Let’s talk more about using your meal database to plug into your weekly meal plan. Hopefully you used the prompt from last week to make a list of meals that your family enjoys. Having this list allows you to quickly plan weekly meals. It really is just plugging them into each day. Easy peasy.
Things to Consider
If your family is like mine, each week is a little different. There are some steady routines like sports and activities after school. There can also be additional meetings that are not necessarily routine. I find that I need to keep our family calendar next to me when I am plugging in my meals.
Ask Yourself These Questions:
- How much prep time do I have?
- Will everyone be eating at the same time?
- Do we need to eat on the go?
- Do we need to eat earlier/later than usual?
- Am I doing the meal prep or is someone else in my family?
Answering these questions helps me plug meals into my calendar. The answers to these questions tell me if I need to use something like a slow cooker or pressure cooker to make the meal. If I know I will have limited time then I may want to use one of those kitchen tools. If we need to eat on the go, I want a meal that I can keep at the proper temperature and ideally fits into 1 container per person. When not everyone is eating at the same time I need to make sure the meal will hold until the last person eats.
Variety is the spice of life!
I try to build some variety into our week as I plug in meals. To me variety is not having the same protein or base to the meal. I strive to have a variety of beef, chicken/turkey, pork and meatless options throughout the week. Variety is also different flavor profiles. There are so many different ways to season foods and so many different cultures to pull foods from. This week we are having a Mexican inspired meal and an Asian inspired meal.
My meal plan this week:
- Sunday: Pork Loin, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Salad
- Monday: Sheet Pan Enchiladas (ground beef)
- Tuesday: Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce and Chicken Sausage, Roasted Asparagus
- Wednesday: Cheeseburger Wraps, Tator Tots, Salad (ground beef)
- Thursday: Turkey Teriyaki Bowls (ground turkey)
- Friday-Sunday: Unplanned due to the long Easter weekend/travel plans
Time to take your meal database and plug it into your calendar for the week. See how simple it is to plan meals when you have a map to guide you?!
-Lindsay
