Weekly Meal Plan // Week of September 30

Here we go! October is upon us, and that means we may dip below 90 degrees in Houston any day now. It also means it’s time for one of my absolute favorite things: Round Top antiquing.

I first heard about Round Top circa 1993 from one of my University of Colorado roommates who grew up in Fort Worth (hi Laura!) . It sounded like Heaven to me, field upon field of treasures. Fast forward to my 30s, and suddenly I’m moving to Houston from San Francisco with my husband and 20-month-old. One of the only things I knew about Houston was that it was driving distance to Round Top. It was a silver lining  (I had never even been to Texas when I landed in Hobby with my oldest daughter that fateful June day!).

This week is full of super easy recipes. I’m spending the night near Round Top Monday night so I can hit the ground running Tuesday morning. That means I’m leaving something my family can throw together on their own Monday night. If they can do it, you can do it!

SUNDAY

This pork chop recipe is making me drool! Omit the sugar to make it Whole30. Serve it with roasted butternut squash and a big salad. In fall, I like to replace the champagne vinegar in my super simple salad dressing with apple cider vinegar. Add some quartered figs, pear slices and almond slivers to dress up your salad greens.

MONDAY

Spaghetti squash and Whole30 pesto. I’ll use a couple lacinato kale leaves (with the center stem removed) instead of arugula. You won’t miss the cheese in this recipe, the avocado gives the sauce a creamy texture and adds healthy fat that keeps you full. I microwave my spaghetti squash, it’s super easy to make and cut.

TUESDAY

Enchilada casserole with lean grass-fed beef from the Urban Harvest farmer’s market in Houston for the fam. This is one of my kiddos favorite dinners, and it’s not labor intensive to put together. If you don’t want to use ground beef, use ground turkey or shredded rotisserie chicken. I make a variation of the recipe linked above, but with pinto beans instead of black, no corn, and Hatch red enchilada sauce. It’s not a Whole30 recipe for those of you who have been on the Whole30 train with me. I plan to pull out some of the cooked ground beef for a Whole30 taco salad (avocado, pickled red onions, pickled carrots and jalapeños (I buy jars of these at the Urban Harvest market), cilantro, radish and Primal Foods avocado ranch dressing.

Also, be sure to visit @smartinthekitchen for an Instagram Live at 12pm CST. I’ll demo two of my favorite Whole30 sauces and dips: Romesco and tomatillo salsa.

WEDNESDAY

Tune in to Houston Life today for some delicious Whole30 recipes! I’ll be showing how to cook pork egg roll bowls, chicken and green chili burgers and Instant Pot picadillo. I have a couple meetings in the afternoon, so it’s the Instant Pot to the rescue. Mexican chicken soup will be a quick and easy crowd pleaser. Put out toppings for the soup (I’ll re-purpose salad toppings from Tuesday night). If you’d like, add some rinsed and drained garbanzo beans to the soup.

THURSDAY

We don’t have school on Friday, and I’m not sure what our plan is, but if we eat at home it will be spatchcocked chicken. Throw a bunch of carrots and shallots on the sheet pan for an easy side dish. I’m officially done with Whole30 but will still post family-friendly dinners that are simple and healthy.

FRIDAY

I’m tempted to make something like this for dinner, but realistically it will be something like this. Or I might just buy a pre-made cauliflower pizza crust from Trader Joe’s and binge watch Younger.

Also, I’m craving oatmeal cranberry energy bites so they’ll be made this weekend and popped in the freezer for easy snacks! This paleo pumpkin bread also looks like a good way to get your pumpkin spice fix.