Hey Friend! I’m Sharlie and I’m so glad you’re here! It seems strange for me to be posting meal plans here because just a few short weeks ago, I was trying to find a meal plan that was: simple, affordable, kid-friendly and 90% healthy. It was hard to find one with those requirements! So I resigned myself to just coming up with my own meal plan and started sharing on my IG page. It was such a hit that I’m bringing it to the blog too (I know, I know…it’s been awhile). I hope my simple meal plan can help you and your family in some way. Look for them each Friday!

A Few Thoughts

I’m just a mom of six that is throwing our meal plans out here for you to get inspiration from, for it to help you in any way possible. I’m definitely open to suggestions, but I’m a busy mom…I have six kids (insert crazy tongue out emoji) and I’m just doing my best to find thirty minutes to type this out. However, I’m not open to criticism. You’ll find I use a lot of the same recipes. That’s because I want to cook food my family likes, and when I find a recipe that everyone eats, it’s going to be on repeat.

I’m also trying to keep my meal plan on a budget. I want our family to eat as healthy as possible and I want to keep my weekly grocery budget around $200-$250. That means I use ingredients to span across several meals. That means certain meals (like tacos and spaghetti) are on weekly repeat.

Breakfasts and Lunches

I keep this super simple. For breakfast, I make a big vat of oatmeal for the kids and add in pure maple syrup and apple butter or peanut butter. We top with fruit. Sometimes I’ll make eggs and serve with fruit. I normally drink a yummy protein shake.

Lunches for the kids are super simple too. PB&J, fruit, carrots, cucumbers. I’ll eat a salad or have another protein shake. Sometimes, I’ll use leftover taco meat and chips to make some nachos. That’s a big hit.

Snacks

We snack on fruit and veggies. I sometimes buy gummies for the kids to have. I’ve found the more we transition to real food and drop all of the processed potato chips, crackers, etc, the less we desire all the snacks.

The Meal Plan

Sorry for all the details up above. If you are looking for the main attraction, here it is. I promise this section will get cleaned up and be better as I find my groove with this. But for now, here’s the rundown. I’ll link any recipes I’m using and jot down the ingredients I’ll be using for each meal.

Monday: Chipotle Chicken Bowls: rice, limes, 1 can of corn, chicken thighs, lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese

Tuesday: Tacos: I normally do ground beef, soft and hard shells, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, chips, salsa, and 2 cans of black beans. If you are looking for a fancier version or want to change things up try this recipe.

Wednesday: Crockpot Zuppa Toscana Soup. Bacon, Italian sausage, onion, garlic, chicken broth, potatoes, nutmeg, heavy cream, kale, grated parmesan, salt, sugar.

Thursday: Spaghetti. 2 pounds ground turkey, noodles, pasta sauce. Optional: salad and garlic bread.

Friday: Aldi Pizza. Aldi’s is a grocery store that I’m so thankful we have in our area. My grocery budget doesn’t know what I’d do without it. The pizzas taste yummy and you get a huge one for $6.99 in my area. We normally eat three.

Saturday: Hamburgers. Ground beef, buns, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles. For sides, I’ll probably do watermelon and baked beans. Maybe fries?

Sunday: BFD or Breakfast for Dinner. Eggs, homemade biscuits, fruit, bacon or sausage.

Whew, there we go!! I hope this helps you some! And I promise, I’ll try to improve it as I get the hang of it and more time.

Love you Friend!!!

Sharlie