Hey Everyone! How’s 2017 going for all of you? For me personally, I feel a little bit like I’m drowning in life and can’t catch my breath, but it’s a good life nonetheless. Between work, traveling for work, school, and the new puppy, cooking is basically the last thing on my mind.
I’m the kind of person that loves to menu plan for the whole week on the weekend and just do one giant grocery store trip to knock it all out. This, while efficient, takes up a ton of brain power, planning, and research. I know I have a food blog and it probably seems like fun new meals are just erupting from my brain at all times, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Have you ever just been on Pinterest to look for dinner ideas and just ended up mindlessly scrolling forever, completely uninspired? It feels like that’s been me for a whole month.
Honestly, the past couple weeks have been a blur of me making the same three dinners over and over: pot roast, tacos, sheet pan chicken. Healthy-ish, and yes they are delicious, but I desperately need a stroke of inspiration. That’s when my type A-ness decided to make a list and schedule for dinner creativity, (an oxymoron, right?):
Use This Meal Planning Schedule to Get Out of Your Dinner Rut
This ensures I always keep dinner’s fresh and exciting, with the added bonus of being completely customizable for your tastes/dietary restrictions. I also think going into brainstorming dinner ideas for “Italian Night” for example is so much easier to narrow down than the whole realm of dinner possibilities on Pinterest.
Meal Planning Schedule Dinner Ideas:
Monday: Meatless Monday
Quick Vegetarian Greek Gnocchi with Artichokes and Chickpeas
Spicy Sweet Potato and Apple Vegetarian Chili
Vegan Roasted Summer Veggies with Farro and Lemony Tahini Herb Sauce
Tuesday: Taco Tuesday
Slow Cooker Pork Tacos Al Pastor
Two-Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Wednesday: Asian
Veggie-Packed Slow Cooker Asian Beef and Broccoli
Crockpot Banh Mi Brown Rice Bowls with Asian Slaw
Healthy Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken
Sweet and Spicy Asian Steak Kabobs
Thursday: Sheet Pan Dinner
20 Minute Healthy Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner with Roasted Root Vegetables and Broccoli
Sheet Pan Caprese Chicken with Balsamic Glaze
Sheet Pan Chicken Parmesan with Crispy Broccolini
Friday: Homemade Soup
Lightened Up Chicken Gnocchi Soup
20 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Creamy Crockpot Butternut Squash Apple Soup
Beer Chili with Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Muffins
Slow Cooker Tuscan Soup with Pork, Beans, and Kale
Saturday: Italian Night
Fettuccine with Slow Cooker Beef Ragu Bolognese
Crispy Baked Chicken Parmesan and Fettuccine
Instant Pot Spaghetti Bolognese Sauce
Sunday: Slow Cooker
Autumn Crockpot Pork Roast with Apples and Onions
Greek Pot Roast with Homemade Tzatziki
Monday: Seafood
Sheet Pan BBQ Salmon with Chipotle Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans
10-Minute Carb-Free Shrimp and Cauliflower Fried Rice
Perfect 10 Minute Broiled Salmon and Veggies
Watermelon Gazpacho with Spicy Shrimp
Tuesday: Paleo/ Low Carb
15-Minute, One-Pan Paleo Sausage and Brussels Sprouts
Low-Carb Lemon Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Squash
Grilled Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Whole30 Pesto Chicken Zoodles and Pistachios
20 Minute Steak Fajita Skillet with Avocado
Wednesday: Sandwich
Easy Weeknight BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Broccoli Slaw
Green Goddess Sandwich with Chickpea Avocado Mash and Goat Cheese
Best Ever Spicy Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Paleo Buffalo Chicken Sandwich on Sweet Potato Buns
Thursday: International
Coconut Mango Chicken with Peppers and Rice
Greek Chicken Kabobs with Homemade Tzatziki
Friday: Salad
Roasted Chickpea and Cauliflower Salad with Honey Mustard Chicken, Apples, and Avocado
Baby Kale, Butternut Squash, Chicken and Quinoa Salad
Farmer’s Chopped Salad with White Wine Honey Vinaigrette
Greek Chicken and Chickpea Chopped Salad with Balsamic Tahini Dressing
Saturday: Freebie/ Go Out
Sunday: American
Next-Level Perfect Holiday Pot Roast
Pepperoni Pizza Spaghetti Squash
Fall-off-the-Bone Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs
Chicken Bacon Pasta with Caramelized Onions
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Love your site lots of good recipes
Thank you, Jennifer!!
This was SUCH a great collection of recipes. I loved the variety and the flavors. I’ve added almost all of them to my meal planning calendar. Thank you so much!
Oh I’m so glad you found it helpful!! I hope you like them 🙂
Oh my goodness. This is my first week of doing your recipes. Fantastic. We love it. Thanks
Aw I love hearing that!! Thank you 🙂