britta//unfiltered

Hello blog friends!

Over the last year, I have made it a habit to make a little meal plan for the week each Sunday. Sometimes that meal plan is as simple as an inventory of leftovers from the week before and a plan to order Domino’s, but I try to keep it a little classier when I have the time. I try to come up with a list of what we will be eating each day, then build my grocery list from there. Having a list at the grocery store is a must, especially if you go hungry like I ALWAYS seem to do!

Brandon prefers a more meat-centric diet while I tend to enjoy meatless dishes a little more. Our meals end up striking that balance with salads, roasted veggies, and a few vegetarian choices sprinkled in with lots of fish and poultry main dishes. I also lurve soups, casseroles and pasta dishes that are easy to stash and reheat at work for lunch (some vintage blog recipe links: vegetarian chili, spicy turkey chili, healthy turkey shepherd’s pie casserole, chicken parmesan casserole, veggie-packed whole wheat pasta and chicken bake, and stuffed peppers).

Here’s what is on the docket this week:

Dinners
Chicken pot pie casserole (recipe inspiration at Emily’s Bites) – we tested this out tonight and will be using leftovers for lunches!
White chicken chili – this one is an old standby. I always double the batch!
“Wing it” options for busy nights: Shrimp stir fry with frozen shrimp & veggies, burgers (frozen beef burgers for Brandon, black bean burgers for me) and sweet potato fries, or breakfast-for-dinner (usually an omelet!)

Lunches
Leftover casserole & soup should last us the week and through the weekend. I also love the idea of grain bowls a la PB Runner, and I will usually grab lunch at/around work at least 1x per week.

Breakfasts
Oatmeal with banana, walnuts and honey
Greek yogurt with fruit
PB toast + fruit
Eggs if we are up early enough (almost never – I should really bust out the egg cups again one of these days)
Usually grab bfast at work at least 1x per week

I showed Joe the Trader some love today and then rushed home to do some meal prep for the week. I have been working extra long hours lately due to a special project and it is so nice to have food pre-prepped with easy options to sub in when days get crazy. Before starting dinner, I got started on:

- Chopping veggies (for salads, egg scrambles, etc.)

- Pre-cooking grains (for lunches & stir fry options – jasmine brown rice this week)

- Poaching chicken, shredding, then freezing for later (I’ll use it if we end up making the white chicken chili during the week)

- Cooking & freezing black bean burgers (I used BTHR’s awesome recipe!)

I’ll also portion out the casserole leftovers into lunch containers for the week. It feels sooo good to go into Monday with a dinner plan. It makes it easier to head straight to the treadmill when I get home from work or work a little later without worrying what we will eat later on.

While I worked hard on meal prep for the week, Teto helped out with folding some laundry. So helpful.

Here are a few great posts from some of my favorite blogs on weekly meal planning & prep – I learn everything I know from Google:

Back to Her Roots – How I Prep Food for the Week

Beth’s Journey – Meal Planning Tools (she also frequently posts weekly meal plans that are weight-loss friendly, very informative!)

Fitnessista – Plan & Prep an Hour to Clean Eats

The Lean Green Bean – Sunday Food Prep Inspiration

Do you have a weekly meal prep routine? Do you have any favorite recipes that make great weekday leftovers? Tell me your best tips!