I am writing this post while on school holidays and one of my favourite things about school holidays is not having to make school lunches! It gives me a break from big weekly prep sessions, instead I just make some food for me for the week and spend less time in the kitchen.
Even though I enjoy preparing food for the kids and I, it is good to mix it up and have a break as well. Menu planning over the school holidays is also a little more flexible for us as our days look very different and we have no after school activities.
This school holidays I am also going to be away for a week which means very little evening meal for me – win!
But I know from past experience it is wise to head into the new school term with a monthly menu plan and a decent food prep behind me. Term four is my favourite term of the year, but it is also an intense term.
Our eldest will be doing his VCE exams in a matter of weeks (final exams of his secondary school life) and our year 9 son and year 7 daughter will have exams not long after that. Having nutritious food for them to eat during this time is a key focus for me.
If you would like to start term four off prepared with meal planning and weekly prep, here are some ideas.
Weekly prep ideas
Of a weekend the minimum I like to prepare for the kids is:
- one savoury item for the lunch boxes
- one sweet item for the lunch boxes
These are some of my kids favourites at the moment:
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
Choc banana muffins (gluten, dairy and nut free) – Lovely moist choc banana muffins that are gluten, dairy, nut and cane sugar free. Perfect treat for the kids lunch boxes or a snack for mum.
Homemade spring rolls – make a double batch of sang boy chow and use this meat as the filling for Homemade chicken spring rolls. To make it quicker I coat them with coconut oil and then bake them on lined trays in the oven.
Healthy chocolate clusters – just like chocolate crackles but dairy, soy, egg, nut, refined sugar and gluten free.
Our weekly menu plans for October
These are our menu plans week by week for the next month with shopping lists included created in the PWK menu planning app.
A great time saving tip for monthly menu planning is to recycle menu plans from other months to make a completely new menu plan for the month, for example each of these weekly menu plans I have used ones from earlier this year.
Combined they give me a new monthly menu plan with variety and they already have the kids favourite meals included. It took me less than 10 minutes to choose them and now I am set for the month!
Even if you don’t use an app to plan out your meals, you can easily just keep your hand written plans and recycle them that way.
Day | Week Commencing 3rd Oct 2016 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Mon |  | Chicken, cashew and ginger stir fry |
| Tue |   | Slow cooker chicken satay (gluten free) Green veggies |
| Wed |  | Sausages, veg and crispy mashed potato mounds |
| Thu |   | Pumpkin soup Fried rice |
| Fri |  | Dukkah crusted salmon with crunchy potatoes and garlic spinach |
| Sat |  | Tacos with homemade seasoning |
| Sun |  | Roast chicken and vegetables |
| Shopping List | Weekly menu plan shopping list |
|
Day | Week Commencing 10th Oct Sept 2016 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Mon | | Chicken, cashew and ginger stir fry |
| Tue |  | Slow cooker beef stroganoff (gluten free) |
| Wed | | Sausages, veg and crispy mashed potato mounds |
| Thu |  | Zucchini and Spaghetti Bolognese |
| Fri | Left overs | |
| Sat |  | Sang choy bow |
| Sun |  | Home made hamburgers and salad |
| Shopping List | Weekly menu plan shopping list | |
Day | Week Commencing 17th Oct 2016 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Mon | | Dukkah crusted salmon with crunchy potatoes and garlic spinach |
| Tue | | Sang choy bow |
| Wed |   | Slow cooker butter chicken Cauliflower rice |
| Thu |  | Chicken schnitzel and vegetables |
| Fri | Left overs | |
| Sat |  | Sweet chilli chicken wraps |
| Sun |  | Slow cooker roast beef |
| Shopping List | Weekly menu plan shopping list | |
Day | Week Commencing 24th Oct |
|
|---|---|---|
| Mon | | Slow cooker roast beef |
| Tue | | Slow cooker butter chicken Green veggies |
| Wed |  | Mexibake |
| Thu | Weekly menu plan shopping list | |
More family friendly recipes
If you are looking for further recipe inspiration, check out my complete list of Family Friendly Recipes. You might like to also check out Planning With Kids Menu Planning App.