Last month I posted a winter’s week meal plan for fun and it was unexpectedly quite a popular blog post! So today I’m back with another example, a real life January meal plan for one week–healthy-ish and delicious (and with a lazy parents’ no cook night, too!).
As always, everything is gluten-free due to Eric’s celiac disease. We are also trialing eliminating dairy again for one of the kids so almost everything is adaptable to dairy-free.
A One-Week January Meal Plan
Saturday
- Dinner: Chicken tacos with sautéed rotisserie chicken/veg filling + avocado on corn tortillas (we have this meal every week on grocery day!)
Sunday
- Breakfast: Cinnamon apple oatmeal with nuts
- Lunch: Pancakes (chocolate chip or blueberry) with PB, maple syrup and sliced banana
- Dinner: Zucchini slice with toast + salad
Monday
- Breakfast: Carrot Banana Breakfast Bakes with nut butter + fruit
- Lunch: Leftover zucchini slice with toast + salad
- Dinner: Pasta sauce with leftover rotisserie chicken and veggies, over rice with Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
Tuesday
- Breakfast: Carrot Banana Breakfast Bakes with nut butter + fruit
- Lunch: Butternut squash soup (from a box) with snacky sides (like crackers, raw cheese, deli meat/smoked fish, raw fruit and veggies)
- Dinner: Sautéed ground beef, roasted sweet potatoes + carrots, salad
Wednesday
- Breakfast: Oatmeal with PB and banana
- Lunch: Leftovers with extra fruit + veggies
- Dinner: Vegetarian burrito bowl with pinto beans, quinoa + all the fixings!
Thursday
- Breakfast: Cinnamon apple oatmeal with nuts
- Lunch: Tomato soup (from a box) with snacky sides
- Dinner: Mushroom egg scramble on toast
Friday
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs on toast with fruit
- Lunch: Yogurt bowls with granola and fruit + extra raw veggies on the side
- Dinner: Pizza (from frozen) + a smorgasbord dinner for the kids
A Few Notes
We usually try to vary the types of fruit and veggies that we keep on hand for easy additions to meals. For example, this week we bought: avocados, bananas, pears, applesauce, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and carrots. Other options we often go for are apples, other kinds of berries, kiwis, clementines, and baby cucumbers. I also keep frozen berries on hand to thaw and serve when I’m low on fresh foods.
The kids and I eat three snacks a day in addition to meals–what we snack on really just depends! If I’m feeling like a treat, I might bake something (these chocolate banana muffins were a recent hit) or if I’m feeling like something lighter we’ll have fruit/veggies and a dip.
Generally I will share whatever I’m having with the kids, even if it’s not the most nutrient-dense food. When I eat a truffle, they get a truffle too. It helps me moderate my own treat intake and model a healthy relationship with food at the same time 🙂
What’s one of your favorite easy dinner recipes lately? And if you’re a parent, how do you help your child(ren) learn moderation around treats?
xx Claire
