Swipe My Meal Plan | Week 3

Welcome to the first meal plan post on my blog! I've been emailing these out for the past couple of weeks, and I've decided to move this particular content over to my site so that there would be a good hub of resources for you! In making the switch to publishing my meal plans here, I've also decided to beef up the content, adding in even more insight and resources to get you going. The part I'm the most excited about is the part that makes my system of meal planning a PERPETUAL meal planning system. In following these meal plans week-to-week, not only will you have great meals to eat, but you'll be given the exact tips and tools you need to use up the leftover ingredients in the following week's meal plan. Here is an excerpt directly from my online course (which I'll be officially launching in June), that explains exactly what I mean by perpetual meal planning and how it differs from any other meal planning system.

“The best thing you can do to stay in a sustainable habit of meal planning is get used to looking ahead to next week as the current week is winding down...allowing the leftover ingredients from one week to become the driving force for the following week’s meals.”

My hope for you is to not only be a consumer of the meal plans that I share on here (but by all means, YES, use them! That's why I'm posting them)--My hope, however, is that you'll also LEARN how to start thinking about meal planning in a perpetual way, which, you'll find, will save you money and time.

So, let's dive right in with Week 3! Feel free to switch the days around according to your schedule. I've highlighted some of our evening plans here, just to illustrate why I choose to cook specific meals on specific days. It'll give you an idea of how to place low-prep meals on busy days and save recipes that require more attention for days that you have more time to dedicate to meal prep/cooking.

One more thing and then I promise I'll get to it! I do realize that I'm posting this on Tuesday, so we're a couple of days behind, but you can make these meals on any day you wish. Next week, though, (and every week after) I'll post these on Sunday so that you access to a full week of meals, starting at the beginning of the week.

OK! After the longest intro ever, here we go.

I always start with what's on hand. Here was my kitchen inventory list after last week and the weekend:

2 onions

1 shallot

1 lemon

Fresh thyme, rosemary, mint and sage

2 zucchini

Radish sprouts

Greek yogurt

Baby red potatoes

1/2 loaf sprouted 7 grain bread

Vegan garlic white sauce

Chopped walnuts

And here's the meal plan! Underlined (linked) recipes will take you directly to the recipes I use. And, as always, you can find them on my Weekly Meal Plan Recipes board on Pinterest. Otherwise, I'll list out my own recipes at the end of the post!

MONDAY

Ryan's having dinner with friends while I go to the gym with the kids and then do the dinner/nighttime routine.

Dinner: Arugula, bacon and baby red potato salad with a lightened up ranch dressing made with greek yogurt and lemon juice (obviously, I'm swapping the watercress for arugula in this one)

Make a double (or triple!) portion of the dressing. You'll use it to marinate chicken later this week.

I will deconstruct this meal for the kids - they'll each get bacon, potatoes and spinach (separated out) on their plates, with a side of greek yogurt and their favorite veggies, like cherry tomatoes and baby carrots.

TUESDAY

We are having friends over for dinner who are vegan. We'll feed the kids then eat with our friends after we put the kids to bed.

Dinner (kids): Lunch foods - see list below

Dinner (adults): Grain-free pizza with vegan garlic sauce, caramelized onion and sugar snap peas, lemon zest and mint

Grain free crust HERE. Vegan garlic sauce HERE. See recipe for pizza assembly below.

WEDNESDAY

No plans means I have a little more time to cook!

Dinner: Seared scallops topped with radish sprouts and lemon-shallot-herb sauce, served with an arugula and baby spinach salad with strawberries, walnuts, and feta

See recipes for sauce and salad below. Make extra sauce and use it to dress your leftover salad greens later in the week.

Our kids both eat seafood pretty well, so I'm hoping this is a universal crowd pleaser. If not, we have frozen organic kids' meatballs. Again, I'll deconstruct the salad to serve them each some strawberries, spinach and cheese.

THURSDAY

Ryan and I go to yoga from 5:30-6:45, which puts us home pretty late. I will prep this entire meal ahead of time (probably while the girls nap in the afternoon), which will include marinating the chicken until it's time to leave for the gym. Before I leave the house, I'll set the Time Cook setting on my oven to cook the chicken and then turn itself off while we're at yoga. We'll come home to chicken that's ready to eat and a zucchini dish that simply needs to be assembled and nuked in the microwave.

Dinner: Baked chicken breast marinated in greek yogurt and lemon dressing, served with sautéed zucchini that I'll smother in vodka sauce and toss with crumbles of goat cheese

FRIDAY

Dinner: Breakfast for dinner - Eggs cracked into a simmering pan containing the rest of the vodka sauce, peppers and red pepper flake. If we have leftover salad greens, we'll eat them, dressed with the lemon, shallot and herb sauce, as a side. The girls will have scrambled eggs and an assortment of leftover raw veggies and fruit.

Breakfasts

• Grain-free granola and almond milk

• Oatmeal (with honey for the kids, with superfoods for me and Ry)

• Greek yogurt with strawberries and honey

• Bananas (the girls always start the day with a banana -- it's an easy way for us to pacify them for a few minutes in the morning while we have coffee)

• Smoothies (frozen spinach and berries blended with coconut water, peanut butter and pea protein powder)

Lunches (Allie and Ryan)

• Farmer's market sandwiches on sprouted bread (radish sprouts, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and thinly sliced cucumbers and radishes -- I'll slice the veggies in advance to make it easier at lunchtime)

• Hard boiled eggs - I'll make these on Monday for the week. They're easy for Ryan to take to work for quick protein. Cook them perfectly by following these instructions!

• Browned ground turkey, seasoned with salt and pepper for Ryan to take to work

• Frozen, steam in the bag broccoli

• Leftovers

Lunches (kids)

If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably heard me talk about how Julep requests "all the things" for lunch, every. single. day. I don't mind because it typically adds up to an extremely healthy, snacky lunch that she enjoys and that doesn't involve too much prep on my part. For that reason, I always pick up a few odds and ends of things. This week, here's my list of options for Charlie and her.

• Babybel cheese

• Sliced radishes

• Sliced cucumbers

• Baby carrots

• Spinach salad with greek yogurt ranch dressing

• Frozen Earth's Best Organic meatballs

• Blueberries

• Peanut butter sandwiches

• Black beans

• Leftovers

And I always have these on hand for snacks when they go to the gym with me:

• Fruit/veggie pouches

• Gold fish

• Organic fruit chews

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PREP AHEAD

You can do any (or all) of these steps ahead of time to save yourself stress at dinnertime. Choose one day and knock it all out, or take it day-by-day, when you have a little time to dedicate to the kitchen.

• Slice radishes and cucumbers for sandwiches, store in the refrigerator

• Brown turkey for lunches

• Hard boil the eggs

• Make granola and store in a large plastic bag or air-tight container at room temperature

• Drain and rinse canned beans and store in a container in the refrigerator

• Boil baby red potatoes and store in refrigerator

• Cook bacon and store in refrigerator

• Make grain-free crust

• Prepare shallot-herb-lemon sauce for scallop meal

• Prepare dressing for bacon, arugula and potato salad

• Place chicken in a bag with extra salad dressing, and store in the refrigerator to marinate

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RECIPES

Vegan Garlic, Caramelized Onion, and Sugar Snap Pizza with Lemon Zest and Mint on Grain-free Crust

Serves two

Ingredients:

Vegan garlic sauce (garlicky hummus OR just lots of roasted garlic turned into a paste would be a good substitute here if you don't feel like making the sauce)

2 red onions, thinly sliced

1 bag sugar snap peas, half of the bag left whole and the other half split on a bias

One lemon, zested, and the zest reserved

1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced

3 green onions, trimmed and halved, lengthwise

6 mint leaves, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 Tsp sugar

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Add olive oil to a large pan and heat to medium. Add in the onions and a generous sprinkle of salt. Sautee the onions, stirring often, until very soft, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the onions with the sugar about halfway through. This aids in caramelization and deliciousness. Once they're sufficiently caramelized and almost melted, remove from the pan and set aside.

Set a cast iron skillet or wok over high heat with 1-2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil to the bottom. Once the oil is hot, add in the sugar snap peas. Sprinkle with a little salt and allow them to cook until blistered but still bright green. During the last 30 seconds of cooking, add in the garlic and stir until fragrant. Squeeze half the lemon over the sugar snap peas and garlic, stir once, and then remove from the pan. Set aside in a separate bowl.

Set the pan back over high heat and add a little more oil, if necessary, to sear the green onions. Again, look for them to blister but still be bright green in color. Remove from pan and set aside in a separate bowl.

After pre-baking the grain-free crust, smear a thin-ish layer of vegan garlic sauce over it, leaving about an inch bare around the outside edge. Add the caramelized onions in an even layer over the garlic sauce. Top this with the sugar snap peas, and finally the green onions. Bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.

When you remove the pizza from the oven, top it with the lemon zest and mint. Serve hot.

Lemon, Shallot and Herb Sauce

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine 1 stick of butter, the juice of one lemon, one whole shallot, minced, one clove of garlic, minced, and either one inch of fresh, grated ginger OR 1/2 tsp ground, dried ginger. Allow the butter to melt, and simmer until the shallots are transparent. Season with a good pinch of salt and several cracks of black pepper. Toss in a tablespoon of fresh herbs (you choose which ones--use whatever's on hand). Stir to combine. Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator to save it for later. Reheat in the microwave to melt the butter again before using.