Happy new year to one and all! I hope 2016 is off to a wonderful start for you and your families. January 1 signifies a fresh start to many, although I do think we have many opportunities to wipe the slate and start anew, including every morning! But if you have made any resolutions and they involve improving your health, then I will assume more cooking at home is in store for you.
That is where this new regular post will help you. Every Sunday morning I will post a weekly dinner plan to provide you with inspiration as you create your meals for the week. Believe me when I tell you, planning and organization is the KEY to eating healthfully. I have been making a weekly dinner plan on Sundays for at least 20 years and it is the only way dinner gets made, given my schedule. Knowing on Sunday what you are cooking for the week will also allow you to go throughout your day without the “dinner cloud” over your head. You know the one that is always nagging, “what are you going to make for dinner tonight?” “Should you start defrosting that chicken?” “Hurry and run to the market before after school pick-up!”
I will post a balanced variety of 7 dinners every week, although I assume most of you don’t cook every night. No matter. I don’t either since I usually take Saturday nights off. Take the meals that you think work for you and build your own meal plan around them given your schedule and your family’s personal preferences. Obviously there will be dietary intolerances and allergies to contend with, so feel free to leave me a comment if you need help making a substitution.
These are all meals I have made or would make for my own family, but there is a possibility I may not be following this dinner plan myself since I will have nights when we aren’t eating at home or I need to scrap my plan because I need to retest a recipe or I have leftovers from a class. And that doesn’t do you any good if I am taking certain nights off that you aren’t. I usually shop on Sundays (or Mondays if I’m not teaching a class.) But I do shop during the week for my classes. Before I started teaching, I would do a Monday supermarket shop and 1 farmers market visit during the week. If you follow along with these weekly posts, you’ll also start to learn what’s in season.
I will attempt to provide do-ahead tips for Sunday and Wednesday prep days for those of you who do that. You can also follow me on Instagram where I post my weeknight dinners, as well as breakfasts and anything else that’s inspiring me at the moment. Happy cooking and here’s to your health!
Dinner Plan Week of January 4th
Monday: lentil and brown rice soup, green salad with purple cabbage, carrots, shredded Brussels sprouts and toasted sunflower seeds, everyday salad dressing #2
Tuesday: wild salmon with blood orange, beet and spinach salad, roasted sweet potato wedges
Wednesday: Tandoori Chicken (I’ll make this with breasts and drumsticks), apricot couscous (or plain steamed couscous), sautéed beet greens (if you have greens from making beets last night) and Swiss chard
Thursday: stir-fried beef and broccoli, steamed brown rice or cauli-rice
Friday: turkey meatballs with marinara sauce and whole wheat pasta or spaghetti squash, roasted broccoli
Saturday: orange-rosemary glazed chicken, millet cauliflower mash or cauliflower mashed potatoes, roasted carrots (see this post for how to roast carrots — you don’t have to make the yogurt sauce)
Sunday: cauliflower crust pizza, avocado Caesar salad or I might try this cashew Caesar dressing from January ’16 Bon Appetit
Prep ahead
Sunday prep:
Make veggie or chicken stock for lentil soup
Soak rice and cook for soup
Cook beets
Make dressing for Monday and Tuesday
Wash lettuce for Monday and greens for Wednesday
Wednesday prep:
Bake meatballs, finish in sauce on Friday
Prep broccoli into florets
Make marinara sauce
Prep cauliflower into florets
Wash greens for Sunday
Thursday morning: soak rice for dinner
Friday: marinate chicken for Saturday
Freezer-friendly
Consider making extra of the following to freeze for a rainy day:
- lentil soup
- cooked rice
- baked meatballs
- marinara sauce
This is amazing! I’ve always tried to make a meal plan from your recipes. I then started to buy a 5 day meal plan which is $8/mo not a lot at all, but here you are providing it for free and for the whole week…?! Seriously thank you so much! Now all I need is your cookbook, which I hope will be coming one day soon… Not to put more on your plate as it is, but just saying it would be amazing! 😉 Thank you again Pamela for all your beautiful and of course delicious work. Xx
One day, I hope! Thank you for your loyal readership and feedback. Means so much to me! xx
Good morning Pamela
I just discover your site by reading Clean Eating magazine (:
I have a question for you regarding The article ” soup your way slim ”
Any of the soup’s on your website are qualifying for the seven day cleanse ?
And what’s movies would you recommend ?
Sincerely
Ela Wrobel
I’m so sorry I was asking for smoothies ,what smoothies would you recommend?
I am SO excited for this – I read your recipes and website religiously and everything you do is genius!
oh my gosh, thank you!
Thank you so much for this! I’m excited to break-free from our taco-Tuesday, fish-on-Friday routine! I just have a couple of practical questions as I prep for tomorrow’s market run. If I buy all the meat listed in your weekly plan, do I need to freeze any of it, or will it last in the fridge until the scheduled day to cook it? For example, will the chicken for next Saturday’s meal stay good in the fridge if I buy it tomorrow? Also, is there a recipe for the cauli-rice that goes with the the stir-fry? Or is that the ground cauliflower I see in the produce section sometimes? If so, do I just steam it? Thanks again for getting me out of the market everyday and my family out of our boring routine!
Good questions! Meat purchased on Monday will not last until Saturday. So you either need to do two shopping trips or you need to shop once and freeze. Cauli-rice is an option for those who don’t want to consume grains. Yes, it is cauliflower pulsed into rice-like pieces and cooked until tender. I do this in a skillet with a little water and oil and salt. Follow this link for an exact how-to. 🙂
Silent reader over here but I must break my silence today. THIS. IS. AMAZING. Seriously, I have seen so many bloggers post meal plans but this is by far the most perfect, realistic plan I have ever come across. Thank you for giving several options a suggestions. Every single recipe appeals to me and my desire to eat healthfully but deliciously.
Really????!!! You have no idea how happy that makes me! Thank you for breaking your silence and sharing your feedback. Please let me know if you ever have any suggestions for how to make this even better and more user-friendly. Happy cooking!
awesome! Thank you
You’re welcome!
I am SO happy that you are doing this! Thank you!!!!
I thought of you when I decided to commit to this! So glad you’ll make use of this. xoxo
Happy 2016! You are and always will be my hero! Thank you for this! Looking forward to this email every Sunday. xoxo
That makes me so happy! Hope you and yours are doing well. xoxo
You are so amazing! I’m so excited about this!! (And I’m sick in bed with no appetite so imagine the level of excitement if I was healthy and cooking today!). You are the best. Thank you!!! So much inspiration! Happy New Year my dear! xx
I’m so glad! Feel better!
Congratulations, Pamela! You have provided REALISTIC ideas for maintaining good health, happiness and sanity through home cooking. You are an outstanding role model and teacher who has inspired countless numbers of “students” with your enthusiasm, dedication and concern, not to mention your culinary serenity. Thank you, and keep up the good work!
Oh, Mia! You make me blush. Thank you for your kind words and loyal readership. All the best to you in 2016!