2019 Summer 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.
Watch this video to 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 have loved using the cookbook Cook Once, Eat all Week for making healthy meals that require very little prep (a summer must), and make huge portions. The bigger portions allow us to eat leftovers for lunch OR have someone over for dinner easily. I have chosen several weeks of meals from this cookbook (reflected below), and then have added additional meals that are our family’s summer favorites. Cook Once, Eat all Week gives you only three dinners a week, so I like having a plan for what to cook the additional days of the week to make meal planning super simple. (Shop for Cook Once, Eat all Week in my Amazon Favorite’s Shop under Kitchen!)
2019 SUMMER 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!
1. Cook Once Eat all Week, Week 1
2. Week 2
3. Week 3
4. Week 4
5. Week 5
6. Week 6
7. Week 8
8. Week 13
9. Week 14
10. Week 15
11. Week 16
12. Week 26
13. Herb Crusted Salmon, Roasted Broccoli and Creamy Coconut Lime Quinoa
Sub chicken for chickpeas
15. Green Chili Chicken Burgers, homemade fries or green veggie
16. Creamy Salsa Verde Skillet, Cauliflower Rice or Zucchini Noodles
17. Burgers, homemade fries, salad
18. Honey Mustard Chicken, Avocado & Bacon Salad
19. Seafood Veggie Bowl
Scallops, roasted brussels, roasted sweet potato, quinoa, and kale
Lunch Rotation:
Cold Plates: taco lime grilled chicken or chicken salad, avocado, cucumber, nuts, sliced peppers, pesto, etc.
Tuna Casserole
Pesto Chicken Salads
Turkey Meatballs and Pasta for Jordan
Sloppy Joes mix with baked sweet potatoes 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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