Weekly Meal Plan August 28th - September 4th

Woahhhh… next week is September?! Time… what happened?

To be honest, I’m not sad about saying goodbye to summer. Don’t get me wrong, I love summer (MUCH more that winter) but I also love change - going from season to season really refreshes me. But, we live in North Carolina, so I don’t know why I’m talking about the change of seasons in September - it can actually be one of our hottest months!

Although I dream of making soups, stews, casseroles, roasts, and crock pot dishes, that will all have to wait until October (at least!). And, while its still 90-something degrees outside for what seems like eternity, I’ll continue with my summer fair.

Let me explain:

Meal 1: I just love a cheeseburger in the summer after a day at the pool. Serve it up with oven-roasted tots and grilled zucchini and squash and its one of the most satisfying and simple meals we eat these days.

Meal 2: I have chicken breast in the freezer and Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde in the pantry. I’m using The Real Food Dietitians recipe for crock pot Salsa Verde Chicken which will be the base for a Mexican-style bowl. I’ll serve the chicken (which my kids may or may not eat) with rice, beans, corn, cheese, avocado, chips and dips. One of those lovely meals where I basically pull out the entire contents of my fridge (but its just so darn good!!).

Meal 3: It’s too simple, I know! A classic toddler meal served up for the entire family… who doesn’t like it! My husband and I usually have nuggets chopped up on a big salad and a bowl of mac and cheese on the side. I love peas in my salad so I’ll add those too, just so everyone is eating everything. And there will be fruit… we almost always have fruit.

Meal 4: If meal 3 is geared more for kids, then this is meal is geared more for adults… and I’m excited! I’ve been craving these buffalo stuffed peppers I make, but zucchini was on sale, so… why not zucchini! I’m using Buffalo Turkey Stuffed Zucchini Boats from Erin Lives Whole as a guide…. or I’ll follow it exactly. I’ll serve them up with rice and fruit. I thought rice (rather than another starch like potatoes or pasta) seemed appropriate - I can just imagine mixing it all together - the rice and zucchini boats - on my plate and being so, so happy. The kids will get a little piece of the boat to try and if they like it, I’ll give them more.

Meal 5: Using my favorite Greek Marinade on chicken legs, grilling them up and serving them with an orzo pasta salad. I chose orzo for a very specific reason… food chaining. I’ll explain food chaining soon in a blog post, but it’s basically where you start with a familiar food that you know your child likes and accepts, then introduce similar but slightly different foods. For example, if you know your child likes apples but not pears then you might try introducing an Asian pear because its crunchy and round like an apple. So for Reed, he loves rice, and this pasta shape is very rice-like. I’m really trying to get him to enjoy pasta… pulling out all the tricks!

Meal 6: We’ll use whatever leftovers we have to make a meal come together or just make some frozen pizza.

Meal 7: OUT!