Over the summer holidays I went with the flow a lot more with our evening meals and would plan for meals for a week out at the most. With not having to work and no after school commitments to have to meet, the pace allowed for this flexibility. Likewise with my weekly prep sessions, I would do a few things on the weekend, but I had more time to spread the cooking out across the week.
I love routines and I love planning, but I find to make it sustainable, I need to have times when I am more flexible and mix it up a little. By the time the summer holidays comes towards and end, I am naturally ready to head back into more structure with the meal planning and my weekend prep.
So last weekend I headed straight back into it! For those of you who might have missed it, unfortunately my PWK Menu Planner App has been decommissioned and I do miss it terribly. Luckily for me however, as I have posted so many menu plans over the years on the blog, it is super easy for me to head to the archives and find some plans that suit my needs, print them out and I am ready to go!
If you would like to do the same, just head here – menu planning archives. You can also find all my recipes by most recent publish date here and by category here.
Below I share some ideas for weekly prep and menu plans!
Weekly prep ideas
To help put food in the kids’ lunch boxes I aim to make one savoury and one sweet item on the weekend. Here are some popular recipes from the blog that you might like to try:
Chicken and rice patties – you can find my recipe here or here for the Thermomix recipe that the lovely team at Fayi converted for me.
Healthy chocolate clusters – just like chocolate crackles but dairy, soy, egg, nut, refined sugar and gluten free.
Taco parcels – make a double batch of tacos for dinner one night on the weekend, then use the left over taco meat to make these taco parcels.
Our weekly menu plans for February
Lots of kids’ faves on the menu this month which is great for me because they are easy to cook and great for family harmony as everyone is happy that their faves are in frequent rotation.
Day | Week Commencing 5th Feb 2018 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Mon |  | Sausage and salad |
| Tue |  | Moroccan minted beef |
| Wed |  | Slow cooker honey sesame chicken (gluten free) |
| Thu |  | Dukkah crusted salmon with crunchy potatoes and garlic spinach |
| Fri |  | Homemade pizzas |
| Sat |   | Green veggies |
| Sun |  | Tacos with homemade seasoning |
| Shopping List | Weekly shopping list 180205 | |
Day | Week Commencing 12th Feb 2018 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Mon |  | Chicken schnitzel and vegetables |
| Tue |  | Chicken, cashew and ginger stir fry |
| Wed |  | Mexibake |
| Thu |  | Sausages, veg and crispy mashed potato mounds |
| Fri |  | Pan Fried Fish and Salad |
| Sat |  | Slow cooker spaghetti bolognese Green veggies |
| Sun |  | Sweet chilli chicken wraps |
| Shopping List | Weekly shopping List 180212 | |
Day | Week Commencing 19th Feb 2018 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Mon |  | Lamb chops and vegetables |
| Tue |   | Easy slow cooker Mexican beef Rice cooker Mexican rice |
| Sun |  | Sang choy bow |
| Shopping List | Weekly shopping list 180219 | |
Day | Week Commencing 26th Feb 2018 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Mon | | Chicken schnitzel and vegetables |
| Tue | | Chicken, cashew and ginger stir fry |
| Wed |   | Slow cooker balsamic beef with pumpkin salad Roast pumpkin salad |
| Thu | | Lamb chops and vegetables |
| Fri |  | Chicken sticks and salad |
| Sat | | Slow cooker spaghetti bolognese Green veggies |
| Sun | | Tacos |
| Shopping List | Weekly shopping list 180226 | |
More family friendly recipes
If you are looking for further recipe inspiration, check out my complete list of Family Friendly Recipes.
Top photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash