week of 4/16 menu plan

sunday: our beloved grill and chill ritual

• no grill and chill - we’ll be coming home from a wedding!

• we’ll do a simple Breakfast for Dinner meal with scrambled eggs and fruit, and hopefully do some easy meal prep (see “meal prep” section below)

monday: sandwiches

why we love a weekly sandwich night

• BYO sandwich bar:

  • dave’s killer bread (or pick up bread from Jimmy John’s!)

  • bacon, turkey, and ham

  • lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and avocado

  • provolone, cheddar cheese

• chips

• big ol salad (post coming soon on our new salad ritual)

• big bowl of fruit

tuesday: something easy

• build your own tostadas

• leftover meal prepped chicken/steak (see “meal prep” section below)

• weekly pot of beans: slow cooker refried beans

  • but I usually omit the onion, use black beans, and reduce the butter

• big bowl of mashed avo

• big ol salad (post coming soon on our new salad ritual)

• big bowl of fruit

wednesday:

• pasta + jarred alfredo sauce

• leftover meal prepped grilled chicken (see “meal prep” section below)

• big ol salad (post coming soon on our new salad ritual)

• big ol bowl of fruit

• garlic bread, if time/energy

thursday: something easy

• our favorite Trader Joe’s potsticker stir fry

• big ol salad (post coming soon on our new salad ritual)

or, or!

• something with those frozen fish sticks in our freezer

or, or!

• fajita friday a night early

friday:

• parents night out at KK’s school, so we’re going out to dinner with Joey :)

  • some restaurant from our Local Places List

    • one of my monthly routines is to plan a Date Night or two

    • but here are a few other things that help us prioritize Date Night

saturday: snack dinner saturday + movie 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

---

meal prep

• prep smoothie cups in these containers

• 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

• brett can grill some chicken like this for the week, too

• weekly pot of beans: slow cooker refried beans

  • but I usually omit the onion, use black beans, and reduce the butter

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

  • I love my beloved rice cooker for this

---

favorite things

• fajita friday - our new favorite, restful Friday Dinner Tradition

  • see the comments of the post for a whole slew of Friday Dinner Traditions! LOVE!

• my four big seasonal tubs - packed away Easter things in the Spring tub this week

• BYO Sandwich Bar

• three of the best things we ever did in our home in this season

• five things I keep on hand for simplified gift wrap

• 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 4/9 menu plan

sunday: our beloved grill and chill ritual

• no grill and chill - easter with my family!

monday: sandwiches

why we love a weekly sandwich night

• buttered english muffins or simple avocado toasts

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

• my favorite strawberry spinach salad or my favorite green salad

  • or just a big bowl of fruit

• frozen sweet potato fries or my favorite roasted sweet potato

or, or!

• BYO sandwich night:

  • dave’s killer bread (or pick up bread from Jimmy John’s!)

  • bacon, turkey, and ham

  • lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and avocado

  • provolone, cheddar cheese

• chips or frozen fries

• big bowl of fruit

tuesday: something easy

• balsamic glazed sheet pan gnocchi with sausage

  • one of our family favorites and the reason I keep TJ’s sweet potato gnocchi and TJ’s sausage in the freezer!

• leftover cornbread

• big bowl of fruit

wednesday:

• my favorite pinto bean bowl (or here)

• big bowl of mashed avo

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

  • I love my beloved rice cooker for this

• leftover weekly pot of beans

  • my slow cooker pinto beans

• leftover cornbread

• big bowl of fruit

thursday: something easy

• the fresh pasta in our freezer + the marinara sauce in our freezer

• with italian sausage? and bagged caesar salad? and a big bowl of fruit?

friday:

• rehearsal dinner

saturday:

• a wedding! YAY!

---

meal prep

• prep smoothie cups in these containers

• 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

• 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

• brett can grill some chicken like this and some fajita steak for the week, too

• and maybe I’ll make a pan of cornbread

---

favorite things

• our favorite books, art activities, play dough trays, and sensory bins for april

• things I keep in my car

• 10 things saving my bottom right now

• our sock system - an easy way I simplified an impactful area of our life

• the laundry system that works for me in this season

• our newest dinner themes!!

• my Decide Once baby gift (and a whole list of my other Decide Once gifts)

• my three go-to, quick meals for myself

• the four things I keep on hand for toddler/preschooler birthdays

• my two favorite ways to use those Dollar Store caddies + your favorite ways (the comments on this post are AWESOME)

• my simple go-to potluck contribution :)

  • I love keeping this basic, 3-pack of white trays on hand for KK’s playdough and KK’s activities with several pieces that I want to keep corralled, but these trays are also awesome for charcuterie boards and Snack Dinner. And POTLUCKS. :)

• my neck/shoulder heating pad

• why Past Haley bought six white baskets, how she uses them twice a year, every year - and how I simplified Valentine’s Day baskets + Easter baskets

• this weighted vest + slow neighborhood walks

  • I wear this weighted vest when I walk - doing so releases the overused trap muscle. When I don’t prioritize my weighted walks, I often tweak my trap muscle - causing gnarly back/neck pain. These weighted walks help prevent that.

  • This book taught me the wonderful benefits of weighted walks. In fact, this book is what I read during The Great Meltdown of 2017, inspiring me to start taking care of myself.

  • But this article is a great excerpt of the book and talks about the benefits of weighted walks.

  • Anyway, that’s my little speech about why I love my quiet, early morning walks in this weighted vest. I can’t tell I haven’t been prioritizing them lately, because my back/neck have been killing me from mom-ing/adulting. So these weighted walks just jumped to the top of My List of Priorities. :)

• 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 4/2 menu plan

sunday: 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

• and we’ll set out ingredients to make our favorite Grill and Chill Meal

  • or my favorite bean and avocado bowl

  • or our beloved burrito bowls

  • Brett may do this too to make our week easier while the grill’s still hot

  • I’ll also set out flour tortillas if someone prefers a taco-type situation. Whatever speaks to our heart!

• ingredients like:

  • instant pot black beans or slow cooker refried beans

    • I omit the onion in both recipes out of personal preference, and often times I’ll use black beans in the refried beans recipe

  • plenty of mashed avocado + pinch of salt to taste

  • pico, queso*, shredded lettuce, salsa, crema, onion, cheese, etc

    • *we always get the Queso Mama queso at Costco

  • flour tortillas + rice

  • could also grab sauces/sides/fresh tortillas from one of our favorite Mexican restaurants

• we THRIVE on this Build Your Own Dinner and we thrive even more on the leftovers all week. and that way if I’m too tired to make dinner later in the week, nbd. we just throw together some quesadillas or tostadas or something.

monday: sandwiches

why we love a weekly sandwich night

• BLTs or pigs in a blanket

• potato soup (my mom’s recipe or this other favorite)

  • or try this IP version

• big bowl of fruit

tuesday: something easy

• brett wants to cook fish, whatever that means

  • grab the fish sticks in the freezer (or a rotisserie chicken) if this plan falls through

• skillet macaroni and cheese or IP macaroni and cheese

• bagged salad or steamed veggie

  • or roast those brussels sprouts from brett’s garden

• big bowl of fruit

wednesday:

• our weekly afternoon playdate with dear friends, so I pack a lunchbox for KK and Brett eats leftovers

thursday: something easy

• build your own breakfast taco

  • or pancakes + bacon + scrambled eggs

• big bowl of fruit

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/chicken 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

next stop on our year of beer! brett and I’ll eat here, and I’ll probably pack our favorite lunchbox and stroller cooler for KK.

---

meal prep

• prep smoothie cups in these containers

• make our weekly batch of beloved oatmeal

• make a double batch of banana muffins, freeze half

  • and/or a double batch of banana oatmeal muffins

  • and/or a double batch of sweet spinach muffins

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

  • here are my produce boxes

  • also make veggie box

---

favorite things

• my amazon bestsellers, why I love them, and lots of other organization + systems

  • but here’s a quick reel instead, if you’d prefer the house tour version!

• my favorite thing to buy at costco (the comments on this are GOLD)

• the handiest thing I keep in my car (the comments on this are gold, too)

• one super easy way I simplified holidays for Future Haley

• 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.