Weekly Meal Planning

I realize that in order to cook paleo for me and my kids, I have to plan a little better than when I was cooking vegan meals for the whole family.  I have to plan so that I can stay within our weekly grocery budget and not be forced to do grains or beans just because I don't have enough vegetables and meat.  So now, at the beginning of the week, I come up with a rough sketch of what I'd like to make for our main meals.  

Here's what this week is looking like:  

Sunday/Monday/Tuesday

spaghetti squash

tomato pasta sauce

turkey meatballs

steamed broccoli

Wednesday/Thursday/Friday

Chicken stew

dirty cauliflower rice

steamed asparagus

Saturday

Pizza (coconut crust for the kids)

salmon and salad for myself

I try to keep it pretty simple since I'm also cooking vegan meals for the hubby and preparing breakfast and lunch (paleo and vegan).  I'm exceedingly grateful for two things: refrigeration and the fact that my family doesn't require a brand new meal everyday.  It seems we all are fine eating the same thing for a couple of days in a row.  Switching it up every week provides enough variety. 

Breakfasts around here are pretty predictable:  

Monday/Wednesday

Chicken sausage stir fry (lots and lots of veggies: kale, eggplant, celery, tomatoes, red and green peppers)

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

boiled eggs, turkey bacon, millet (for the kids and sometimes I have some) and almond butter

Friday

Fried eggs (lots of veggies) or egg cupcakes

Sunday

pancakes (whole wheat) and soy sausage (for the hubby)

paleo pancakes (for me)

oatmeal waffles (for the kids)

chicken breakfast sausage (for me and the kids)

Lunches generally consist of salads made with either salmon or tuna, baked fish (usually flounder, cod or salmon) alongside steamed veggies and sometimes sweet potato fries, or turkey deli slices wrapped around avocado and tomato with lots of carrots and other veggies on the side.  

Snacks are pretty easy: nuts, trail mix (I make this by combining coconut flakes, nuts, seeds, and raisins in a bag and shaking), Lara Bars (either homemade or purchased), organic beef jerky, fruit, guacamole and plantain chips (or baby carrots), and yogurt (although I'm trying to phase this out or at least do better and get back to making it at home).  

So I'm going to make an effort, especially during the duration of the 30-Day Challenge, to make a simple post about what my meal (dinner) plans are for the week.