I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the "whole month" thing right now in the middle of exams, so I'm going five days at at time. Here are the first five:
December 1 - Brown Rice & Lentil Salad and Raw mango-lime pie
December 2 - Salmon panzanella
December 3 - Ginger-lime chicken stir fry
December 4 - Maple dijon crock pot chicken with a spinach salad on the side
December 5 - Tuscan white bean soup
PS - Not all of these are gluten-free, but they will be when they're at my house! Like the salmon panzanella - it calls for a whole wheat baguette, but I'll replace it with a gluten-free hamburger bun that I have on hand. These recipes are all very easily adaptable to a gluten-free diet.
Whitney - meal planning is a great way to ensure that you'll cook at home. One way that I have found to not be overwhelmed is to repeat at least one meal from the week before. Also, I have been using my crock pot A TON since we are also in the middle of finals. I love throwing stuff in there and having dinner ready at the end of the day. I have a great recipe for a lentil soup that's gluten-free...I can send it to you on Facebook if you'd like! Happy cooking!
ReplyDeletei second the crockpot! so easy and such yummy easy meals :)
ReplyDeleteanother thing, make meals you love and that are easy, with readily available ingredients so you're not forced to shop for the week.
and dont forget the power of LEFTOVERS!!
Ahh...ditto the leftovers. We always make enough so that we can have hot lunches the next day instead of eating out or having sandwiches every day.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! Thank you!! We just bought a crock pot so I am excited about trying that out a little more. :)
ReplyDeleteor freeze the leftovers - i do that too, it just makes grabbing a quick meal at home so much easier if its already done and just needs some heating up.
ReplyDeletetake out, home style LOL
hang in there -- yes, meal planning takes a lot of work, and you'll always tweak it the way that works best in YOUR family. I used to do two weeks at a time, and then we were throwing things, "forgetting" etc. Now I do one week at a time and usually make about 3 o 4 of them because that ends up being plenty to last the week. I second the crock pot also, at least one crock pot meal a week and it's always on our busiest day...it makes coming home so wonderful & simple. Blessings as you embark on this journey and I pray it goes smoothly and easy for you!!! keep sharing your yummy recipes, I may just have to stop over for dinner sometime (although I live in WI). lol ><>
ReplyDeleteWay to go Whitney. You are doing a great job, and making the plan is the perfect way to start making more of your meals at home. Keep up the good work, I know it can get tough sometimes with crazy schedules and we end up just grabbing something out. I like to keep boxed soups and some frozen dinners (these can be homemade too) on hand, because I notice that when I can't make something on the meal plan for whatever reason, we have a super quick backup instead of going out to eat.
ReplyDeleteMade the Ginger-Lime Chicken Stir Fry last night, thanks for the tip! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement, guys! I've made the first two nights of recipes and they have been SO good!! (And we have enough leftovers to feed an army...) :)
ReplyDelete