Week Eats v.10//Meal Planning Linkup & Comment On

It’s that time of the week. Week Eats is your friendly meal plan. Okay, really it is all for the sake of my poor husband who has been married almost six years and eaten by the skin of his teeth every single night. As in, it’s 4pm and no meat is defrosted 😉

See our other volumes here. Your part? Comment with what you’re eating or link your blog post about food. Help each other find new recipes!

I’m going to focus on lunch & snacks as dinners have been going very smoothly around here.

Something I learned about myself in my month fast from processed sugar is that I don’t eat a nutritional lunch. Therefore by mid afternoon, a handful of chocolate chips, or a grab at cookies or fudge sounds appealing because I’m not full on good food. And after ruining my appetite for dinner (surprise, surprise, your mother was right about that), I wouldn’t have a great appetite for dinner. Then later in the evening, when hungry, enter: ice cream.

There’s nothing abhorrent about a little sugar here and there, but it took me going without it for 30 days to realize that I was abusing it. So I’m resolved to be conscious about lunches beyond the norm for me and the kids, and having good snacks on hand, too.

Monday

snack: Homemade granola bars. Made them last week. Delish!! Following this recipe.

lunch: Fresh cucumbers and bell peppers with hummus, whole grain crackers, slices of deli harvarti cheese, apple slices

dinner: Chicken. Planning on this Chicken Marsala (only using normal broth).

Tuesday

snack: Popcorn. Homemade on the stove is easy. You don’t need a popcorn maker. Follow these instructions (I use coconut or canola oil as SuperBoy is allergic to peanuts). And then add butter and salt.

lunch: Barley & black bean salad. I really think my kids will go for this. They love grains and beans!

dinner: Braised beef short ribs by Smitten Kitchen.

Wednesday

snack: homemade fruit leather because $.65 per at the coop may kill my budget.

lunch: chopped Greek salad because yum yum yum minus the olives. yuck yuck yuck.

dinner: Vegetable Lasagna a la Pioneer Woman.

Thursday

snack: grapes, nuts, and almond butter.

lunch: Grilled cheese & cream of tomato soup.

dinner: Roasted pork loin easy peasy.

Friday

snack: homemade guac & chips

lunch: lettuce, orange, and pecan salad

dinner: pizza fridays!!

///

Okay, what are you eating?

16 Comments

Gina on January 31, 2015 at 8:36 am

I love that you are planning snacks and lunch. I want to/need to do that. One of these days…
- Natural Mama Nell on January 31, 2015 at 12:23 pm
  
  It is my first time trying. Haha let’s see how it goes!
Rachel Louise on January 31, 2015 at 9:59 am

My go-to snack for the mid-afternoon lull MUST have protein in it – string cheese, yogurt or a hardboiled egg. It will get you all the way to dinnertime without getting hangry, which is fun for no one. 😉

Also, this soup is a HUGE winner in our home: http://cooklikeachampion.com/2012/01/tortellini-minestrone/

(we increase the veggies and it is the perfect one pot meal. top with pesto made + frozen in the summer with basil from the garden.)
- Natural Mama Nell on January 31, 2015 at 12:23 pm
  
  Yum!!! Great ideas!
Amy @ Motherhood and Miscellany on January 31, 2015 at 2:22 pm

I’m really in awe of the fact that you are planning snack and lunches, and also that you are actually making real things for lunch. Things with *recipes* even! I am a big loser at lunch and snacks. I need to get on this 🙂
- Natural Mama Nell on January 31, 2015 at 2:46 pm
  
  Let be honest. It’s my first time ever planning lunch and snacks–and more because I keep not actually eating lunch and then being insanely crabby and hangry!!
Laura @ Mothering Spirit on January 31, 2015 at 4:58 pm

This is awesome. Love your ideas. I’m sick of our food rut, but winter is a hard time to get inspired! So it’s fun to hear what’s cooking chez toi.
I do plan lunches to make sure we have good variety, but I got bogged down in too much detail when I tried to meal-plan snacks, too. Now I stick to the fruit-or-veggie-plus-protein formula for every afternoon. Enough variations on a theme there to satisfy the hungry masses – carrots/cucumbers + hummus, apples + peanut butter, anything + cheese 🙂
- Natural Mama Nell on January 31, 2015 at 7:01 pm
  
  Love that you plan lunches! I never ever have. It’s been so boring at lunch time I’m excited for some variety!
Hafsa on January 31, 2015 at 11:11 pm

I love all your lunch ideas. My kids and I love tomato soup but my husband is not a fan, so perfect idea to make it for lunch when he’s not home 🙂
- Natural Mama Nell on January 31, 2015 at 11:35 pm
  
  So smart!
Annie on February 1, 2015 at 4:40 pm

Your lunches and snacks sound delicious! We basically eat salads for lunch everyday, and I’m finding that with our new baby, it helps for me to prep all of the salad stuff on Sunday afternoon so we can just grab and throw on some dressing everyday….guess I’d better get to prepping!
- Natural Mama Nell on February 1, 2015 at 9:31 pm
  
  Brilliant!!
Kathy H on February 3, 2015 at 9:49 am

I like your easy dinner entrees. But how do you handle side dishes at dinner time? Any go to favorites?
- Natural Mama Nell on February 4, 2015 at 10:05 am
  
  Great question. It’s been mostly raw or steamed veggies just to up our intake, nothing too special. I’ll have to add some for next week!
TIL 016: Food! Feeding our kids and ourselves well, with Nell O'Leary - This Inspired Life on February 12, 2015 at 10:45 pm

[…] The latest weekly meal plan from Nell and the rest of the link-up participants in her Week Eats link-up!! […]
My Interview with Kristin at This Inspired Life (and six other things from my week) | Whole Parenting Family on February 13, 2015 at 8:31 am

[…] smirking. Did you try those fruit snacks I posted last week?? […]