I often see posts from other moms asking what they are cooking for dinner that night, or chat with girlfriends who state they have no idea what they are cooking that day/night/week. Before having a kid, I would often go to the grocery store multiple times a week, picking up ingredients for meals whenever a craving hit. This method of meal planning was definitely not sustainable once Jack came into the picture, and then when Covid hit, I was trying to go to the grocery store as little as possible. I was able to come up with a meal planning strategy that allows me to plan my meals for two weeks at a time. As anyone who has ever tried cooking knows, it can be difficult to get fresh ingredients to last for two weeks, so in this post I will talk about how I structure my meals to be able to last for two weeks and not have to worry about soggy vegetables. Read on for my meal plan ideas, tips, and tricks!

I generally go shopping on Thursday nights, so my meal plans start on Friday of “Week 1,” go through the entirety of “Week 2” and then end on Thursday of “Week 3,” though it actually only equals out to two whole weeks’ worth of time. As I mentioned in my previous post on meal planning, my first step is to look through the grocery circular to see what produce and frozen items are on sale, and base my meal plan around those items. In the summer, I can also take into consideration what my garden is doing and what vegetables I have on hand. I plan meals that have more vulnerable produce ingredients (ie. mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuces, things that can rot quickly) for the beginning of my planning, things with heartier vegetables for later (potatoes, carrots, celery, beets), and things with frozen ingredients or frozen leftovers for the end of my meal planning rotation. I often make extras of soups and stews to freeze for later use, and always keep “easy” meal ingredients on hand for when I’m in a pinch, for instance pierogies and kielbasa or gnocchi and sausage. I also make it so that I’m not cooking on days I go into the office, or at least not cooking anything too difficult.

So, what does a sample meal plan look like using this method?

Week 1

Friday - Cobb Salad

Saturday - Falafel bowls

Sunday - BLT’s & fries

Week 2 

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Sweet Potato Soup

Thursday - Chicken Stir Fry

Friday - Skillet Pizza

Saturday - Butternut squash & Brussels Sprouts Shepard’s Pie

Sunday - Spaghetti & Meatballs

Week 3

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Enchiladas

Thursday - Quinoa Coconut Curry

The beginning of my rotation uses fresh ingredients that could possibly go bad early within the two weeks time frame, towards the middle there are heartier veggies used (or, for instance with the skillet pizza, I would use canned tomato sauce), and at the end the meals mostly consist of frozen or pantry items (and if you’ve frozen extras from large batches of soups or stews, you could sub that instead of a pantry meal). I also make fresh hummus every week so we always have a quick, healthy snack on hand, and try to keep my freezer stocked with breakfast burritos so we have a homemade breakfast ready to go in a pinch!

Does it take time and effort to cook this way? Absolutely, the good things in life always take time and effort. But I love making sure that my family is eating fresh, nutritious meals, and I love to cook. This system keeps me from having to run to the grocery store all the time, and I never have to stop and think about what I’m cooking, because it’s all mapped out. It’s one less item to have on my daily to-do list.

If you try my meal plan for two weeks, let me know in the comments below!