Weeknight Meal Plan: October 22-27

It’s the home stretch of my Whole30 experiment, but it will probably be my most challenging week because of travel. Eating at home is really the easiest way to pull this off. I’ve hit my stride of protein-packed breakfasts, easy lunches, and family-friendly dinners. But Tuesday I’m heading to San Francisco to pull off a series of private cooking classes. I’ll be staying with a good friend and running around shopping, prepping and teaching. I’ll do my best to keep things Whole30, but I know I’ll be tempted to have a glass of wine with old college roommates and San Francisco friends while I’m there. We’ll see how it goes, but at this point I feel too good to give it up.

If you’re in Houston, come visit me Sunday at Birch Modern Mercantile. I’ll do a free cooking demo of a fall fruit, nut and chocolate board that would be perfect for holiday parties and gatherings. We’ll also mix up some pomegranate sangria and I’ll even pour you a glass. See you there at 5pm.

SUNDAY

We have a freezer stocked with grassfed and pasture-raised pork, beef and chicken from Yonder Way Farms, so I pulled out pork shoulder for Sunday night dinner. I’m following the method for Serious Eat’s Ultra-Crispy Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder. Cook for 8 hours at 250 degrees; you will have super tender pork with crispy skin. Serve with roasted honey nut squash or a sheetpan of cubed and roasted sweet potatoes and green veggies. I have kale to use up that I’ll sauté in avocado oil with red pepper flakes and sea salt. Serving this pork with some La Taqueria Green Sauce wouldn’t be a bad decision.

MONDAY

Veggie stir fry with ginger, coconut aminos, green onions and garlic. I included a recipe and explained how to make this in last week’s meal plan, just scroll to the bottom. You can use bags of frozen stir vegetable mix from Trader Joe’s. I usually add an extra bag of broccoli and any other vegetables I want to use up. Delicious, fast and healthy! Kids will want rice with theirs, and I’ll make riced cauliflower.

TUESDAY

I’m leaving town today, so I need something in the slow cooker for my crew. French dip sandwiches get requested a lot around here. I serve them with gluten-free rolls with melted provolone tucked inside. Udi’s makes gluten-free dinner rolls that are decent, of course regular old crusty rolls or hoagie rolls are much better, but oh well. I salt the beef chuck roast and use 2-3 tablespoons of my homemade onion soup seasoning, 2 cups of beef stock and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Cook the beef on low for 7-8 hours until it’s falling apart. Serve au jus on the side for dipping. If you want a more official recipe, check out The Pioneer Woman’s version.  Serve with carrot sticks and homemade ranch or a big green salad with super simple salad dressing.

WEDNESDAY

Here’s a Trader Joe’s dinner hack for you all. Keep a couple packages of frozen Turkey Bolognese in your freezer for “emergency” dinners. It’s not Whole30, but it’s definitely kid-friendly. I use two packages for our family and add 1 cup of tomato sauce (we use Rao’s marinara), 1 cup of riced cauliflower and 1-2 cups chopped spinach to the bolognese as it’s warming up. Serve with spaghetti squash or pasta. This isn’t as good as homemade bolognese, but it’s satisfying and quick. Perfect for when you’re in San Francisco and your husband is making dinner!

THURSDAY

Marinated flank steak for the grill. I’ll marinate this on Tuesday before I head to the airport and the fam can grill it off on Thursday. Our go-to side with this is steamed sticky rice (Cal Rose or Japanese sushi rice) and steamed broccoli. I prefer broccoli roasted with lemon and salt, but I typically lose that battle.

• ¼ cup organic tamari (gluten-free but not Whole30) or coconut aminos (gluten-free, soy-free and Whole30)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons honey (omit to make Whole 30)
• ¼ cup avocado oil
• 1 green onion, sliced thin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 flank steak (roughly 2 pounds)

To make this, simply combine all the ingredients and marinate the flank steak for 24-48 hours before grilling. Let it rest after grilling, and then cut against the grain and serve.

FRIDAY

Home again, but not sure what the game plan will be. I have burger patties from Yonder Way Farm in the freezer as well as Coconut Curry Carrot Soup I tested for a recipe last week. I also have a batch of White Bean Minestrone in the freezer that reheats like a dream. Or maybe we’ll grill some Whole 30-friendly Teton Waters Ranch uncured beef sausages. Whatever the plan is, it will be a “clean out the fridge” and forage for leftovers kind of night.