Weekly Meal Plan 6/12-6/18

Off to the Kiawah we go!! We are beyond excited. I have to remind myself we are still learning what beach vacations look like for our family. Last year we took a trip to Bald Head Island with a 2 year old and teething 7 month old. It was our first beach trip as a family of four… and it was humbling. This year, we decided to sabotage my parents on their vacation for some extra hands (I’m kidding, they love it!). They’ll stay at their own house and we have a larger house with my sister and her family - she has a 3 year old and also a teething 8 month old! I can hear the chaos now!

Pre kids, Kiawah trips were serene… soaking up the 5pm sun (my favorite time of day at the beach), playing bocce with family, and snacking on pretzels and a cold beer (the best combo). These trips were also a chance for my family to cook elaborate meals together and truly indulge in summer produce, fresh fish, homemade desserts, and homemade cocktails.

Now, things have changed. I probably won’t be on the beach at 5pm, because my children will spontaneously combust if dinner isn’t by 6. But that doesn’t mean that dinner can’t still be fantastic, and that we can’t have homemade cocktails! It just takes a little bit more planning.

Let me explain:

Meal 1: This makes for an easy night. My sister will make the enchiladas and the slaw in advance and we can have them either the night we arrive (because that night is always hectic) or another night when we want to stay on the beach longer. Some of kids probably won’t eat enchiladas so we’ll make some quesadillas, have chips and salsa and guacamole, and fruit if we need more fillers.

Meal 2: I’ll make the marinade at home so its ready to go when we decide to have it. It’s my favorite chicken marinade https://playswellwithbutter.com/greek-marinade/. I know it by heart and don’t even measure anymore. Chicken legs, or chicken on the bone (as we call it), is a crowd pleaser in our family. Throw them on the grill, roast some veggies, and serve with corn pudding (pre-made by my sister).

Meal 3: Simple enough! I don’t think this needs any explanation. I’m expecting my 3 year old to just eat tater tots that night. And I’m okay with that. But, I’ll always put some of everything on his plate, he might surprise me!

Meal 4: The shrimp boil is a special tradition for my family at the beach. This meal will be a gift made by parents… maybe I’ll make the cocktails! If you’re not familiar with a shrimp boil, it’s basically a big pot of shrimp, corn, potatoes, and sometimes sausage all cooking together in Cajun seasoning. I look forward to it every year. This meal is questionable with little kids. Corn and potatoes are a crowd pleaser, but the spices may be too strong. We’ll see how it plays out. If anything there’s always veggies, hummus, fruit and yogurt in the fridge.

Meal 5: Pretty simple meal. We’ll grill the steaks and zucchini. My sister is making the mashed sweet potatoes in advance. I feel like I should mention that my 3 year old will not eat steak, refuses zucchini, and scoffs at sweet potatoes. However, he will gobble up some sour dough bread. All these foods will be offered to him, though. Maybe if he sees cousins eating he’ll have a change of heart… peer pressure!

Meal 6: Pizza and salad. Like I said in the last weekly meal plan, we do it every week… the beach is no exception! This is also a night were we can stay on the beach a little longer to enjoy that 5pm perfection!

Meal 7: Depending on what sort of leftovers we have, we’ll either clean out the fridge and eat leftovers at the end of the week, or go out.

I felt like I had to include lunches here, because beach lunches are my favorite!! Its a smorgasbord of every “salad” you could think of. I’ll try and post recipes for each very soon. We pull everything out of the fridge, cut open a cold watermelon, set out some homemade cookies and lunch is served!

Cheers!