In the current season of life, I’ve learned that flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to meal time just doesn’t work. Plain and simple. After too many late-night dinners, too many times I relied on my hubby to whip something together after he got home from a long day, too many bad choices…we knew we had to make a change and we had to find something that would STICK.
You see, I had tried meal planning many, many times before and it kept falling apart. We needed a SIMPLE system and we needed it on repeat. Since meal planning has been such a huge topic among all the mommy friends as of late, I thought I would share what works for us (FINALLY).
And just to clarify, this isn’t to pat myself on the back or brag about my expertise in this area. Far from it. I have embraced the fact that meal planning is an ebb and flow that will require some tweaks depending on what season of life we’re in! I’m just hoping that if you’re one of those moms (like me) who is struggling in this area, that maybe it will help you.
So here’s what we do! We have a theme for each day of the week and keep a lot those meals on repeat (with the exception of Sunday, which is where we get to switch things up and keep things interesting)!
/ SUNDAY / Try Something New
/ MONDAY / Pasta Night
/ TUESDAY / Taco Tuesday
/ WEDNESDAY / Sheet Pan Meals
/ THURSDAY / Megan’s Burger & Brew
/ FRIDAY / Pizza and Movie Night
/ SATURDAY / Stir Fry Saturday
If I’m being honest, repeating meals was the hardest thing for me to come to grips with and was something my husband and I were constantly arguing about for a while. We are both total foodies and love to taste, try, and experience new recipes. But it took all those late dinners taught us that DONE is better than PERFECTION (a lesson I could use in many areas of life). Feeding our children something healthy and on time is more important than getting them to try and experience all those new recipes. Don’t get me wrong — there’s a time and a place for that (ahem, Sunday)! And as you can see by my schedule, we leave room for some creativity. But simplicity is the key to functioning in this busy season of life.
So let’s break down what this looks like for us.
On Sunday, I aim to get some meal planning done for the week. Usually, that entails a large batch of breakfast burritos to pop in the freezer (makes for easy morning breakfasts). I also love to make a double batch of turkey meatballs to freeze and use for multiple back up meals (meatball subs, Italian Wedding Soup, Pasta and Meatballs, just to name a few…). Another thing I like to do, if I have the time, is to prep toppings for salads so that I can make healthier choices during the week. Because, let’s face it — I have busy toddler in the house. So if it’s not quick, lunch isn’t happening! For me, that looks like hard-boiling eggs and chopping veggies so that I can just dump it on some spinach and go.
If you want to learn more about meal prepping, I recently took you along for an entire day of meal prep on my Vlog. You can check out that video HERE.
The other thing I love about Sunday is that we try to plan a fun recipe, whether that’s a family favorite we haven’t made in a while or something brand new! It’s how we keep things fun and fresh around here!
Monday’s, as you can see on our schedule, is pasta night. Since this is kind of a carb-heavy meal, this one got the most push back from me. What I do like, though, is that I can switch up sauces and toppings to keep things interesting. Another thing we have done to compromise is to include zoodles for mama (and anyone else who would like some). That’s been a game-changer! I just buy them at Publix, but I’m hoping someone will snag this spiralizer (affiliate link) off my Christmas list for me this year! (Fingers crossed!)
Taco Tuesday is a serious matter in this house as we are all huge fans of Mexican food. But that being said, it isn’t always tacos. Usually, but not always. It IS, however, always Mexican-themed. We do veggie tacos, pulled pork tacos, ground turkey tacos, quesadillas, chili, taco salads, burrito bowls…you name it! That’s a fun way that we can switch it up week to week but still always have a plan. I love making my own taco shells with this fantastic non-stick mold (affiliate link)! Makes me feel like I’m eating at a restaurant.
Now, what the heck are sheet pan meals? They’re easy, that’s what! Big families know that this is the way to go (but no, I don’t consider us to have a “big” family). We have two large sheet pans and that is solely what we use to cook Wednesday meals. (Read – easy clean up!) We cover one in meat (sometimes) and the other in veggies and pop them in the oven. It makes dishes fast and simple and our kids all looooove roasted veggies. What’s our go-to? Potatoes, carrots, broccoli (or brussel sprouts), onions and garlic…all tossed in avacado oil, turmeric, salt and pepper! For the meat, we love having beer-battered cod in our freezer (thank you, Costco), seasoned chicken tenders, or pork loin cut into medallions and seasoned.
Thursdays have always been one of our craziest days in this house. I don’t know how it continues to work out that way, even with a new state and new career, but so be it. What that means is that I just really need to prep for these days or else we all suffer. Crockpot meals were ideal and a go to…but if I’m totally honest with y’all, I have a total of 3 crockpot recipes that my whole family loves. So after weeks of struggling, we turned it into Megan’s Burger and Brew (which is just a spin-off of my mom’s infamous “Joan’s Burger and Brew” which came from a favorite local restaurant growing up called “Bob’s Burger and Brew”). More often than not, it includes my simple turkey burgers and some hot dogs. But on occasion, we get fancy and switch things up with this amazing falafel burger recipe (it’s to die for, you’re definitely gonna want to give that a try)!
Friday meals are something the family looks forward to every week – Pizza & Movie Night! We do a homemade sourdough pizza crust and our toppings change every week! Occasionally the kids get creative but most days their pizza toppings are pretty basic (and that’s ok). Mom and Dad tend to bring out their inner foodie on theirs! This past week we cracked an egg on top! (Let me know if you’ve ever tried that and your thoughts in the comment section below.)
Saturday’s have become our stir fry days. They are usually vegetarian and vary depending on what’s in our fridge, but THIS SAUCE is our secret weapon that gets everyone excited! I also like to cook my chicken with it, if we decide to add that to the meal that week.
So that’s the gist of it, friend! I hope that if meal planning is something you struggle with that this will give you some ideas on how to make it work for your busy family. But if you are one of those who has mastered the meal plan — drop your knowledge in the comments below for the rest of us!
If you’re drooling over any of these recipes and are wanting me to share them with you, let me know which ones!
Oh! And still on the hunt for some mostly vegetarian crockpot recipes. If you have any tried and true family favorites, pretty please pass them on!
