Somehow it’s the last full week of July and let’s just forget eeeeeverything related to American politics at the moment and say I’m so excited for fall! The back-to-school prep and routines, fall foods, fall traditions like apple picking and pumpkin carving, the cooler weather… yes please.
One thing I will miss about summer, however, is our garden. Whilst we will hopefully continue to harvest some foods (squash, a second crop of beans, kale) into the fall, most of it dies back in the first cold snap. We’ve definitely been taking advantage of the fresh produce in our daily meals lately.
A Kid-Friendly July Meal Plan
Here’s what we ate for dinner during a recent week in July:
- Monday: Burrito bowl–beef, brown rice, avocado, veggies (cherry tomatoes, chopped bell pepper and green onions), salsa
- Tuesday: Leftover creamy chicken pesto pasta (made over the weekend) + steamed broccoli
- Wednesday: Burrito bowl leftovers, for a quick dinner before a soccer game
- Thursday: Turkey burgers, baked fingerling potatoes + green beans from our garden
- Friday: Leftover burgers, roasted sweet potato wedges + more green beans
- Saturday: Easy baked ziti–love this recipe, but find it a bit heavy on the fat/cheese; I substitute half the ricotta with low-fat cottage cheese (extra protein!) and halve the mozzarella!
- Sunday: We ended up at my mom’s house due to a power outage (keeping it real) and made baked brown sugar chicken, boiled potatoes and my mom made a cold green bean salad with beans from her garden
Breakfasts, Lunches & Snacks
For breakfasts we switch off between microwave oatmeal, baked oatmeal (made the night before), granola and yogurt, and occasionally homemade muffins with yogurt. Always with fresh fruit and decaf coffee for the parents!
Lunches are usually smorgasbord-style for the kids with a carb (toast, crackers or bagel), protein/fat (some combination of cheese, hummus, nuts, deli meat or leftover dinner meat), and a fruit and veggie. We often finish off with dark chocolate 🙂
Eric and I usually eat leftovers or eggs scrambled with a mess of vegetables from the fridge. Sometimes I like Scandinavian-style crisp breads with hummus and cheese, paired with a salad, for something lighter. We have a nice crop of lettuce growing in our garden right now. I do sometimes miss having time to make myself a stir-fry or protein pancakes in the middle of the day!
Our snacks are simple too over the summer. Usually a homemade baked good, nuts, fruit, and/or yogurt. They’ve been loving the cherry tomatoes and strawberries from the backyard lately. I send my oldest to camp with something from my master list of nut-free snacks.
Life With Little Kids Is…
Constantly prepping, serving, and cleaning up food. It’s wild just how much food a family of five can polish off between shopping trips! RIP my grocery bill. We’re going to buy a Costco membership this fall and my wallet is here for it.
I usually don’t even bother to make my own lunch until nap time anymore… because I can easily spend an hour popping up and down to chop more fruit, slice more cheese, toast more bread etc. as they eat. Such is life with active little boys 😛
What’s a recipe you’ve been making on repeat lately? For us it’s the creamy chicken pesto pasta and baked ziti recipes above, because they’re some of the only “mixed foods” my kids will eat at the moment. And the youngest is a hit-or-miss anyways!
xx Claire