There’s a newer version of this post over here!

I try to make a meal plan each week….try being the key word here. 🙂 Since I started making these lists, I’ve found that grocery shopping is a lot easier….not to mention cheaper. It would probably be even cheaper if I stuck strictly to the plan each week, but I don’t remember a week where that has ever happened. My biggest downfall, as silly as it sounds, is not pulling meat out to thaw in time. We buy cow sides and are part of a chicken CSA, so I have a freezer full of beef and chicken, but I forget (aka. am too lazy) to take the trek down to the garage to pull out what I need. I think I may need to start adopting Michelle Tam’s method (her site is hilarious, by the way) of just pulling out a bunch of different cuts once a week and cooking according to what I have. I just need to remember to make the one trek down to the garage….

So I have a little collection of recipes I’ve amassed over the last few years of meal planning. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a gourmet chef. My meals are pretty easy, though not take-it-out-of-the-box easy. I do like to start from scratch, but that’s more because I’m psychotic about fillers and added ingredients than because of any kind of culinary pride. I try to follow these guidelines (which I’m including so you can decide if this little collection would be useful for your family’s eating habits):

• No soy
• Grass-fed/pastured meats and eggs only
• Raw, grass-fed, full-fat dairy or at least cultured, vat-pasteurized, grass-fed, full-fat dairy (eg. sour cream) only
• No refined sugar (I generally use honey or maple syrup instead)
• Little to no grains (B does not get grains yet but E and I will occasionally have them, particularly when eating out)
• Little to no legumes
• No refined vegetable oils (eg. canola oil, soybean oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, etc.)

The recipes are, for the most part, E and B approved as well. All three of us make compromises….I try to make spinach often and neither B nor I am a fan, though E loves the stuff. If B had his way, we’d have Spanish Omelet every.single.night, while his parents aren’t as crazy about it (probably because we’ve had it so many times). E and I both like roasted beets, but B usually skips them (unless I get the orange ones which he thinks are carrots and glady gulps down). And if I had my way, someone else would cook. 😀

Anyway, without further ado, here are the recipes. I’m sure this list will evolve over time. I’ve tried to include links to sources where I can, but many of them are from cookbooks or subscription meal plans.

Main Course

• Almond Flour Chicken Fingers (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Beef Pot Roast with Red Wine and Thyme (From Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Cheesy Sausage with Spinach Baked Ramekin Eggs (from The Breakfast Revolution)
• Chicken Waldorf Salad (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Chicken Supreme (from Nourishing Traditions)
• Chicken Paprikash (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Beef Stroganoff (from Don’t Panic – Dinner’s in the Freezer)
• Bratwurst (from US Wellness Meats)
• Chicken Pot Pie (from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook)
• Easy Roast Chicken
• Hazelnut and Almond Flour Fishsticks (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Lemon-Garlic Roasted Chicken
• Meat Sauce
• Moussaka
• Pan-Fried Burgers (4 patties from 1 pound of ground beef and 1/2 teaspoon salt, fried in ghee)
• Roasted Cod with Tomatoes (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Salisbury Steak
• Salmon Cakes
• Sausage & Leek Egg Casserole
• Shepherd’s Pie (from Irish Traditional Cooking)
• Slow-Roasted Chicken Thighs (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Slow Cooker Roast Chicken and Gravy (the gravy really is amazing)
• Spanish Omelet
• Spice-Rubbed Leg Quarters (from Much Ado About Chicken)
• Steak
• Swedish Meatballs
• Taco Salad (I use a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of coriander in place of the two teaspoons of cumin and serve the seasoned beef with lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream, and salsa)
• Egg Sandwiches (fried eggs, raw cheddar cheese, sausage – sometimes on Against the Grain bagels, sometimes not)

Soups

• Broccoli Cheddar Soup (from Simple Food {for winter})
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Garlic Chicken Soup
• Potato and Fresh Herb Soup (from Irish Traditional Cooking – I usually just leave out the herbs, add extra salt, and top it with shredded cheddar cheese)
• Simple Chicken Soup with Herbs (from Simple Food {for winter})
• Tomato Soup

Sides

• Almond Flour Biscuits
• Braised Spinach with Lemon (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Carrots Vichy (from Nourishing Traditions)
• Cheesy Grain-Free Biscuits (from Better Than A Box)
• Curry-Roasted Cauliflower (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Fried Peppers (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• French Fries
• Hungarian Cucumber Salad (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Mashed Potatoes (peel and chop the potatoes, boil for 20 minutes, mash, add lots of butter, salt, and a little milk)
• Melted Cherry Tomatoes with Basil (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Roasted Acorn Squash (from Gather)
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts
• Skillet-Braised Green Beans (from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)
• Sauteed Mushrooms (in butter with some garlic salt)
• Traditional Irish Salad (from Irish Traditional Cooking)

Snacks/Appetizers

• Applesauce/Dried Apples
• Fried Cheese Sticks (with tomato sauce from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook)
• Chipotle-Inspired Pico de Gallo

Desserts/Sweets

• Chocolate Almond Butter Ice Cream
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Mint Mousse (from Nourished Kitchen weekly meal plans)
• Coconut Chocolate No-Bake Macaroons
• Coconut Fudge
• Chocolate Pie and Raw Graham Cracker Crust
• Power Bars (from Healthy Snacks To Go)
• Pumpkin Spice Cakes
• Vanilla Ice Cream (from NT – usually with a chocolate hard shell)

Drinks

• Kombucha

Holidays

• Grain-Free Pumpkin Pie
• Grain-Free Gingerbread Cookies (we use coconut oil instead of palm shortening just because we usually don’t have palm shortening on hand)

Resources

• Plan It, Don’t Panic (I got this with an ebook bundle and found it to be a great resource of tips on meal planning even when I thought of myself as something of an expert as I had been doing it for years.)
• Plan to Eat (I can’t even go on enough about how useful this has been to me – I can save recipes, add them to my calendar, then generate a grocery list based on the recipes. It has made meal planning about a million times easier than the Excel spreadsheet I was using before.)

This post has been shared at Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy.