Since becoming a parent, while my heart and happiness have expanded in wild and wonderful ways - my time is stretched a little thinner and my energy levels are a bit lower. I’ve quickly realized that if I can do anything to make things feel easier, then heck yeah let’s do it.
One way our family has simplified our lives is to have an ongoing weekly meal rotation. So about 3 to 4 of our meals stay the same week to week.
Right now, I don’t really care about cooking extravagant dishes or trying to find new recipes. I just want meals that come together quickly, are nutrient-dense, and will be eaten by my toddler.
By having a weekly meal rotation, we’re able to:
Take the work out of meal-brainstorming
Make grocery shopping a breeze (and more cost-effective)
Less wasted food items (since I’m not buying several different ingredients for a meal that I’ll use one time and then not use again….)
Save time and energy (the biggest win!)
But we’re human - we get sick of meals eventually. So one way to spice it up is to change it seasonally. This is also cheaper because…in-season produce!
We’ve recently incorporated new dinners for a more autumnal meal-rotation and I wanted to share ‘em below for some inspiration!
Meal #1: Turkey Chili 🌶️
One of my favorite cozy meals! We always have leftovers so it’s enough to last for multiple dinners (or lunches!). It’s easy to make, packed with protein + fiber rich foods, and gets a thumbs-up from our daughter 😉 I’ve adopted my own recipe through out the years, but if you’re looking for a recipe - this Skinny Taste recipe closely matches what we typically do!
Meal #2: Chicken Sausage + Sweet Potato & Brussel Sprouts + Maple Mustard Sauce 🍠
Sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts pair so well together and what really takes them to the next level is a great maple sauce! We’ve been enjoying this maple mustard sauce recipe. (It’s only 5 ingredients and we already had all the items in our kitchen!)
PS: Shaved brussels sprouts is totally the way to go! You can fry them up nice and crispy! Trader Joe’s sells them already shaved up in a bag so you can just dump ‘em right in a pan!
We like this with garlic-herb or apple-flavored chicken sausage!
Meal #3: Autumnal Chicken Salad 🥗
Kale + Sweet Potato + Pear or Apple + Pecans + Chicken (YUM!)
Make your life even easier by using rotisserie chicken and frozen sweet potato chunks when throwing this together. I ate this a lot postpartum, which is how you know it’s easy!
I don’t like cheese so I never think to incorporate it, but feta or goat cheese would be really great with this salad too!
Similar to the chicken sausage meal, adding in a maple-balsamic vinaigrette makes this meal extra delish. We’ve enjoyed this simple recipe.
Don’t forget to massage your kale, friends 😉🥬
Pasta Night! 🍝
We know that at least once a week is "pasta night!” We know our daughter looooves it and it’s so quick and easy. We’ll somewhat change up what type of protein/noodle shape/vegetable so that we don’t get too bored.
I try to get pasta made with minimal ingredients and are more nutrient-dense! Aldi and Trader Joe’s have great pasta options where the only two ingredients are quinoa + brown rice. I’m also a fan of the Banza brand that is higher in fiber!
For autumn, we’re embracing seasonally-flavored ravioli’s paired with a side salad!
Gone are the days when I avoided eating pasta for dinner because of “carbs and calories” - it’s been lovely to embrace pasta, just eating it in moderation and pairing it with protein & vegetables!
Pssst…if you are up for it, you can swap pasta with spaghetti squash this time of year! It’s really not hard to cook, just takes a smidge more prep work than a box of pasta.
Friday is always ‘Pizza Night’
Sometimes it’s homemade. Sometimes it’s a take-and-bake. Sometimes it’s takeout. We just always know Friday night = pizza!
The last thing we want to do at the end of a work week is cook something and this has become a fun little family tradition!
There ya have it! Hopefully this gives you some inspiration on ways to simplify your life - letting you enjoy and savor it all-the-more. Bon appetit!
Comment any of your family’s go-to recipes below :)
