MEAL PLANNING

Well don’t look now, but (at least for teachers and school kids) the summer is officially over and we are right back in the swing of things. Summer is a dream for getting out of our daily routines and being a little more flexible, but if you’re anything like me, you thrive in solid routine and getting back on the school schedule is the perfect time to recommit to some of the practices that make life flow just a little more seamlessly. 

Last year, one of my big wins was finally getting in a meal planning routine that was not only helping us eat cheaper, but better and more consistently. I’ve written so much here before about how much I love cooking and baking, but like any creative outlet, you don’t get time to pursue it without some intentional pre-planning. So now that we are rolling into week three of our school year, I’m also in my third week of my new meal planning strategy and I’m loving it so much, that I have to share. Here’s what this week’s meal plan looks like: 

Lunch Meal Prep: Whole30 Chipotle Bowls (not on the whole30 right now but always try to keep my lunches low cal)
Monday: Chicken Shawarma and Sweet Potato Fry Bowls
Tuesday: Eating Out for Date Night
Wednesday: One Pot Chicken and Dirty Rice
Thursday: Mushroom Tortellini Soup with No Knead Bread
Friday: Out for Football Game
Saturday: Tomato and Egg Shakshuka (no recipe but made with a Traders Joe’s Shakshuka starter and 2 eggs)
Sunday: Leftovers

I do a meal swap with my girlfriends every week that allows me to take care of all my lunches. If you’re curious about the details, we all prep a big batch of one meal on Sunday, divide it into lunch portions and then swap on Monday. This gives us the ease of preparing just one meal but after sharing, we get the diversity of a new lunch everyday. If you have a girls group, at the office, church, bible study, whatever, I REALLY recommend this as a way to knock out all your lunches for the week on a Sunday afternoon. 

DInners are all planned out like you see above and you can find ALL of the tried and true recipes I listed in this week’s plan in my ever growing online recipe index. I’m sharing this in the hopes of making a regular meal plan habit feel doable, because all of the recipes in the index have been made and loved in my kitchen and by my people several times over. 

If you have some meal planning hacks or even just some great recipes to add to the index, comment below! The greatest thing about the internet is that we all get to work together here. Thanks for being part of my people and best of luck in the start of a brand new routine. 

Recipe Index Link