And we are almost into the last month of winter – hooray! I wanted to put together a monthly menu plan pretty quickly for the family and have shopping lists ready to go so I went back through the archives on the blog and grabbed four plans that I know have lots of meals the kids like and the shopping lists already created for them. (NB. I used to have a menu planner app that created these shopping lists but it is no longer in use.)
Having the plans and lists ready to go will make the month of August so much easier for me. I have quite a few events planned for the weekends so being prepared means it is easier to outsource the shopping to other members of the family!
If you are after more information on the process I use for menu planning, you can find it in this menu planning post. It also has a free template you can download.
I am trying a new format for this post – as some readers have said the menu planning posts are hard to read on the phone – let me know what you think!
Winter menu plan week 1 – Mon 1st Aug 2022
| Monday | Scalloped Potatoes Sautéed baby spinach Gluten free meatloaf |
| Tuesday | Spagheetti and Zucchini Bolognese |
| Wednesday | Tacos – Homemade Seasoning |
| Thursday | Chicken Balls Green Veggies Sweet Potato Gratin |
| Friday | Sausages, veg and crispy mashed potato mounds |
| Saturday | Chicken Wings with Baked Potatoes and Corn |
| Sunday | Honey roasted lamb shoulder |
| Shopping List | PWK-August-Menu-Plan-Week-1-1st-Aug |
Winter menu plan week 2 – Mon 8th Aug 2022
| Monday | Chicken, cashew and ginger stir fry |
| Tuesday | Mexibake |
| Wednesday | Sang Choy Bow |
| Thursday | Sausages, veg and crispy mashed potato mounds |
| Friday | Chicken Wings with Baked Potatoes and Corn |
| Saturday | Sushi |
| Sunday | Chicken Schnitzel and Steamed Vegetables |
| Shopping List | PWK-August-Menu-Plan-Week-2-8th-Aug |
Winter menu plan week 3 – Mon 15th Aug 2022
| Monday | Slow Cooker Roast Lamb |
| Tuesday | Mexibake |
| Wednesday | Slow Cooker Butter Chicken Cauliflower Rice |
| Thursday | Moroccan Minted Beef |
| Friday | Homemade Hamburgers and Chunky Chips |
| Saturday | Chicken Wraps – Easy Sweet Chilli |
| Sunday | Chicken Wings with Baked Potatoes and Corn |
| Shopping List | PWK-August-Menu-Plan-Week-3-15th-Aug |
Winter menu plan week 4 – Mon 22nd Aug 2022
Lunch box ideas
To make my weekdays easier for many years I have spent time in the kitchen on the weekends prepping and cooking food for the week. During the school term, I share photos and links of the recipes I cook up during my weekly food prep sessions on Facebook using the hashtag #pwkweeklyprep which you can see here.
Even if you don’t want to do the extensive type of food prep I do, it is so beneficial to at least make a couple of things to make your life easier during the week like a sweet and savoury item for the kids’ lunch boxes. If you would like to get into the meal prep thing, but do not quite know where to start, check out my short e-course Meal Prep Primer.
Meal Prep Primer teaches you my process and gives you three weeks of plans to follow to help you establish the habit. It has helped 100s of women make their weekdays easier by doing some meal prep on the weekend.
Sweet lunch box ideas
- No Bake Lemon and Coconut Balls
- Choc banana muffins (gluten free)
- Chocolate and white chocolate chip cookies
- No bake oat and choc chip balls
- Raw seed squares
Savoury lunch box ideas
- Sushi
- English muffin pizzas
- Chicken schnitzel – can make into wraps/sandwiches or turn into strips
- Chicken rice paper rolls
- Gluten Free Chicken Meatballs