2020 Fall Meal Plan
Better late than never! I have been loving super basic meals since this whole Pandemic began. Basically anything that can be made by what’s already stocked in my kitchen. A protein, a veggie, and a side salad or starch like sprouted beans (made in my Instant Pot), quinoa or rice. These meals are so delicious because I focus on seasonings and browning or roasting my food for extra flavor. And they are incredibly easy and CHEAP because they take only a few ingredients. In addition to these thrown together meals, I have put together a shorter than usual Fall Meal Plan to reference when I’m stuck and unsure what to make. These are a compilation of some of my previous tried-and-true recipes as well as some new recipes to try. I love trying new things so we don’t get bored!
FALL MEAL PLAN
this is a great meal that you can totally change up with every season based on whatever produce is in season. I LOVE the blend of savory and sweet in this one from the carrots and butternut squash. So good!
This soup is so delicious and super nutritious. I have subbed quinoa before and it works great as well. Slicing salmon off the skin is also surprisingly easy, so don’t be intimidated! Just make sure your knife is sharp! ;)
Another great salmon soup
3. Pork Chops + Creamy Pecan Brussels Sprouts
I love to season my pork chops with salt, pepper and garlic powder then sear in a hot cast iron for a few minutes on both sides. Then I pop it in a 425 F oven for about 10 minutes to finish cooking.
4. Turmeric Chicken No-noodle Soup
Another super nourishing soup! Cabbage is wonderful for detoxing the liver and turmeric is a great immune system support! Plus it’s a filling soup too.
5. Pear, Goat Cheese + Italian Sausage Pizza
I recently tried this pizza crust and enjoyed it, so I’m excited about the prospect of a fall inspired pizza this season.
6. Moroccan Chicken with apricots, cauliflower rice or white rice
This has been a fall staple for year and is soooo dang delicious. Definitely a great one for when you have company too.
7. Grain-Free Chicken Nuggets, roasted veggie, salad
My kids love these….in fact, we all do! See my note below about making a big batch of these for the freezer to pull out on those nights you don’t know what to cook or just don’t feel like cooking! On those nights, maybe pair these with some frozen sweet potato fries…done!
8. Creamy White Chicken Chili, Paleo Cornbread
This cornbread tastes more like the real thing than any other paleo cornbread out there. Plus you will want this cookbook for ALL the fall and holiday cooking coming up. I use it constantly.
We had this on our Summer Meal Plan because I was just so obsessed, so now that it’s fall, don’t mind if I keep it on the list ;)
10. Cranberry Rosemary Chicken, roasted veggie
11. Breakfast for dinner using these pancakes
I just leave out the chai tea part and add whatever we want inside (pumpkin, berries, chocolate chips…)
12. Sausage Apple Stuffed Butternut Squash
A butternut squash recipe I don’t have to peel the squash for? Sign me up.
13. Pulled Pork Sandwiches with blender bread, roasted veggie
I’ve actually never tried this blender bread before, but I’d like to. And if it doesn’t work, I’ll try a couple other biscuit/bun recipes from this cookbook!
LUNCH IDEAS:
loads of veggies, tuna salad, cooked chicken apple sausage, chicken salad, leftovers, butternut squash soup.
BAKING:
These GF Apple Cider Donuts are amazinggggg
PREP AHEAD FOR THE SEASON:
There’s really nothing better than batching some food to make life easier down the road. Especially with virtual school and managing work and life with a whole new routine, I promise that this extra work at the start of the season will reap so many benefits for the next 3 months.
head to a big-box store like Costco or SAM’s Club and grab the protein and pantry items you’ll need for these recipes in one shopping trip. I don’t have a deep freezer, just the skinny side freezer, and I promise, with some tetris-ing (just made that word up!) you can fit so much food in there!
make a big batch of bone broth to freeze for easy nutritious soups
batch chicken nuggets — these are a bit labor-intensive to make, so making a triple batch ahead can really come in handy for a quick weeknight meal
batch pancakes to freeze and pop in the toaster when you’re ready to eat
batch pizza crusts — again, a time-intensive component to the meal, so making a few ahead of time is a great idea!
Basically the point is, when you know what you’ll be eating all season, you can prepare ahead and make life a ton easier during the in-between. If you try this, snap a pic of your prep and tag me on Instagram!
OTHER RESOURCES:
Back to School Meal Planning for a Seamless Fall
We have still been loving our Misfits Market orders. I changed my shipment from bi-weekly to weekly and we get the Madness Box (largest option). I love that there are so many add-on items to choose from now as well as the ability to choose which produce ends up in your box. This has made healthy grocery shopping that much easier during this pandemic. Anyone else totally fatigued from the grocery store situation? If you want to try Misfits, you can grab 25% off your first order with my code: COOKWME-KN0JIS. CHECK IT OUT HERE.
Unfortunately I had to cancel our membership with Imperfect Foods. We got a box of meat that was WARM when it arrived in a half broken box. After months of horrible deliveries, spoiled meat was the last straw. I have heard from many of you that this packaging issue is totally regional, and not the case everywhere! So, if you still want to give it a try — go for it!