Meal Planning

Do you meal plan?  I don’t as often as I should.  I say this because when I do, oh how our world runs so soooo much smoother!

7 weeks ago, I was coaxed into doing the Whole Life Challenge.  It’s been amazing staying on all the 7 tasks and really changing the way I think about living a whole, well balanced life, especially with the food portion of the challenge.  My only complaint (well…maybe there’s a few more…) is that I don’t like to deprive myself.  I have never liked to deprive myself.  And fortunately for me, my mind and body are able to limit the indulgences in my ‘real world’ but on this thing, there are no exceptions, or you just take away a point (which I HAVE!  Oh yes, sometimes a girl just needs to have her bowl of ice cream or that extra glass of wine!).

To stay on task with the WLC and making these food choices, I got really good about food planning.  And seeing this the last week on the challenge, I thought I’d do some repeat menu items that really hit home with me AND my family!

So to get started, Monday I hit Costco to stalk up for the week on fruits, veggies, eggs, yogurt, milk, etc.  Then, I swing by Trader Joe’s for the smaller things like slivered almonds, a small bag of snap peas, naan (in the frozen section…its delish!), pre-cooked beets (SO EASY!) and then this week should be taken care of!

Here’s the plan:

Monday: Vegetable Fried Rice This is AMAZING!  If you eat meat, I throw in some rotisserie chicken (grab one at Costco!) and it’s a meal in a bowl.  Quick. Easy. One pan. Done!

Tuesday: Tacos of course!!!  I cook the pork from this crock-pot recipe: Mojo Pork serve with corn tortillas, guacamole (I grab those Organic prepacked ones from Costco–so easy), black beans and chopped tomatoes. If you have them, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime really takes this from ordinary to extraordinary! Done!

Wednesday: Shakshuka Looks different, right?  It was and it was amazingly delicious!  I serve this with naan and the kids eat it up!  Another one pan dish which = less dishes. L-O-V-E!

Thursday: The hubbie comes back from hunting this day so I think I need to make something meaty and who can say no to traditional BBQ steaks? (OK, Ashish, maybe you and a few of my other vegetarian friends. Sorry!!!  You can skip the red meat and just go with the what follows...), baked butternut squash with a dollop of butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon accompanied by one of my favorite salads, either this Beet Salad or this year-round favorite Kale Lemon Avocado Salad.

*Note, since I am on the WLC, some of the recipes call for sugar, honey, or maple syrup. I just leave it out.  Same goes for the salad ingredients. My whole family LOVES edamame AND cheeses but they are not compliant with WLC so I leave them off of mine, but give it to my family members.

I hope some of these recipes become part of your go-to meals too!

xo,

Melissa