Weeknight Meal Plan: October 15-20

Whole30 Dinners Week 3

Next week is coming at me like a steam roller. Five cooking classes, two photo shoots and a partridge in a pear tree. Good thing I’m doing Whole30 because I sleep like a rock, wake up refreshed and don’t have my usual afternoon energy crash. It’s even given me new found courage. Last week I did my first Instagram Live cooking demo making homemade vanilla almond milk. Talk about nervous Nelly to a) be videotaped live and b) be videotaped live. But I survived! I’m hoping to do one of these each week to teach you all cooking tips, knife skills or a recipe from my weekly meal plan. If you’re reading this (Hello? Is anyone out there?) please leave a comment and let me know which recipe (or type of recipes) you’d like to see live. And if there’s anything else you’d like to learn, let me know and we can do it together. Have a great week and I hope these recipes help you with your meal plan. Even if you simply write down your game plan, and that game plan happens to be grabbing chicken fajita takeout, I strongly suggest writing down your weeknight meals to clear that dark cloud of “what’s for dinner?” hanging over your head.

SUNDAY

Pot roast. Comfort food at its best. Talk about a one pot meal that makes your whole house smell like Heaven, which is appropriate since it’s Sunday! I’ll serve a salad to start and crusty rolls or garlic bread for my kids. I didn’t bother using the arrowroot flour in this recipe, I just seared the meat in hot avocado oil. I only had chicken stock on hand, so I used that instead of beef stock. And we used Trader Joe’s frozen pearl onions instead of quartered onions, as well as a couple sprigs of rosemary from our yard. Delicious!

MONDAY

Butternut squash, apple and pumpkin soup for meatless Monday. Green salad with apple cider vinegar dressing and white cheddar paninis for the kids. To make the salad dressing, follow my recipe for super simple salad dressing and replace the champagne vinegar with apple cider vinegar. I’m photographing the soup this week and can’t wait to post it later this month. In the meantime, here’s a similar recipe for butternut squash soup, just add a can of pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix). This isn’t my exact recipe, but you’ll have it soon enough!

TUESDAY

TACOS! Ground turkey tacos with homemade taco seasoning. Sure there are other things you can do with taco seasoning besides make tacos, but not tonight. If you’re looking for something different, try sprinkling taco seasoning on flank steak before grilling it or rubbing it on the outside and under the skin of a spatchcocked chicken before roasting it. Or rub it on a whole chicken before cooking it in a crock pot. I’ll serve the seasoned turkey taco meat on top of steamed cauliflower with avocado slices, chopped kale, tomato halves, radish slices and pico de gallo. Or maybe I’ll get crazy and microwave a sweet potato and stuff it with taco meat. Either way, it’s a win.

WEDNESDAY

Oktoberfest is here (minus the lager for me). Grill up some sausages, sauté peppers and onions (use the frozen bag of pre-cut peppers from Trader Joe’s if you want) and buy some sauerkraut. Costco sells Aidell’s chicken & apple sausages, which are Whole30 approved, but not totally my favorite. For better flavor, opt for bratwurst, chorizo, or andouille from the Central Market or Whole Foods meat case that doesn’t have added sugar. Double check the ingredients to make sure they are Whole30 compliant. Trader Joe’s has Applegate uncured organic beef hot dogs, if your kids prefer those.

THURSDAY

Pork chili verde (minus the beans) is something I can throw together before carpool to ease the load in the afternoon. It can also be made in a crock pot and cooked all day on low. Serve with lime wedges, cubed avocado, cilantro, radishes and warm corn tortillas for the kids. My kiddos like steamed rice on the side, and they drop it by the scoopful into their soup bowls. It’s pretty darn good.

FRIDAY

We made it to the weekend, let’s celebrate! After finishing my 5th cooking class of the week Friday afternoon, I plan to put my feet up and relax. Honestly, I have a strong premonition that it will be “clean out the fridge” Friday where we heat up leftovers. A tastier alternative is a simple stir fry with some of the veggies I got at the farmer’s market this weekend, or frozen stir fry mix and broccoli. Add chicken or shrimp if you’d like, or just make it as is. Serve with steamed jasmine rice or riced cauliflower.

Vegetable Stir Fry

1 tablespoon coconut oil or avocado oil

1 package frozen stir fry mix, without sauce

1 package frozen broccoli, without sauce

4-5 green onions, cut on the bias into 1-inch pieces

1” (inch) piece of ginger, peeled and grated on a microplaner

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup coconut aminos, or more to taste (tamari or soy sauce is fine, but not Whole 30 compliant)

In a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 tablespoons coconut oil or avocado oil. Cook frozen vegetables until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add green onions, ginger and garlic and stir to combine. Sauté about 2 minutes. Add the coconut aminos and taste for seasoning. Serve over “riced” cauliflower or jasmine rice.