Whole Parenting Family

Week Eats v 3 // comment & link with your meal plans

week eats saturday

Friends–I’ve been SLAMMED!

See volumes 1 & 2 for what’s happening here.

This is all I have for my meal plan this next week.

 

….

 

Yup. HELP!

I tell my tale of yesterday’s woe & insanity on insta. But otherwise the short of it is: I’m sososososorry I didn’t have my act together and this up sooner!

Bisous!

32 Comments

  1. Celia on November 8, 2014 at 10:23 am

    We’re doing pantry clean out this week. We have a lot of lentils. I bought a 25 lb bag of de Puy lentils this summer and have lots left. Which is great, but I have to consciously use them more than once a week or I’ll have these lentils in our pantry forever.

    Breakfasts are varying types of oatmeal. During the week it’s regular oatmeal in the slow cooker (on warm) overnight. Weekends we get fancy and do baked oatmeal with apples and nuts. Lunches are usually leftovers or beans and rice.

    Tonight: spaghetti with meat sauce (My husband cooks this every Saturday. This week it’s with pork because we got awesome ground pork in our CSA box this week.)
    Sunday: some kind of beef stew
    Monday: beans, veggies, and a fried egg or two on top…. possibly with rice or quinoa
    Tuesday: Mujadarra (middle Eastern lentils and rice with caramelized onions) http://immigrantstable.com/2014/01/06/mujadara/ I am a bit more generous with the olive oil than this recipe, but that’s basically it. One of my absolute favorite recipes.
    Wednesday: Lentils braised in red wine. https://food52.com/blog/11673-judy-rodgers-lentils-braised-in-red-wine#W4brll:CGW This takes longer to cook than the recipe says, but is SO worth it. We’ll have it with sauteed greens.
    Thurs: Some kind of winter squash soup and toast.
    Friday: Grilled cheese and tomato soup



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 8, 2014 at 11:19 am

      GIRRRRRL. Loving this. THANK YOU!!!!!



    • Sarah on November 8, 2014 at 11:53 am

      Those lentil recipes look legit!



      • Natural Mama Nell on November 8, 2014 at 5:23 pm

        Word!!



  2. Sarah on November 8, 2014 at 11:52 am

    This isn’t a meal plan, exactly, but these are all recipes I keep in frequent rotation right now! http://mommynotesblogs.blogspot.com/2014/10/bless-new-mom.html?m=1
    I’ve also been cubing tons of sweet potatoes and butter nut squash, mixing with coconut oil and balsamic vinegar . I throw a few frozen chicken breaststroke on top, drizzle a little more vinegar and oil, and let bake at 350 for close to two hours. Sooooo yummy.



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 8, 2014 at 5:24 pm

      Love that it’s a lot of chopping & tossing. That’s really what I need.



  3. Lauren on November 8, 2014 at 12:58 pm

    Today we are going to attempt this chicken noodle soup (haven’t had before): http://littlebabygarvin.blogspot.com/2014/11/chicken-noodle-soup.html
    Later this week, these enchiladas: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-enchiladas-recipe.html
    And these, because we need some finger food veggies that are easy for little miss {mostly} toothless to eat (haven’t tried yet): http://cupcakesandkalechips.com/2013/10/01/baked-cauli-tots/
    With my husband deployed, we subsist on lots of leftovers and recreations of meals (taking the extra main component of a dish and reworking. works well for stuff like chicken or extra ground beef.)



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 8, 2014 at 5:23 pm

      Lauren, first off, kudddddos on the deployed husband deal. You’re amazing. Secondly. YES to these ideas!



  4. Maggie on November 8, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    Ha, ha, love this menu, momma! Here’s mine:
    Friday – wedge salad (homemade blue cheese), chunk of bread
    Saturday – chicken piccata, mash potato, roasted onion (thanks, Ina)
    Sunday – baked potato soup (Pioneer Woman)
    Monday – burrito bowls (see Dinner: A Love Story)
    Tuesday – white bean pizzas (drain a can of white beans, add minced garlic; put in food processer till paste-like; put it on pita/tortilla/pizza crust, top with sun-dried tomato, spinach, oregano, light cheese
    Wednesday – salmon and lentil salad (I add onion, peppers, etc. to cooked lentils and toss in vinagarette)
    Thursday – I have a lawyer-thing at night, so it’s going to be a pizza from Little Caesars for everyone else!



    • Celia on November 8, 2014 at 3:33 pm

      White bean pizzas sound good.



    • Sarah on November 8, 2014 at 4:42 pm

      White bean pizza sounds divine!



      • Natural Mama Nell on November 8, 2014 at 5:20 pm

        YUM



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 8, 2014 at 5:22 pm

      Maggie: changing lives and dinner tables on a (now) weekly basis. YES!!!



      • Anonymous on November 8, 2014 at 6:01 pm

        🙂 By the way, the white bean pizza is from a cookbook called “1500 calories a day” by Betty Crocker.



  5. Rachel @ Efficient Momma on November 8, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    Gah! I love this link up. I’m always looking for new ideas and recipes 🙂



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 8, 2014 at 5:22 pm

      These ladies are amazing.



  6. sibyl on November 8, 2014 at 2:36 pm

    Oh, I love having this conversation. Here’s my meal plan for this coming week:
    Tonight: Hamburgers with nice cheese, pickles, steamed broccoli, chips
    Sunday: I’m out of town, but the family will be eating frozen egg rolls and fresh pineapple. And pizza rolls that they will surreptitiously buy, since I didn’t.
    Monday: Still out of town. Canned Clam Chowder and bread. And pizza rolls.
    Tuesday: Chicken Paprikash and roasted sweet potatoes
    Wednesday: Herbes de Provence pork loin (five pounds, baby, there will be ENOUGH meat), potatoes, spinach salad
    Thursday: Quiche with bacon and spinach, probably sliced green peppers
    Friday: Curly Noodle and Gingered Lentil Soup, muffins

    Each of these meals will be accompanied by milk, and, except for Monday and Tuesday, complaints about how this meal is not somebody’s favorite, and 25 requests that the teenage boy get his elbows off the table.



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 8, 2014 at 5:22 pm

      Oh. Yum. To. The. Tum!! Hahahah on the teenage boy. How about my toddler daughter who toys with fire when she puts her . . . wait for it . . . feet on the table???

      Thank you SO much for your inspiration.



  7. Kristen on November 8, 2014 at 4:07 pm

    You need — OK, I needed — a Waldorf-inspired food rhythm so I didn’t ever have to think very hard about what I’d be making on any given night. Sunday, roast. Monday, skillet or one-pot meal. Tuesday, fish/shellfish. Wednesday, pizza. Thursday, soup/salad/sandwich, pick 2. Friday, casserole or bake. Saturday, wildcard/clean out the fridge. There is a ton of variety possible, so much so that other people in your home may not even realize you are following this rhythm for weeks. And this changes a bit over the course of a year, like when I sub in grilling for soup in the summer. I keep a Pinterest board for most of those categories so that when I am uninspired it’s easy to find something that fits the bill without looking very hard. I do something more specific week by week, but I always start with that rhythm, to make things easier.

    I also credit Tamar Adler’s And Everlasting Meal with helping rejuvenate my meal planning. She talks a lot about using the same thing for different purposes (e.g., a bunch of sauteed broccoli, with one half being a side that night and the other half going into a soup later in the week) and using the ends of things as a base for the next thing. Some types of foods are especially forgiving in this regard (soups, stir frys, frittatas, stratas, pizzas) and I lean on those types of dishes a lot in my menu rhythm.



    • Kristen on November 8, 2014 at 4:09 pm

      …An Everlasting Meal. Typo. It’s such an inspiring read. Her writing is beautiful, and the content is so, so useful.



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 8, 2014 at 5:21 pm

      What a beautiful concept!! I really love it. Wow. Inspirational, no kidding!!! I really do need this.



    • Celia on November 8, 2014 at 6:58 pm

      I LOVE that book. I think it should be required reading for everyone.



  8. sarah marie on November 8, 2014 at 8:16 pm

    Oh hey, coincidentally, I just blogged a recipe! A delish one (if I do say so myself). Butternut squash, arugula, caramelized onion, feta quiche. Mmmmm I already want to make it again!

    http://beingsarahmarie.blogspot.com/2014/11/butternut-squash-arugula-caramelized.html



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 9, 2014 at 3:07 pm

      YUM YUM!



  9. Mary Bresnahan on November 8, 2014 at 10:48 pm

    Dear Nell and Friends, I went to the grocery store today and bought enough food for about four days. I tend to go grocery shopping after four days because we can’t go a full week without new produce. It’s also a little less daunting to come up with meal ideas for four days than for seven!

    Tonight: Chicken noodle soup (stock is started from previously eaten Costco chickens; I freeze the bones until it’s time for soup), salad, homemade biscuits (Mark Bittman recipe – I used buttermilk instead of yogurt). http://www.franklyentertaining.com/2012/09/12/mark-bittmans-yogurt-biscuits/
    Sun: Salmon (marinate in 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 soy sauce), roasted broccoli, ancini di pepe (1 cup of small cut pasta like orzo, browned in a 1 T of butter, and simmered for 20 min. in 2 c. of chicken broth – once cooked, add 1/2 cup grated parmesan)
    Mon: Creamy Tomato Soup: http://sharedappetite.com/recipes/quick-and-easy-creamy-tomato-basil-soup/
    Salad and whole wheat focaccia bread (pizza dough in a 9X13 slathered in olive oil and salt before baking at 400).
    Tue: Red lentils, salad, naan bread (Trader Joe’s freezer section).The red lentils are made like an Indian dal. I’m sorry that I don’t have an electronic recipe : (

    Have a good eating week ahead!



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 9, 2014 at 3:04 pm

      Mary: AWESOME!!!!!



  10. meal plan: week of November 10 | sarahunfiltered on November 9, 2014 at 11:31 am

    […] Nell at Whole Parenting has started a meal plan link-up. Love the idea. I’m getting on this […]



  11. Amanda on November 9, 2014 at 3:15 pm

    Okay, so I love cooking and baking and all things food but I never do meal plans! My husband really wants me to, but I’m just not a fan of planning out my meals. I’m a moody chef. On that day, depending on how I’m feeling, I’m either making something spicy, or soupy, or meaty, etc. If I can get my non-planning, non-list-making self together, I would love to join because I do love sharing foods and recipes! But, we’ll see. I do love the link up though! 🙂 Hugs to you and your crazy week!



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 9, 2014 at 10:36 pm

      You are such a love. thanks, friend. It’s good that you have the impetus to cook at all! That’s part of my problem: depleted mom syndrome by 4pm. Without a plan, I default to takeout, or breakfast for dinner. HUGS HUGS HUGS



  12. My “Forever” Menu Plan | This Felicitous Life on November 10, 2014 at 4:34 am

    […] eating!  I’m linking up with Nell for Week Eats and with Org Junkie for Menu Plan […]



  13. Nicole on November 11, 2014 at 1:09 pm

    I love that you’re doing this!! I always feel like I need fresh ideas. Here’s what our week is tentatively looking like:
    Sat: ate at friends’…hooray for no cooking! I made Ina Gartens roasted artichoke salad as an app, delish.

    Sun: pan fried NY strip steak, sautéed asparagus/mushrooms, roasted butternut squash

    Mon: herb-butter drumsticks , Trader Joes buttermilk biscuits, and sweet potatoes

    Tues: crock pot beef stew

    Wed: no plans, so hopefully leftovers, or I’ll get an idea here!

    Thurs: friends over, we’re making an amazing pumpkin stew that’s cooked right in the pump kin, and our friends will bring other stuff

    Fri: soaked black beans and quesadillas



    • Natural Mama Nell on November 11, 2014 at 2:35 pm

      YUM YUM YUM! Thank you so so much for helping!!