Ah, the party’s over. My last day of summer is Labor Day. Mr. Picky starts school on Tuesday, so I have asked him to make a list of breakfasts, lunches and dinners he would happily eat. So, many of this week’s dinner ideas come from my son. I am not normally this democratic, but I believe in starting the year on a strong note!
Although I was very sad to leave the Golden Door, which is an incredibly magical and serene oasis, I came home inspired to cook. Every bite I ate there was so delicious, fresh and healthful. I can’t wait to head to the farmers markets this weekend and load up on all the fresh produce that summer still has left. If your kids are back to school, it’s time to start getting your meals organized again. Olives, cheese and crackers aren’t going to cut it anymore!
I just returned from Dallas and boy oh boy do I need some of my own cooking! Dallas is a great food town, but my husband seems to direct us towards a lot of barbecue and biscuits. Yikes! Green juice is my breakfast this morning and then I am headed by myself for a little restorative time at the Golden Door in Escondido. This mama needs a few days to recover from finishing my book and moving two kids into college this week. I’ll set up my husband and Mr. Picky with a few basics in the fridge, but I’ll be resetting my system with clean, organic food and some much needed rest. I’ll post on Instagram and Facebook if you’d like to come hang out with me. 🙂
I’m not cooking most of this week since we’ll be moving both my daughters into their dorm room and apartment, respectively. Although I will likely help my older daughter stock her freezer with cooked grains, smoothie packets, maybe a soup or two and, of course, cookie dough! Let’s hope my cooking lessons this summer sank in. I’ll share whatever I can on Instagram Stories, so pop in from time to time to see what we’re up to. In the meantime, I know you have to cook, so I put together a great dinner planner for you this week!
I’ve been through a range of cooking experiences over the past month, from teaching my daughter how to cook for herself to cooking for my family to cooking for 15-24 people every day while I am on Long Island. Such different strategies, but it all still requires planning ahead. In preparation for my trip back East, I took a few minutes on the plane to jot down a schedule of what to make for lunch and dinner. This year I decided I wasn’t waking up early to make everyone breakfast. 😉 It has helped tremendously and allowed me to relax much more. Plus, anyone can look at the schedule and not have to ask, “what’s for dinner???”
Here’s a great week of summer dinners to help you get organized this week:
I am so excited to go to Long Island this week to visit my family. I have been working so hard on the cookbook and really need a vacay. You’ll have to follow along on Instagram and Snapchat to see what I really make for dinner. I haven’t planned it all out yet, but there will be a pizza oven involved, vegetables from my father’s garden, and, if we’re lucky, some mussels caught by son, Mr. Picky. Cannot wait!
Sadly, this is our last week together as a family of five. 🙁 My older daughter is going away to a summer study program next week and then she’s going directly to school. So that means I have to cook some good stuff for her this week before she has to eat dining hall food every day. The peach pie jars are her favorite and really easy to whip up. We don’t eat dessert after dinner during the week as a rule, but this peach dessert is so clean and the peaches are INSANE right now. Plus, I’m being a cool mom this week.
Here’s your dinner planner for the week:
After the cookbook shoot, I found myself with tons of fresh veggies and herbs that weren’t used. So this week I am playing a game with myself called, “How to Not Grocery Shop.” I’ve done this before and it’s definitely a challenge to use only what I have on hand, but I also think it’s kind of fun to force myself to get creative. I am not expecting you to follow my wacky menu this week, so I put together a bunch of great summer dinners for you right here. Let me know if you have questions about substitutions!
Here’s your dinner plan for this week:
