Now that warmer weather is here (it’s supposed to be 90 tomorrow, unseasonably warm for June!) the amount of time that I want to spend in the kitchen drops dramatically. The oven becomes neglected and the grill becomes our main method of cooking. Summer is just a busy time for us. Scott works crazy hours and I feel like we are always on the go.
When that happens it could be easy to eat out more or stop meal planning, and that does happen occasionally but with a focus on healthy eating I still do make meal planning a priority. Here is what a typically week looks like:
- Saturday or Sunday I find 3 to 4 recipes that will work for the week
- I head to Aldi (I will keep singing the praises of Aldi, awesome prices and so many organic options)
- Pick up weekly staples and the items I need for those 3 to 4 recipes
- Sunday night we usually make a larger dinner and I use those leftovers for a lunch or two
- I chop up a few days of fruits/vegetables for snacks
This weeks meals:
Sunday: We made grilled turkey tenderloins, kale salad and grilled asparagus
Monday: Soy Marinated Pork Chops on the grill, salad (recipe coming soon). While the pork is grilling I will also cook up some chicken breasts for lunches during the week or dinner tomorrow night.
Tuesday: Leftovers or something quick
Wednesday: Tex Mex Quinoa Bake (recipe coming soon)
Thursday: Mahi Mahi and salad
Friday: Usually we end up with something quick or going out to dinner
I have a list that I buy at Aldi pretty much every week. On average we are about $100 a week for the two of us (although Henry gets some of those veggies). Some weeks we average a bit higher due to more meat, buying special items or stocking up on things like paper towels, laundry detergent etc. I print a few of these and just keep it on the fridge and grab it when I head to Aldi. Since it’s pretty much the same thing every week (minus specialty ingredients for recipes) I am in and out in about 20 minutes. This week I did a Trader Joe’s run (I got a few kinds of fish, some fancy cheese, smoked salmon, salami and wine) and Aldi. We spent about $130 between the two and ended up cooking dinner for 6 last night and still managed to have a little leftover turkey.
The more I plan and prep in advance the healthier we eat! If I have healthy options in the fridge I will reach for them. A big container of berries will only last a day or two with us using them for snacks or in smoothies. Another big time saver for me is to make my lunch for the next day while I am cleaning up from dinner, putting leftovers in a container and making a salad and having it all stocked and ready in the fridge for the next day. Since I leave the house by 5:15 Tuesday-Thursday having everything ready to go saves me so much time.
