Coming up with dinner every.single.day. can be such a struggle. My weekly dinner plans are created to help you get one thing off your to-do list and have less stress at dinner time!
Visit the WEEKLY DINNER PLANNER archive for more meal planning ideas!
Table of Contents
Dinner Plan #29
Meal Prep Tips
These are some basic prep ideas you can do before the week starts to get ahead of the game! Do some, do them all, whatever works for you! I just barely make it to the grocery shopping part, so actual meal prep is a stretch for me personally …. but I hear it’s super-efficient 😬🤪
| Sweet Potato Black Bean Burrito Bowls | Make lime dressing. Make burrito mixture. Cook rice. |
| Easy Carnitas Tacos | n/a |
| Spaghetti with Meat Sauce | Make meat sauce. |
| Teriyaki Meatball Bowls with Rice and Broccoli | Make sauce. Make meatballs. Cook rice. |
| Chicken Bacon Alfredo Roll-Ups | Cook and shred chicken. Grate cheeses. Cook and crumble bacon. |
Recipe Links, Side Ideas & Helpful Tips
Sweet Potato Black Bean Burrito Bowls
from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Who doesn’t love a good burrito bowl?! These sweet potato black bean bowls are absolutely mouthwatering and a great make-ahead meal!
FYI:
- Try the burrito mixture over cauli-rice, romaine lettuce, or in a flour tortilla.
Easy Carnitas Tacos
from Isabel Eats
Easy, juicy, and flavorful shredded pork that can be made in either the slow cooker or instant pot (both instructions included.)
FYI:
- You can get a larger roast (as long as it fits in your slow cooker or IP) and freeze leftovers for future meals!
- Try the carnitas in burrito bowls, atop nachos, or simply with a side of rice and refried beans.
SIDE IDEAS:
- White or Mexican rice
- Refried beans
- Chips and salsa, guacamole, or queso
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
(Basic meal idea)
FYI:
- This is a basic meal idea so make it however you normally would!
- Consider doubling your batch of meat sauce and freezing for a future meal.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Air Fryer Zucchini Parmesan Rounds
- Caesar Salad
- Garlic Bread
Teriyaki Meatball Bowls with Rice and Broccoli
from Budget Bytes
Salty, sweet teriyaki meatball bowls are absolutely yummy, customizable, and perfect for meal prep!
FYI:
- Try these with turkey or chicken instead of pork.
- Try basmati instead of jasmine rice.
- Add other veggies such as bell peppers, snap peas, mushrooms, water chestnuts, carrots, zucchini or butternut squash.
- Green onions and sesame seeds aren’t necessary if you don’t have them on hand. However, you can also get additional use out of the green onions by adding them to the Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls.
- This is a great opportunity to double the meatballs and freeze half for another day.
Chicken Bacon Alfredo Roll-Ups
from The Shortcut Kitchen
Creamy and savory alfredo roll-ups are a fun spin on alfredo pasta!
FYI:
- Looks delicious but don’t feel like spending time rolling these? Easily turn this recipe into a stove-top meal! Cook any pasta you like then drain. Add the remaining ingredients into the pot and stir till warmed through. Add the pasta back in and mix everything together. Not as fancy, but just as delicious!
SIDE IDEAS:
- Sauteed or roasted broccolini
- Garlic breadsticks
- Air Fryer Zucchini Parmesan Rounds
- Side salad
Hope this helps make dinner time less stressful for you this week! If you have questions or feedback let me know in the comments or email me, I’d love to hear from you 💜
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How To Use the Meal Plans
People are typically put off by commitment but if you give yourself a guideline with the flexibility and permission to make changes as needed, you’ll be more likely to stick to it. That’s why flexible meal plans work.
I give you 5 suggestions and you pick 3-5 meals for your week. Each week I scour through my collections of recipes from a variety of amazing food bloggers, recipe sites, cookbooks and personal recipes to thoughtfully create a weekly dinner plan that is easy and delicious. Pick 3-5 of them for your week based on what works for your schedule and include days for eating out, leftovers, etc.
Use the order of the meals as a guideline. You’ll notice dinners are not listed as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. and that’s on purpose. I don’t want you to feel restricted. That sense of “I HAVE to do this” is what makes people stop meal planning. Keep things flexible and be realistic with your expectations and schedule.
Make mindful adjustments. Sometimes, you need to consider foods (i.e. meats) that need to be used by certain days. For example, if you planned on making steak fajitas on Tuesday, but now it’s Tuesday and you can’t or don’t want to, think about your ingredients for a minute. Check your steak, if the date is good til tomorrow then just make sure you make that meal tomorrow. Otherwise, throw it in the freezer and plan to make it on Friday instead (just take it out the day before to thaw.) This will become second nature as you continue meal planning.
Grocery shop for the week. Get all your groceries for the week so you have everything on hand. This will save you so much time and extra money spent on impulse purchases.
