THE FIVE MEALS I ROTATE (PLUS A SHOPPING LIST!)
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The age old-question, solved.
What are we going to have for dinner??
Having two kids has forced/inspired me to come up with streamlined routines in nearly every aspect of my life, and a huge one of those is dinner. I now make the same five meals each week, rotated depending on season, and on the weekends we either do take out, have leftovers, or make something else up. But this way I know what we’re having every single weeknight, and I’ve saved so much time prepping as well as 4:00pm stress.
The beauty of this is that our kids eat what we eat. These are the easiest, simplest, healthiest, quickest meals that the whole family can eat together. Everything is gluten free and almost dairy free or can easily be made so. This has absolutely changed the game for me. Some of our friends have tried it and decided the monotony was too much for them, so it may not work at all for you! Or maybe some of it will, or maybe it will spark some ideas. Here is what works for us:
This is what we eat:
Tacos. Ground turkey from Trader Joe’s with their Chili Lime seasoning, cabbage slaw, corn or flour tortillas. Sometimes beans, corn, feta. Always avocados/guac.
Burgers and fries. Grass fed, frozen burgers from Costco (wrapped in lettuce for me or buns for the boys who eat gluten), Fries - either frozen or sliced regular or sweet potatoes.
Salmon and a roasted veggie. Frozen wild salmon from Trader Joes’s, with any veggie (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, etc.), roasted together on the same pan at 425* with coconut aminos (if you haven’t tried, you are missing out! Sweet and so good.)
Chicken and a simple salad. Any combination of veggies: tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber over greens plus sliced almonds and feta and topped with chicken or any protein you want. We deconstruct it for the kids by leaving out the greens so they get just sliced veggies and chicken. I make all our dressings and I never measure, but the loose formula is red wine vinegar, lime, olive oil, garlic, honey.
Meatballs and Tzatziki. Ground turkey “meatballs” cooked with grated zucchini. Our “tzatziki” sauce is greek yogurt, diced cucumber, lime. Could pop this in a pita if you’re eating gluten.
Bonus: If we’re out of everything, Grain bowls. Quinoa/rice/protein/veggies over greens with a sauce (something made up like a green goddess sauce, peanut sauce, or more salad dressing)
SHOPPING LIST
(I am so inexact it is almost comical. But here is a loose guide)
Proteins: Salmon, ground turkey x2, grass fed burgers, chicken
Veggies: broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, zucchini, salad greens, shredded cabbage, frozen fries or whole sweet potatoes, avocados, red bell peppers
Other: quinoa, burger buns or iceberg lettuce, plain greek yogurt, limes, tortillas, black beans, coconut aminos. For dressings: red wine vinegar/olive oil/honey/garlic (I like the frozen minced packs from Trader Joe’s)
And a lunch bonus: The Quarantine Salad
So good! Keeps for days, sturdy, easy, healthy, full of protein and fiber.
Garbanzo beans, red bell pepper, cucumber, feta. Dressed with lime, red wine vinegar, olive oil, s+p. (Cilantro pictured here because I had it, herbs are great but if you can’t get them right now just skip.)
