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Save yourself some time, money and stress by using this FREE Meal Plan that is full of amazing recipes. Each plan includes 5 dinner ideas, 2 side dishes, 1 dessert and a shopping list making meal planning easier than ever!!
WEEKLY MEAL PLAN #14
Each week, I share with you a FREE meal plan that consists of 5 dinner ideas (Monday-Thursday plus one Weekend meal), 2 side dishes, and 1 dessert!
Included is a grocery list with EVERY ingredient you need for all the items on the meal plan.
This is meant to help simplify menu planning, shopping, and cooking so you can more easily enjoy meals with your family throughout the week!
TIP OF THE WEEK
When making the Zucchini Bread this week, remember not to overmix the batter. Just a few quick stirs is all it takes to combine the final ingredients. If you over-mix, you’ll end up with a dense bread, and that’s definitely not what you want.
The same rule applies when making pancakes, muffins, and many other quick bread recipes including our Pumpkin Banana Bread or Almond Poppyseed Bread.
BENEFITS OF MEAL PLANNING
There’s nothing worse than the dread every time a family members asks, “What’s for dinner??” And your answer is “I have no clue.” Having a meal plan for the week eliminates that completely, which is the number one benefit in my book!
Besides having a game plan in place, there are several other benefits of meal planning, including:
- Cost: When you have a plan set in place, and a specific list of groceries, you eliminate cost wasted on impulse items or produce that never gets used.
- Decrease Waste: No wasted money, and no wasted food! Having a set grocery list will help to avoid both of those issues.
- Variety: Our meal plans specifically include a lot of variety, with Mexican, Italian, Breakfast for Dinner, and so much more! You can expose your family’s palates to all kinds of meals.
- No Indecision: Did you know there’s such thing as “indecision fatigue”? The idea is that when you can’t make a decision on something (like what to make for dinner) it actually makes you mentally fatigued. When dinners are already planned out, though, you avoid indecision completely!
- Health: When you plan for/anticipate making well-rounded meals, you’re much more likely to actually make them rather than defaulting to convenient boxed meals, or unhealthy fast food!
As you can see, there are so many benefits to meal planning!
And if you want to create your own menu, be sure to check out all our recipes and visit our recipe pages, including: Main Dish, Side Dishes, Desserts, Appetizers and Breakfast!
Monday
Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Nothing like a warm bowl of tortilla soup on a chilly winter day! This lighter version of chicken tortilla soup is healthy, flavorful, and packed with delicious ingredients.
Since the crock pot does all the work in this recipe, you’ll easily have time to make homemade tortilla chips to top this soup with!
Tuesday
Italian Sausage Pasta
Everyone loves this Italian Sausage Pasta recipe! Not only is it easy, cheesy, and delicious, but it is a hit with the entire family and can be made mild or spicy depending on your preferences.
Round out this meal with a simple salad or some homemade bread—like the Easy Yeast Rolls that only require 4 ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
wednesday
Sweet Potato Breakfast
Whip up this easy sweet potato breakfast for a filling and healthy meal! You’re going to enjoy every flavorful bite of this colorful breakfast.
This dish is made up of eggs and a variety of vegetables, so I like to add a side of toast with bacon or breakfast sausage.
Thursday
Crescent Roll chicken Bundles
Shredded chicken mixed with cream cheese, Italian dressing mix, and cream of chicken rolled into buttery crescent dough! These flavorful Chicken Crescent Roll Bundles have become a family fave.
I always like to pair something light and fresh with these creamy chicken bundles. A simple caesar salad, or a vegetable side dish like parmesan asparagus do the trick!
Weekend
Crockpot Mongolian Beef
Delicious Crock Pot Mongolian Beef loaded with carrots and asparagus is SO simple to make. Your crock pot does all the work!!
Mongolian Beef and the Cream Cheese Wontons on the menu for the week are a match made in heaven! We also love Fried Egg Rolls as a side to our Asian entrees.
Sides of the week
Our Top Two Choices
Soft and moist Zucchini Bread has a hint of cinnamon and is oh so flavorful. It is quick, easy and SO delicious!
Since this is more of a sweet quick bread, you can bake it at the beginning of the week and enjoy it with any and all of your entrees as an after dinner snack!
Crispy fried Cream Cheese Wontons are filled with cream cheese, lemon and garlic pepper, paprika & then fried to golden perfection!
Tip: If you’d like to avoid anything fried, we have a recipe Baked Cream Cheese Rangoons which are almost identical in flavor, just baked!
Dessert of the week
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are SO simple, soft and fluffy, they’re almost like a cake. Filled with pumpkin flavor, seasonal spices, and chocolate chips, these cookies have perfectly balanced flavor that keep everyone coming back for more.
For more of our favorite Pumpkin Cookies, try…
DOWNLOAD THE MEAL PLAN!
Click the link below to download this week’s FREE Meal Plan!
And remember – if you want to create your own menu, be sure to check out all our recipes and visit our recipe pages, including: Main Dish, Side Dishes, Desserts, Appetizers and Breakfast!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF!
