Menu Planning Monday 9/29

Not too long ago I wrote a post about how I meal plan. Since menu planning is such an important part of my routine I decided to try to make it a regular part of what I share here on the blog. I hope sharing my meal planning tips and ideas helps you find new recipes or meal planning ideas. So, here goes Menu Planning Monday! I’ll be linking up with OrgJunkie for her Menu Plan Monday Link up!

Sidenote: For the last year or so I was following a strict meal plan from my nutrition coach. It was extremely helpful for the season I was in, but it was so stressful to try to keep up with that meal plan and still have something different for the husband and kiddo. Planning/cooking 3 separate dishes at every meal time just hasn’t been feasible in the last few months since my surgery, so I’ve just been doing my best to make smart, balanced, and healthy decisions… Just living out #WYCWYC.  I’ll update ya’ll on my future nutrition plans in more detail in another post. Just like yours probably is, my life is crazy busy. Here is a very generic example of my day:

5:15am- Wake Up, Get Dressed (unless it’s Tuesday, then I’m up at 4:15!)
5:30am- Wake Payt up, get her dressed and ready to leave
5:45am- Head to CrossFit
6:00am- Work out
7:00am- Coach
8:00am(ish)- Head Home for Breakfast and work
8:30am-12pm- Work from home…. Emails, spreadsheets, stats, more emails
12pm- Lunch/Chores
1:00pm-4:45pm(ish)- More work.
4:45pm- Finish up work, pack up to head back up to CrossFit to coach
5:00pm-7:30pm(ish)- Coach
7:30pm- Head home to eat. Clean up after dinner.
8:30pm- Put Payton to bed. Chores. Prepare for next day.
9:00pm- Bed.

There is not much time built in for cooking or running to the store for forgotten ingredients. Since there is literally an hour from the time we get home to when it is time to get ready for bed I do my best to have dinners already prepared. I live and die by my crockpot during the week. Usually when I’m making lunch I’ll go ahead and put dinner together as well. I have some family favorites that I will have in the rotation ever few weeks, but coming up with meal ideas that are healthy and quick is the most stressful part of meal planning. Thank goodness for eMeals! I’ve been a member off and on for the last couple years. I used it back when we were eating more paleo-ish, I’ve done the store specific plans, but most recently I’ve discovered their Clean Eating Crockpot Plan. The weekly plan gives you 7 meal options with sides. I pick and choose a few of the meals to try out each week, mostly because I don’t want to try something new every single night. There are also a few meals that don’t jive with our personal taste, mainly the fish meals. I fill in the holes with those rotating favorites. The meal plans come with shopping lists and estimated costs, which is really helpful for budget planning as well. This kind of planning help is especially useful for back to school season as you try to get back to a routine.

Now on to the menu…

Sunday- Teriyaki Grilled Chicken//Coleslaw//Asian Salad
Monday- Crockpot Orange Chicken
Tuesday- Pasta Sauce and Meatballs (eMeals)
Wednesday- Smokey Chicken Fajitas  (eMeals)
Thursday- Texmex Rice Bowls using leftover Smokey Chicken (eMeals)
Friday-  Family Date Night Out
Saturday- Leftovers

If you are interested in checking out eMeals, use the code SCHOOL to get 20% your plans.

What’s on your menu this week?

Discliamer: This post contains affiliate links where I may earn a tiny portion of commission if you choose to purchase through my link, all thoughts and opinions are my own.