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

Cincinnati Chili with Pasta

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