2019 Spring Meal Plan
First of all, let’s start with defining what Seasonal Meal Planning is, and how is it different from any other meal planning method you've tried. A Seasonal Meal Plan is a list of 16-20 tried and true dinner recipes that you choose at the beginning of the season to rotate through for the 3 months of that season. This eliminates wasted time each week scrolling Pinterest for the next inspirational meal idea to make your family, and streamlines the whole meal planning process down to about 15 minutes a week.
If you often find yourself bored of the food you cook, or are frustrated week in and week out with how long it takes and how overwhelming it is to plan your meals, then the Seasonal Meal Planner is for you. The SMP is special because it not only allows you a space to keep everything food related organized; but it actually prompts you weekly, monthly and seasonally on each step you need to take to keep meal times simple so you never have to be overwhelmed again. You'll also find that the thread of hospitality runs through it, encouraging you to make inviting others into your home an ongoing rhythm and priority of life.
Learn more about Seasonal Meal Planning here.
Learn how to create your own Seasonal Meal Plan in my FREE 5 Day Meal Planning Course.
This year my goals were: seasonal produce (of course), lots of greens, diverse protein selections, meals that were quick and cheap (using ingredients I already have stocked in the pantry), and easy for serving to others. I decided to focus on these seasonal veggies: artichokes, asparagus, avocado, potatoes, spinach and swiss chard. Below you will see our main dish with the side option I’ve chosen to go with it. I can flex on what I have on hand or can find at the store when it comes to sides.
2019 SPRING MEAL PLAN
want to see how I prep and put these meals together all season? Make sure you’re following on insta for behind the scenes!
No corn
2. One Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken, Asparagus
sub coconut milk for cow’s milk
Sub chicken for chickpeas
4. Herb Crusted Salmon, Sautéed Swiss Chard, Roasted Potatoes
5. Classic Spaghetti Sauce, Roasted Broccoli
6. Pork Enchilada Baked Potatoes, Salad
I’ll be using pork shoulder instead of chicken for some added variety since I have so many other chicken recipes in my meal plan.
I’ll be prepping a bunch of this Paleo enchilada sauce and freezing to quickly pull out for this meal
8. Hamburger Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, Swiss Chard (H)*
9. Easy Chicken and Veggie Curry, Cauliflower Rice (H)
10. Peruvian Roast Chicken, Roasted Vegetables
11. Creamy Salsa Verde Skillet, Cauliflower Rice or Zucchini Noodles
12. Whole30 Baked Chicken Parm, Sautéed Greens
13. Slow Cooker Basil Chicken Bowls (H)
I will be soaking and blending cashews with water to make the “cream” used for the sauce in this recipe and keeping a bunch in the freezer
16. Fish Florentine, Gluten Free Pasta for kids and Jordan
17. Paleo Chicken Tenders, Homemade Fries
18. Artichoke & Sausage Frittata, Salad
this is just a recipe I have in my head, so follow along on insta to see me make it! If you want it on the blog, let me know!
19. Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs, Roasted Plantain
This recipe can be found in Dinner: The Playbook
20. Pork Chops, Mushrooms & Asparagus
this is just a recipe I have in my head, so follow along on insta to see me make it! If you want it on the blog, let me know!
* H = meals great for Hospitality
Lunch Rotation:
Green Goddess Soup
Cold Plates: Chicken Salad, avocado, cucumber, nuts
Pesto Chicken Salads
Turkey Meatballs and Pasta for Jordan
A note about kids meals: I get asked a lot if our kids eat the healthy meals we make. The answer is yes and no. Our philosophy is that we don’t plan dinners around the kids desires. If they request something specific, I’ll make sure to add it to the following weeks meal plan in some way, but over the years I have just noticed that their preferences change way too much for me to map out meals around them. For instance, they may LOVE meatballs and brussels sprouts one week, so I happily serve it up the following week only to hear whines and complaints. This makes it very hard and more disappointing for me. We also don’t want to make our kids separate meals either, so except for occasionally, we don’t serve them something completely different. I have some customers who do this, and I think that’s totally fine. We just want to teach our kids that they need to eat what mommy prepares for them. It’s both respectful to me and teaches them that meal times don’t revolve around them. We are also hoping that the constant exposure to new and healthy options will yield good fruit in the long run as their taste buds change and they naturally get less picky (children are developmentally more opposed to certain foods from ages 2-6). Serving our meals family style also helps them by creating curiosity!
OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES:
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