Weekly Meal Planning Session #6

Weekly Meal Planning Session

Last weekend when I was planning this week’s meals, I was feeling a little brain dead, so I asked my husband for help. Honestly, I should know better. My husband has no idea what he wants me to cook during the week and would be happy with just about anything. When I ask him this question, and I ask him a lot, he without a doubt responds with Thai lettuce wraps. It’s actually become somewhat of a joke. It seems like this is the only thing he remembers that I cook. So this week, I went ahead and made Thai lettuce wraps because I was just that brain dead.

3 tips for making weekly meal planning easier

1. Don’t have a lot of time to cook? Hit up Trader Joe’s or grocery stores cafe section for already prepared foods. Don’t forget you can always add other ingredients to their selections.

2. If cooking isn’t your thing, rely on meals that require assembly versus cooking. Think: grilled cheese, nachos, quesadillas, soup and salad, frozen pizza, etc.

3. Eat a variety of fresh, canned, frozen, and shelf-stable options. They all can have a place in your diet.

This Week’s Meal Plan

Breakfast Options:

• Option #1 - English muffin with cream cheese, strawberries

• Option #2 - Cinnamon coffee cake, strawberries

Lunch Options:

• Option #1 - Mexican salad - mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cheddar cheese, corn, black beans, avocado, salsa, sour cream with a side of grapes

• Options #2 - Salad with mixed greens, turkey, cherry tomatoes, feta (for husband) or goat cheese (for me), banana peppers, pumpkin seeds, shredded carrots, balsamic dressing, side of fruit, and a side of graham crackers

Dinner:

• Sunday: Chicken fried rice, I often make it from scratch like this recipe, but this time I used Trader Joe’s vegetable fried rice and added chicken and broccoli to it.

• Monday: Thai lettuce wraps

• Tuesday: Turkey Meatballs, zoodles, mushrooms, kale, vodka sauce, garlic bread

• Wednesday: Work open house, eat at event

• Thursday: Leftovers

• Friday: Out

• Saturday: Dinner with friends at Marceillo

Weekly Meal Planning Session: Preparation Beforehand

On Sunday I spent 30 minutes preparing lunches for the week. This week I made 2 different types of salads. I made 4 of the Mexican salad and 4 of the mixed greens salad. I usually would have only made 2-3 of each salad, but I had a lot of extra ingredients so I went ahead and just made 4. See below for how that turned out lol. For the Mexican salad, place all ingredients except salsa, avocado, and sour cream into a reusable container. In a small container, I used small mason jars, put half an avocado, a scoop of sour cream and salsa in one container. The acid in the salsa actually keeps the avocado from browning. I only made one small container ahead of time because I don’t think the avocado will last longer than a day. During the week I made more of the containers with avocado, sour cream, and salsa. I prepped the other salad by placing all the ingredients into a reusable container and the dressing into a small plastic container. I made mason filled with grapes and sliced strawberries to pack with lunches or grab for snacks. I also placed graham crackers in foil for the mixed greens salad since there wasn’t a carb in that salad like the Mexican salad.

Weekly Meal Planning Session: What Really Happened

Plans are a great starting place, but we need to be flexible with our food. So here is what really happened…

Dinners this week went relatively smooth. We ate the chicken fried rice on Sunday and had the leftovers on Monday. On Tuesday we made the Thai lettuce wraps and then ate the leftovers on Thursday. I did not end up making the meatball meal, but the meatballs, zoodles and garlic bread are all frozen so I will plan to make that meal on Sunday. The kale and mushrooms will stay good until Sunday, plus they are getting cooked so texture is less of an issue. As I mentioned above, I made 4 of each salad and I don’t usually make as many as I did this week. My husband went out to lunch more than I expected so there are 3 salads still sitting in my fridge right now that will likely end up on the trash, which proves my point that 2-3 prepped meals is plenty. I also never made the cinnamon coffee cake, I will make that this weekend.

Cheer’s to the week ahead and don’t forget to sign up for my FREE PANTRY STAPLES LIST below.

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Weekly Meal Planning Session Casey Bonano RD LD, Dallas Nutritional Counseling #dallasnutritionalcounseling #balancedeating #homecooking #quickrecipes #easyrecipe #weeknightrecipe #carbfatpro #quickeasyrecipe #balancedeating #intuitiveeating #weeklymealplanningsession #mealplanning #mealprep #mealplanweek6

Weekly Meal Planning Session Casey Bonano RD LD, Dallas Nutritional Counseling #dallasnutritionalcounseling #balancedeating #homecooking #quickrecipes #easyrecipe #weeknightrecipe #carbfatpro #quickeasyrecipe #balancedeating #intuitiveeating #weeklymealplanningsession #mealplanning #mealprep