Weekly Meal Plan July 17th - July 24th

There are some weeks where I’m really excited to meal plan and searching through old and new recipes delights me. This week has not been one of those weeks. I don’t know if I’m just getting tired of summer produce and craving something different, or if I’m just in a little rut. Either way, I’m not thrilled with this weeks menu. But, that’s okay. We will eat, we will be nourished, we will move on to more exciting things. I hope you’ve been more inspired by food than I have this week!

Let me explain:

Meal 1: This is a meal that I’m excited about! I’ve been craving a good burger. We’ll do them with oven baked fries and I’ll throw some okra in the oven too - if you haven’t tried roasted okra, you’re missing out! They’re known for being slimy but if you roast them they are slightly crispy and delicious. I’ll try and post how I do it! I’m expecting the boys to eat cheese (part of the cheese burger), fries and fruit this night. Sometimes we do Cheeseburger Salads by Skinnytaste (I highly recommend!), but not this night… I’m wanting the real thing.

Meal 2: This is proof that I’m just not into planning this week! I’ve gone back of forth between options and really I just want to leave this day open. Maybe we have leftovers, maybe I’ll whip up something fantastic, or maybe we eat mac and cheese. But I felt like leaving myself a little wiggle room to play this week.

Meal 3: Back to frozen pizza this week. Last week we made our own, and I’ll stick with the frozen variety until I look back on that memory more fondly. It was sort of like childbirth - you need a little time to forget the bad stuff and then you’re ready to do it again! HA!

Meal 4: Another meal I’m excited about! My mom used to make this meal for us when we were a little older, Cooking Light Chicken Bruschetta (holy cow its from 2000!). It’s grilled chicken (I’ll do mine in a balsamic-ish marinade) on top of stewed zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, onions, tomatoes and basil. Then take all that and put it over some pasta. It’s fresh, fairy simple, and when I serve it with bread and fruit, everyone will be happy. I don’t follow the recipe linked anymore, but I use it as inspiration - I’ll try and post my version.

Meal 5: I have a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer that needs using, so shrimp tacos it is! We haven’t had tacos in a while, mainly because when we do have them I feel like I pull out the entire fridge onto the kitchen table for toppings and sides. But shrimp tacos are simple (simple if I sauté the shrimp, if I make them crispy that’s another story - and I haven’t quite decided). I’ll whip up an avocado salad (recipe linked for inspiration) and add corn to it. Corn is added so my 3 year old will have something on the table he likes (its going to be a tough meal for him). And, we’ll have chips and guac and fruit to go along with it.

Meal 6: The meatballs are already in the freezer. I’ll just spiralize some zucchini noodles (with my little helpers), sauté those for a minute, and heat up from frozen gnocchi (I roast mine in the oven, I like the fact that I just throw them in there and they’re out of sight, out of mind). Top it all with marinara and have a side of bread and fruit. Done!

Meal 7: OUT, date night! Kids will most likely get mac and cheese and peas… maybe some nuggets.