakfast Tacos
basically I’m making the menu plan veryyyy flexible this week with stuff we already have on hand
tuesday: something easy
I use this refried bean recipe (but omit the onion out of personal preference)
freeze any leftover beans in these containers
wednesday: pizza, pasta, or rice
instant pot “baked” creamy ziti (could add that italian sausage in the freezer for Brett)
see my quick Instagram post here on how I always freeze any sort of leftover pasta in a silicone muffin pan to make the easiest meal for Future KK. but really it’s the best gift for Future Haley. a filling meal that KK loves! already prepped!
gooooood parmesan
veggie box or frozen Trader Joe’s veggies
thursday:
thanksgiving!!!
friday:
UT football game + leftovers
saturday:
newest tradition: annual sushi dinner :) :) :)
basically we wanted to start this for no other reason than to have an annual excuse to indulge in a great sushi spread. we have a ton of great sushi restaurants around us…and always intend to try them, but never do. so we thought, “why not the weekend after Thanksgiving - the day we’re usually putting up the Christmas Tree and lounging around anyway, Brett orders several different rolls from a local restaurant and Haley can make a big bowl of edamame (or Brett can pick up several different appetizers for everyone to try)? and everyone can try different pieces of sushi…and Brett can delight in teaching everyone how to use chopsticks?”
and an annual tradition was born.
that’s why we put this darling sushi kit in KK’s play kitchen in November. food traditions make the best play inspiration! (see more on our November Month of Play here.)
see our full list of traditions here!
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.
the cookies I never got around to making with last week’s craziness
freeze leftovers for postpartum
prep some things to make eating at home this week smoother:
make veggie box, prep produce (like wash + destem grapes)
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
make a double batch of some sort of muffin/pancake/waffle/bar
make our favorite yogurt muffins, freeze half for postpartum
and/or the raspberry muffins I never got around to making a few weeks back
and/or my favorite banana muffins
and/or these banana oatmeal muffins
and/or these jam bars
let’s prep smoothie cups in these containers, if needed
make some sort of egg dish, if needed
let’s try these potato egg muffin cups (omit bacon out of personal preference) that I never got around to making a few weeks ago
or make a double batch of my favorite cheesy egg muffins, freeze leftovers for postpartum
make a big stack of freezer pb&js for postpartum if time/energy
make a batch of breakfast sandwiches for postpartum
there are lots of freezer ideas out there for breakfast sandwiches, but my favorite is taking Costco croissants and adding life-changing soft scrambled eggs and American cheese, a la my favorite college dorm cafeteria. very similar to - albeit a much trashier version of - Damn Delicious’s Freezer Croissant Breakfast Sandwiches!
see full list of what I’m freezing for postpartum here
make our weekly batch of beloved oatmeal
favorite things
woo. last week was a WEEK. brett started his new job at a new company, we thought we were putting down a beloved dog, and then we got hit with a nasty cold. so I shared some of our favorite things for cold/flu season on instagram.
here’s our list of vitamins/supplements we take, including what I give KK when she’s under the weather, and what I take both when pregnant and not
here’s something we SWEAR by for flu-like symptoms - and always keep in our medicine cabinet
here’s something for when KK has a cough + chest congestion that was the MVP of KK’s last cold
go ahead and get this baby/kid medicine dispenser - THE BEST
i personally do a lot of bone broth, hot tea, and epsom salt baths
my beloved kettle was one of the best christmas gifts I ever received - we got it six years ago and we use it every. single. day.
never thought I’d love a tea organizer, but here we are
y’all know I love my daily smoothie routine…but especially when sick
I’m working on making a “cold + flu favorites” blogpost, but for now see my “sick” highlight on my instagram…and my “hallway closet” highlight for how we organize our medicine, our gift wrap, and our papers/documents.
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.