My Weekly Menu

OK, I will be honest, I haven’t had a meal plan for over a month. I sat down today and decided I was going to fix that. Meal planning is beneficial to me for a few reasons (1) it saves money, (2) it makes dinner time less stressful,  (3) it helps me to eat healthier, and (4) I waste less food. 

I thought I would share my weekly plan with you. 

First, let me tell you my process. 

• Clean out the fridge. Check expiration dates, wipe down your shelves and toss or compost food that is not good anymore. If you meal plan, you will find that you waste less food.
• Take an inventory of your fridge/freezer/pantry. See if you have anything to make a meal out of what you already have!
• Choose 3 dinners.
• Choose 2 lunches. Or you can manage lunches like I explain below.
• Pick a lot of healthy snacks. Especially during extended stay at home periods like now, snacking will happen. Make sure you have a lot of healthy things to reach for.
• Pick a treat to make. For me, I let my kids pick! Oliver chose apple pie this week.

I am going to share with you what I chose for snacks, lunches and dinners this week. And don’t miss out on the “treat of the week” at the end of this post!

Snacks

• Turkey and cheese roll-up
• Popcorn
• Veggies and dip
• Pretzels and hummus
• Apple and peanut butter
• Mandarin oranges
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Cottage cheese & berries
• Nuts
• String cheese
• Pickles
• Rice cakes with cream cheese & strawberry preserves
• Yogurt

Lunch

Pick a protein, a fruit, a vegetable, and something crunchy. You can also add on an optional dairy product.

Protein choices this week: turkey, ham, yogurt, cottage cheese

Fruit choices this week: oranges, grapes, strawberries

Vegetable choices this week (for dipping): cauliflower, cucumbers

Something crunchy choices this week: pretzels, crackers, nuts, popcorn

Dairy option: cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese

Dinner

• Burrito Bowls — I share a recipe similar to what I do in my December Recipe Round Up post. Listed in the number 3 slot called “Mexican Chicken Bowls“. This week I am going to do chicken, rice, black beans, corn, avocado and salsa.
• Pork chops and veggies — I love this seasoning recipe from Hey Grill Hey. I do omit the cayenne pepper, but I am not a big fan of heat. We will make this a 2-night dinner with different sides each night. Sides planned are: roasted cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, macaroni and cheese, and sauteed zucchini and squash.
• Omelettes — I love breakfast for dinner. Omelettes are a good option to only fix one meal, but give everybody their own choices. Add-ins for omelettes this week include: bacon, mushrooms, green peppers, and cheese. I will also toss in whatever vegetables we have left over from the pork chop nights!

I also like to keep a few “quick and easy” dinners on hand. This week I have tomato soup & grilled cheese and quesadillas as back-ups.

Treat of the Week

Oliver (my 5-year-old) wants to make apple pie, so apple pie it is! I am going to use this apple pie recipe from Kristine’s Kitchen Blog.

Enjoy and stay well!