week of 3/19 menu plan

sunday: our beloved grill and chill ritual

no grill and chill today! brett was gone all last week for his first day of work, so we’re doing an easy dinner, taking big breaths of relief, and delighting in this new season.

• tamales from freezer

• big bowl of mashed avocado

• big bowl of fruit

or, or!

• our favorite, favorite ground beef tacos from the freezer

  • I made a double batch and froze leftovers in these containers for postpartum

  • see full list of what I froze for postpartum here

or, or!

• or, or! that chicken spaghetti in our freezer

• see full list of what I froze for postpartum here

monday: sandwiches

why we love a weekly sandwich night

• 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

  • here’s how I freeze + thaw soups

  • see full list of what I froze for postpartum here

• build your own club sandwich bar

• big bowl of fruit

tuesday: something easy

• that quiche in the freezer (or the trader joe’s quiche in the freezer)

• my favorite strawberry spinach salad or my favorite green salad

• frozen sweet potato fries or my favorite roasted sweet potato

wednesday: pizza/pasta/rice

• pasta + jarred red sauce

  • use that half pack of ground beef in the freezer, too

• bagged caesar salad

• frozen garlic bread

thursday: something easy

• my birthday :) here’s the three things we do for birthdays

• for dinner we’ll do either a date night out, or pick up my favorite takeout

friday:

• the trader joe’s teryaki chicken in our freezer

  • or, or! that chicken spaghetti in our freezer

  • or, or! that IP alfredo I never got around to making last week

• my favorite canned green beans

• big bowl of fruit

saturday: snack dinner saturday

we’re going to our next stop on our year of beer, and will eat a late lunch or early dinner there. if need be, we can do a snack dinner at home later, too.

• 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, and! we LOVE doing a muffin pan snack dinner like this

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meal prep

• prep smoothie cups in these containers

• maybe make a batch of IP alfredo (I never got around to making it last week, so I have all the ingredients) or a batch of my mom’s potato soup

• make our weekly batch of beloved oatmeal

• prep any fruit for easy snacking + easy dinner sides (like wash + destem grapes)

  • here are my produce boxes

  • also make veggie box

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favorite things

• a few words about brett losing his job + a word to those in not-so-favorite seasons

• our easter baskets 2023 - including what I’m getting in MY basket!

• how i make (and eat!) my oatmeal

• kk’s beloved toy wagon gets so much play

• finally reading the Harry Potter books and MY GOODNESS they’re an absolute delight as audiobooks - right now I play them every minute we’re in the car

• currently reading (and loving) this book, too

• kk’s favorite jumbo-sized toy animals

  • she also loves these dinosaurs (particularly bringing them in her bath)

  • here’s a tour of our playroom - the video shows where we store animals

• 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.

week of 3/12 menu plan

sunday: our beloved grill and chill ritual

no grill and chill today!

my favorite pinto bean bowl (or here)

• make a big batch of brown rice with chicken/bone broth for added flavor

  • I love my beloved rice cooker for this

• make the weekly pot of beans

  • my slow cooker pinto beans

• prep a bunch of fruit for the week

  • here are my produce boxes

monday: sandwiches

why we love a weekly sandwich night

• some sort of toast

  • buttered toast? peanut butter toast? avo toast? jam toast? cream cheese toast? build your own toast bar?

• scrambled eggs

• with a big bowl of fruit

  • or smoothies?

tuesday: something easy

• cheese quesadillas (or bean and cheese quesadillas)

• big bowl of mashed avocado

• big bowl of fruit

wednesday: pizza/pasta/rice

• IP mac and cheese or IP alfredo or IP “orange pasta”

• my favorite canned green beans

• bagged caesar salad

• big bowl of fruit

thursday: something easy

• fish sticks

• leftover pasta

• leftover green beans

• leftover fruit

friday: fajita friday

• pick up sauces (and margarita mix) from our favorite Mexican restaurant,

• grab the chips, tostadas, and tortillas we always have on hand,

• clear out the lurking cheese, crema, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, avo, etc from this week,

• and use Sunday’s leftover beans/rice to make:

  • fajitas

  • quesadillas

  • tostadas

  • nachos

  • burrito bowls

  • my favorite pinto bean bowl (or here)

  • or whatever speaks to our heart

• the easiest, most celebratory way to end the week, while also cleaning out the fridge. and, let’s be real - I’ll ask Brett to make margs. happy fajita friday!

saturday: snack dinner saturday

I’ll clear out the fridge/freezer/pantry and make some sort of snack platter: produce, cheese, crackers, meats, dips, smoothies, sandwiches, chicken nuggets, Trader Joe frozen appetizers, whatever’s hanging around. Basically it’s a snazzy version of Leftover Night.

• 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, and! we LOVE doing a muffin pan snack dinner like this

• also: here’s a blogpost on alllll my smoothie favorites

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meal prep

• prep smoothie cups in these containers

• make a few of my favorite wraps

• make IP mac and cheese

  • eat for Wednesday’s dinner and/or use as quick lunches and/or an easy Leftover Night meal

  • 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!

• make our weekly batch of beloved oatmeal

  • lately I use this great IP recipe

• pull our favorite muffins from the freezer

• pull my favorite broccoli cheese soup from the freezer for a quick lunch for me, for an easy dinner, and/or a quick Leftover Night option

  • I love to freeze soup in these containers

  • here’s how I freeze + thaw soups

  • see full list of what I froze for postpartum here

• prep any fruit for easy snacking + easy dinner sides (like wash + destem grapes)

  • here are my produce boxes

  • also make veggie box

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favorite things

• faqs about Fresh Sheets Friday - like spare sheets

  • (here are our sheets we love and under $20!!)

• this year’s Easter Baskets!!!

• my 10 favorite things: summer clothing and pool essentials

• the three things we do for birthdays

• the five gifts we love to ask grandparents + loved ones

• here’s quick video tour of how we store/organize KK’s clothes, backpack, shoes, etc

• this past week’s easy meal prep

• our “if haley dies” document

• 13 things we love to keep in our play kitchen - a peek inside our play kitchen!

• our playroom essentials - a video tour of what’s in our playroom baskets!

• the tiny habit that tripled our veggie intake

• my favorite hot tea - the comments are bursting with favorite tea suggestions!

  • linked my favorite tea here

  • here’s our beloved electric kettle we’ve used daily since 2016 (but oftentimes we use it 2-3x a day since Brett uses it for coffee/oatmeal)

  • i love my tea bag organizer

  • brett loves his loose leaf tea infuser basket

• 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.

week of 3/5 menu plan

sunday: our beloved grill and chill ritual

Build Your Own Grain Bowl - plus plenty of leftovers to eat/repurpose all week.

• grill chicken like this for general chicken/rice bowls (and for leftovers this week)

  • but we might make sure we have all the fixings to make bbq ranch chicken quinoa bowls and chicken berry quinoa salad

• roast a variety of vegetables like this

• make a big batch of grains with chicken/bone broth for added flavor

  • I love my beloved rice cooker for this

• make the weekly pot of beans

  • instant pot black beans or my slow cooker pinto beans

• prep goooood salad ingredients

  • like my favorite green salad or strawberry spinach quinoa salad

  • also make our beloved veggie box

  • here are my produce boxes

• make croutons with Dave’s Killer Bread (or this air fryer version)

• prep (or pick up) gooooood salad dressings + sauces

  • at a minimum we like to have something creamy (like ranch) something vinaigrette-y (like a good balsamic), and something different (like from this list or in the aisles of Trader Joe’s)

  • I love my favorite dressing containers

• peruse 10 Ways To Make a Better Grain Bowl, How To Build an Easy Grain Bowl, and other internet inspiration to get ideas for the week

monday: sandwiches

why we love a weekly sandwich night

• BLTs

• frozen sweet potato fries

• salad (or veggie box) + ranch dressing

• big bowl of fruit

tuesday: something easy

• pancakes + eggs + leftover bacon

• big bowl of fruit

or, or!

• premade pizza from our grocery store

• salad (or veggie box) + ranch dressing

  • or leftover roasted veggies from Sunday

• big bowl of fruit

wednesday: pizza/pasta/rice

• year of beer - eat dinner at this month’s brewery (pack a bentobox for KK)

thursday: something easy

• trader joe’s teriyaki chicken

• rice + steamed broccoli

  • or leftover roasted veggies from Sunday

• big bowl of fruit

friday: fajita friday

• pick up sauces (and margarita mix) from our favorite Mexican restaurant,

• grab the chips, tostadas, and tortillas we always have on hand,

• clear out the lurking cheese, crema, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, avo, etc from this week,

• and use Sunday’s leftover meat/beans/rice to make:

  • fajitas

  • quesadillas

  • tostadas

  • nachos

  • burrito bowls

  • my favorite pinto bean bowl (or here)

  • or whatever speaks to our heart

• the easiest, most celebratory way to end the week, while also cleaning out the fridge. and, let’s be real - I’ll ask Brett to make margs. happy fajita friday!

saturday: snack dinner saturday

I’ll clear out the fridge/freezer/pantry and make some sort of snack platter: produce, cheese, crackers, meats, dips, smoothies, sandwiches, chicken nuggets, Trader Joe frozen appetizers, whatever’s hanging around. Basically it’s a snazzy version of Leftover Night.

• 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, and! we LOVE doing a muffin pan snack dinner like this

• also: here’s a blogpost on alllll my smoothie favorites

---

meal prep

• prep smoothie cups in these containers

• make these raspberry jam bars, if time/energy

• make our weekly batch of beloved oatmeal and yogurt parfaits

• prep any fruit for easy snacking + easy dinner sides (like wash + destem grapes)

  • here are my produce boxes

  • also make veggie box

---

favorite things

• 10 things I like to meal prep for Future Haley

• why KK loves Snack Dinner Saturday

• our beloved Sunday ritual

• my new yoga mat

• kk’s favorite vehicle set rn

• what I meal prepped last week

• how I store our monthly play themes + our monthly activities

• this month’s toddler bookshelf - alllllll our favorite farm books!

• one of our favorite, favorite easy dinners

• according to my yearly tasks and expenses list, it’s time to take stock of our summer/swim supplies, and plan Easter baskets around that. :) weeeee!

• 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.