Menu Planning | Week Of April 16th, 2018

Hi Friends! Dinners this week are going to be super simple and cooking mainly from what we have in the freezer. I will be busy at our Story Camp event from for much of this week (which means eating near the event). So much about all this is making it work for what's happening in our everyday lives. This is one of those weeks where we all just need simple. 

Just a reminder: I don't plan lunches and usually just eat leftovers or make a bowl with protein + greens + veggies that we might have on hand. Anna and Simon usually buy lunch at school and the other three take their lunches so we are working on having healthier options for them vs. our current reliance on packaged snack foods.  

Here's a look at what I'm planning to make for this dinners this week:

• I have two whole chickens in the freezer that I'm going to defrost and try cooking in the Instant Pot. I'm going to follow the suggestions on this post from the Real Food Dietitians. I'll use that meat + roasted veggies for some super simple dinners - easy and I know everyone will eat them. 
• Frozen lasagna from Costco for kids + Aaron (I would like to move away from using those and make them from scratch so I have more control over the ingredients but this week I'm using what I already have on hand) // I will eat some variation which will likely be zucchini noodles + a no sugar marinara from Trader Joes.
• Sweet Potato Apple Sausage Bake from Coffee + Crumbs // I also have everything on hand for this so I will likely make it as well one of the nights

Reviews from last week // 

• Sweet Potato Lasagna from Detoxinista // This was a winner as far I was concerned. Aaron + Simon both ate a bunch and liked it. Anna's not much of a fan of quinoa so she was biased as soon as she knew it was in there. This was a great comfort food recipe. I added spinach and some Italian spices after reading the reviews and those were really good additions. 
• Slow Cooker Chicken Korma from Wholesomelicious // This one was a total success for every person in the family (all kids were here). I was a little worried because it had a bit of spice to it (I could of omitted the red pepper flakes - I used half the suggested amount) but once they tried it everyone liked it - super excited about that for even the pickiest kid. Simon and I had ours with cauliflower rice and the rest of the crew had it with brown jasmine rice. We did broccoli as the veggie (we usually buy the froze organic broccoli from Costco). 
• 30 Minute Turkey Meatball And Kale Soup from Savory Lotus // The meatballs in this were a major hit. Everyone ate the soup but a few had a hard time getting the kale down (mainly because they ate the meatballs first + left the broth). I would totally make it again. 
• Sheet Pan Ginger-Orange Salmon Bowls from Real Food Whole Life // Everyone loved this except for one kid who strongly dislikes salmon (but he did taste at least one bite to see if his taste had changed = win). 
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts And Cauliflower Soup from Skinny Taste // Made this for myself and had it for lunch two days and thought it was good. Not awesome but totally fine and I loved having a simple soup on hand for my own lunches.