As much as I wish I could cook gourmet dinners from scratch every night, that’s just not a reality for me after taking care of a toddler and preschooler all day. I’ve noticed that when I try to get too fancy on weeknights and cook an elaborate recipe that takes a lot of time, the wheels fall off and I end up getting overwhelmed and ordering takeout. This also happens when I try to be too strict with my diet and don’t eat enough calories or carbs. Thankfully, I’ve learned when I need an extra snack before dinner (like an apple or string cheese) to keep me from ordering a pizza! I’ve learned that the best balance for my family is a healthy meal that is delicious and also filling, something that we can all look forward to!
To keep things healthy and simple, I stick to my mantra of lean protein, whole grains, lots of veggies, and healthy fats. I absolutely have carbs with my dinner every night or I get hangry and mean and my family does not deserve that version of me! Now that I exercise regularly, I enjoy my carbs because I know my body needs them. For healthy carb options, we do brown rice 1-2x per week, whole grain pasta or Banza chickpea pasta, sweet potatoes or red potatoes, whole wheat tortillas, and once a week we usually have some sort of burger or sandwich on a whole wheat bun.
When planning my menu, I stick to the same “theme nights” every week. This way, I don’t have to overthink what I will cook, I just choose whatever sounds good to me for the week from that theme and make my grocery list of all of the ingredients I need. Below is a list of the “themes” I use, and some recipe ideas for each one. I don’t always stick to which day we will eat these meals, so obviously feel free to make your own plan. I just make sure I cook each recipe before the end of the week (or if for some reason I don’t, I make sure to freeze the protein to use for the following week).
Monday: American/Meat and potatoes (Ex. Chicken with sweet potato/green beans or Salmon with roasted red potatoes/brussels sprouts) I skip the potatoes some weeks and have salmon with brown rice, my favorite meal and my husband’s least favorite ;)
Recipe Links:
I love this BBQ chicken recipe. I serve it with baked sweet potatoes that I start in the oven at 450 for one hour before the chicken (just poke some holes in the potatoes with a fork and throw them in the oven on a baking sheet with foil sprayed with olive oil spray). Then I turn the oven to 375 and leave the potatoes in while the chicken cooks. I microwave fresh steam-in-the-bag green beans and serve them with a little butter and garlic salt.
Or for another option, this is my own personal salmon recipe that I make every week, so simple! My kids don’t love salmon, so I also throw a tray of chicken nuggets in the oven that take almost the exact same amount of time to cook. I do usually take out the chicken nuggets at 14 minutes and let the salmon continue to bake 3 more minutes while I prepare the kid’s plates (depending on how thick they are). I serve this with my favorite Near East brand Brown Rice Pilaf and roasted brussels sprouts with a balsamic glaze (pre-made squeeze bottle from the grocery store!).
Tuesday: Italian/Banza Pasta (Ex. Banza rotini with chicken sausage and marinara, Banza penne with pesto sauce and grilled chicken, Banza mac and cheese)
I absolutely love Banza pasta. I try to get my family to eat more beans and this is the easiest way. For the Rotini with Chicken Sausage, Target’s Good & Gather Italian chicken sausage is my favorite and has the least processed ingredients of any brand I’ve tried. My family loves Rao’s sauces, both Marinara and Tomato Basil (I use tomato basil with the chicken sausage). It’s a little pricey, but you can usually find them on sale and they also have it at Costco. The ingredients are like your grandma made it at home, and that makes me happy! I just bake the sausage in the oven at 350 while the water is boiling and the sauce heats up on the stove. Just make sure you rinse Banza pasta with hot water after you drain it!
For the Chicken with Pesto Pasta, we just marinate chicken breasts in Olive Garden dressing in a ziplock in the refrigerator for an hour or two, add a little garlic salt and pepper, and grill it. That is my absolute favorite warm-weather chicken recipe. For the pesto, we buy store-bought from the refrigerated section (not the jars, as those do not taste as good and are more processed). Heinen's brand (Cleveland area store) is my favorite, it tastes exactly like my mom’s homemade recipe. I do usually use whole wheat pasta for this recipe instead of Banza because my family prefers that for this sauce (but if I were cooking for myself I’d use Banza because BEANS!)
Wednesday: Asian/Stirfry (Brown rice with stir-fried veggies/shrimp/chicken/sauce)
So quick and easy… our main go-to is Brown Rice with Blackened Shrimp. I buy frozen brown rice (I love Grain Trust brand) that I just microwave and then roast some shrimp (defrosted with tails off, sprinkled with blackened seasoning) with red bell peppers and broccoli in the oven at 425 (broccoli and peppers in first for 15 minutes, then add shrimp for an additional 7 minutes). We make this in the summer on the grill with metal skewers and also grill some pineapple! For both versions, we top the rice bowls with Lawry’s Caribbean jerk sauce, so good! This dinner can be any combination of protein and veggies you like, we also do ground chicken with bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms with teriyaki or spicy Szechuan sauce.
Thursday: Sandwiches (Turkey burgers/Turkey Sloppy joes/BBQ pulled chicken served with sweet potato fries/mixed vegetables)
We’ve recently started adding Burger Night to our menu and it has been a hit! We just grill pre-made turkey burgers with a little burger seasoning and serve them on whole wheat buns with lettuce, tomato, and pickles. We also make sweet potato fries in the air fryer (or sometimes regular fries, I love the crinkle-cut kind!), and I make some sort of frozen veggies like peas or mixed vegetables. My family loves this and it’s so much healthier than if we ate burgers at a restaurant. It feels like a treat but is completely healthy!
An alternative to sandwiches is breakfast for dinner! My kids love this and it couldn’t be easier. I just make scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, and some toast and fruit. You can also serve this with roasted breakfast potatoes, sometimes I will have these left over from earlier in the week and will serve that as the side instead of toast.
Friday: Mexican (Ex. Quesadillas/enchiladas/tacos on whole wheat tortilla served with rice and beans and cut-up bell peppers). For pretty much any version of these Mexican dishes, I use La Tortilla Factory low-carb, whole wheat tortillas (large size for quesadillas/enchiladas, original size for tacos). I use shredded chicken for protein and shred some Monterey Jack cheese.
I like to make this shredded chicken in the crockpot which is so easy and tastes amazing in any of these weeknight dinners, and the leftovers also make great nachos! In a pinch, I will also use shredded rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, but this recipe honestly takes under 5 minutes to throw together and the crockpot does the rest.
For Quesadillas, I cook some fajita vegetables (you can buy pre-cut bell peppers with red onions or just quickly cut up a pepper and sautee with some olive oil spray and a splash of water, I also add Adobo seasoning) and just add the chicken, veggies, and cheese to the center of one tortilla, top with another tortilla and heat up in my quesadilla maker. Best purchase ever, honestly!
For Enchiladas I use the chicken and 1/3 block of shredded cheese for the filling with some Adobo seasoning, then cover with enchilada sauce (I like Siete brand best, green or red flavor are both great) and another 1/3 block of cheese and bake in a casserole dish at 350 for about 30 minutes uncovered.
Or for Tacos, I just brown some ground beef with some taco seasoning and call it a day (or the crockpot shredded chicken). I still use the same cheese, some shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes for veggies, and some taco sauce. With all of these dinners, I serve them with Near East brand Spanish rice and some Hanover Tex-Mex beans (already cooked and seasoned, just have to heat them up). Makes for an easy but fun & festive Friday night!
Saturday: If I’m in the mood to cook on the weekend, I will usually make something that takes more time and effort to prepare. Some of my favorites are things my mom used to make me like chicken paprikash, beef stroganoff, Swedish meatballs, ribs, or broccoli chicken casserole, or some of my own family’s favorites like Jambalaya or air-fried chicken. Oftentimes we will have a date night or do takeout on the weekend instead, so I really do usually just cook these super quick and easy meals! We love take-out sushi, Thai, or Indian, but also have pizza parties fairly often at our girl's request :)
Sunday: Italian (again!) We usually have “Mom’s spaghetti” night with just whole grain spaghetti and a simple ground turkey meat sauce, Bella’s favorite :)
For my Spaghetti, I just brown some ground turkey with a little garlic and onion powder and some Italian seasoning, drain the meat and add a jar of Rao’s marinara and half a jar of Rao’s Tomato Basil, served over whole wheat spaghetti with some grated parmesan cheese. So good and a great comfort meal for a Sunday night.
I am not a food blogger (clearly) so I hope these “recipes” are helpful to you! I have friends ask me all the time how I “cook” 5-6 nights a week and this is my (very long) answer. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should be wholesome and as minimally processed as possible. There are so many healthy options in stores these days. A pre-made sauce, frozen rice, or some pre-cut veggies may cost a little more, but it will save some precious time/sanity and it won’t cost as much as takeout or a meal delivery service, which I know a lot of moms rely on for convenience. I feel so much better knowing exactly what my family is eating and not having to guess how much butter or salt may be in a restaurant takeout meal. These little shortcuts make cooking weeknight meals much more user-friendly, and my family loves the food. I hope yours does too!