Meal Plan Monday - Week of February 7th

Last week turned out to be the craziest week, and I cooked almost nothing I had planned. Two unexpected nights out for dinner plus lots of leftovers that needed to be eaten equaled a really easy week in the kitchen . . . which is why so many of last week's meals are recycled to this week's plan.

I'm still struggling to find the balance between cooking too much and not enough, and I usually err on the side of "too much" . . . and end up really tired of cooking by the end of the week. Jim and I are hatching a new plan for simplifying meal preparation that we plan to test drive towards the end of the month.

This week, the Sprouts are competing in the Odyssey of the Mind tournament, and that's about all I can think of right now. We have practices at least three days and the tournament on Saturday, so I'm glad all the meals that carried over from last week are fairly simple. Little Sprout will be helping me bake a celebratory surprise for her team after their performance.

On Sunday, we leave for a week's vacation, so I'm also planning ahead our meals for the following week, sprinkled with a healthy dose of eating out along the way. We're bringing all our meals for the road trip on Sunday so we can save our eating out dollars for the places we really want to go.

Here's what will be cooking in our kitchen this week. I know the advance prep looks ridiculous, but it's mainly because I'm making so much to take with us - essentially prepping for two weeks worth of meals. And while we're away, Jim will be in charge of getting meals on the table (and the limited work that will require), so I can literally enjoy a vacation from cooking!

Advance Preparation
Make veggie tray (Jim) - Monday & Friday
Make balsamic dressing - Monday
Make kombucha - Monday
Make bread - Monday
Make maple pecan butter - Tuesday Make cupcakes - Thursday

For trip:
Make sweet cashew cream cheese - Thursday
Make tofu salad - Friday
Make hummus - FridayMake bagels - Friday
Make Lara bars - Friday
Make lasagna - Friday
Make chili - Friday

Monday 
Breakfast: Green smoothie; fruit
Lunch: Veggie pitas; fruit
Dinner: Green Goddess Pasta; salad

Tuesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie, oatmeal
Lunch: Pasta leftovers with raw veggies
Dinner: Alphabet soup with strawberry-spinach salad

Wednesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie; fruit
Lunch: Leftover soup with raw veggies
Dinner: Gold Rush Chili, cornbread, broccoli

Thursday
Breakfast: Green smoothie; oatmeal
Lunch: PB&J with raw veggies
Dinner: Taco salad (using leftover chili)

Friday 
Breakfast: Green smoothie; toast with pecan butter & banana
Lunch: Unplanned (kids are going out with my mom that day)
Dinner: Leftovers

Saturday 
Breakfast: Green smoothie, bagels
Lunch: Out (during tournament)
Dinner: Out (after tournament)

Sunday
Breakfast: Bagels; fruit
Lunch: Tofu salad wraps
Dinner: Soup & bread
Snacks: Veggies & hummus; Larabars; fruit