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!
MEAL PLAN #47
Recipe Links • Side Ideas • Helpful Tips
Butternut Squash Quesadilla with Caramelized Onion
from The Modern Proper
A sweet and savory quesadilla made with butternut squash, caramelized onions, and black beans. Filling, healthy, and absolutely delicious!
FYI:
- Roasting the butternut squash and caramelizing the onions is what takes the most amount of time here. You can easily do these steps a few days ahead!
SIDE IDEAS:
- Chicken tortilla soup
- Fried plantains
- Plantain chips
- Kale salad
Sausage Tortellini Soup
from The Cozy Cook
A silky, flavorful soup that fills the belly and warms the soul in about 30 minutes!
FYI:
- SUBSTITUTIONS: Spinach for kale ; turkey Italian sausage instead of traditional pork; gnocchi instead of tortellini
SIDE IDEAS:
- Cheesy garlic bread
- Caesar salad
- Roasted zucchini
Chicken Pesto Sandwich
from Easy Healthy Recipes
Bright pesto and melty mozzarella on a lovely little toasty chicken sandwich.
FYI:
- These are also amazing on focaccia bread. You can buy (or make!) a large loaf and assemble it all in one. Then cut apart for serving.
- SHORTCUT: use a rotisserie chicken or even sliced deli chicken if you don’t have the time or energy to saute fresh chicken.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Chips or fries
- Soup (like leftover Sausage Tortellini soup!)
- Balsamic tomato salad
- Roasted eggplant
Beef Taco Salad Bowls
from The Novice Chef
Taco salads are pretty much the best. Basically the goodness of tacos made to feel a little “healthier” and also super customizable. But let’s throw them into homemade tortilla bowls, shall we? Not as healthy anymore, but they are a crunchy joy to eat!
FYI:
- There’s a separate recipe (linked in the article) for the Cilantro Lime Dressing. It’s spoon-licking fantastic, but I understand if you don’t want to make your own dressing. Primal Kitchen’s Cilantro Lime Dressing and Bolthouse Farm’s Cilantro Avocado Dressing are great store-bought alternatives.
SIDE IDEAS:
- Everything goes in the taco bowl – no sides here!
- Ok, maybe some churros? (for dessert of course)
Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Bowls
from Recipe Tin Eats
An easy Vietnamese caramel pork recipe using simple ingredients that really pack a punch! Serve bowl-style over rice with some fresh and/or pickled veggies and you’ve got one scrumptious meal.
FYI:
- SUBSTITUTIONS: Ground turkey is easily interchangeable with ground pork
- If you’re hesitant about fish sauce, use just 1 Tbsp instead. You won’t taste the fish flavor so much as the rich umami. If it’s an absolute no for you, then opt for Soy Sauce. The flavor is definitely not the same, but at least you’ll have some of that depth.
SIDE IDEAS:
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.
