
Weekly Meal Plan #1
Hello!!!! I’m in my second trimester now and trying my best to get back into fueling myself properly that most aversions have gone away.
With doing the Restart® program last month, weekly meal planning was prioritized and I’ve stuck with it for the past 8 weeks. It has been a lifesaver to ensure everyone knows what’s for dinner and having leftovers for lunch.
My hope is that by sharing what we cook, it inspires you to cook more at home too. Cooking all your meals can be a lot of work and be overwhelming. But it is never going to come easy if you never do it. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. You learn what works and what doesn’t, you flow better.
One tip I have when meal planning is look at your calendar for the week. What do you have scheduled? Do you have 30 minutes to an hour to reserve to cooking a meal to get dinner on the table at whatever time you want to eat? Do you need to have some slow cooker meals or Instant Pot meals planned so you can throw them together in the morning and not rush in the evening? This will help you be successful in not being burnt out and exhausted at the end of the deal not wanting to cook / not knowing what to eat or the biggest crutch, not having the time to do what you planned.
As I said, I’m getting back into the kitchen after months of not being inspired and not wanting to eat. I have found that being creative and flavorful are keys to me eating the meal. So meals these days are slightly more complex than they would normally be and this is why it is important to recognize your needs and your family. You need to make meals that work for you! You need to be really fucking excited to eat that meal!
Most importantly to note, we don’t cook separate meals for our toddler. He eats what we eat since day 1. Getting him involved in the cooking process, whether it is chopping or mixing, is a huge proponent in how much of the meal he consumes.
Sunday
Made pulled pork using locally raised, non-soy/corn fed pork from Neighbours Farmstead. We cut it into fit-size chunks, generously cover with sea salt and pepper and sear all sides on the stove. Put it in a baking pan, add enough liquid to cover half the pork (can use water or broths), a bayleaf, and any other seasonings (for this one we added an onion and carrot in there). Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 325 between 2-4 hours, until meat easily falls apart.
Served it with this Thai Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup.
Monday
I made this butternut squash hummus dish that I found scrolling IG and served it with sauteed ground beef and flatbread. I did make my own sourdough flatbread using Emilie Raffa’s recipe from Artisan Sourdough, but here’s an easy recipe you could try too.
Tuesday
Asian Ground Beef Slaw has been a staple in our house for 7 years. This makes a lot! Can easily be a few days of leftovers. Served it with coconut rice (1 cup of rice, 1 cup of coconut milk, 1 cup of water)
Wednesday
Had to switch this up last minute by hi-jacking Saturday’s dinner and doing it tonight as we were out all afternoon and I didn’t have enough time to cook what was planned to be on the table by 5pm.
Made Ravioli with Spinach, Artichokes, Capers, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes and sauteed sausage for additional protein (I take the sausage out of the casings and break it up).
Thursday
Roasted drumsticks, recipe below, and served it with this Butternut Squash, Cranberry, Quinoa Salad.
Drumsticks – Preheated the oven to 350 convection setting. Dried the drumsticks off, lined a baking sheet with aluminum foil and added a rack to lay the drumstick on top of it. Brushed them with EVOO, sprinkled sea salt, black pepper, and dried thyme. Baked for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, mixed some maple syrup and Dijon together and brushed this on the drumsticks and put them back in to bake for 15 minutes.
Friday
This is how I usually cook — Seared skirt steak (generously seasoned with sea salt and pepper and cooked on the stove) and served over a salad (mixed greens, a bell pepper, cucumber, and olives with a maple syrup and Dijon dressing). Also roasted sweet potato sticks.
Saturday
Fish tacos!!! This was inspired by an Pinterest post I saw – Cuban Fish Tacos with Citrus Mango Slaw. Instead of the Chipotle Lime Crema in this recipe, I made this Creamy Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing. Why? Again it comes down to what you like and will eat! I’m iffy about cream cheese and a fuck no about mayo — the texture, smells have never sat well with me and I cannot eat specifically mayo.
Of course I made our own sourdough tortillas as well but you can always buy tortillas. This is a similar recipe to what I use (Laura Bruner’s Sourdough Recipe Book). Just please do not use vegetable shortening! Use ghee, butter, lard, or coconut oil.