Family Dinner Plan: Back to basics and four squares

Very very soon, all of you who work (in or outside the home) will be invited by to sling wet noodles at my face. I feel as though I have been dutifully posting menus (each week since 2009), with the idea that they were somehow helpful to working moms who did not have time to cook. What a joke. Now that I am back working part-time, I am once again reminded about how difficult it is to get dinner on the table, even with a menu plan. Many times in the last few weeks, the daily menu has crumbled or the entire weekly menu plan has fallen apart. I have been exhausting myself trying to come up with creative weekly menus, and feeding my family healthy, whole foods. We must stop the madness.

Let’s focus on what I think is important (to me and my family; your priorities will probably be different):

• Eating dinner together each night
• Balanced plates of food, with vegetables, grains, proteins, fats and sugars
• Whole food cooking, avoiding processed foods

That’s it.

For this week’s menu, I am going to focus on daily plans that are easy to accomplish, building on what I already know how to do pretty well (saute, grill, boil, bake, roast). I am going to limit fancy recipes this week and stick to tried-and-true favorites. At the farmer’s market this morning, I picked up Celery, Leeks, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Turnips, Beets, Purple Orache (like spinach), Baby Bok Choy, Brussel Sprouts and Kabocha Squash.

Here is my menu plan for the week of January 22:

Sunday: Grilled lamb chops, roasted brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes and root vegetables, braised greens

(Meatless) Monday: White beans with roasted Kabocha squash, beet salad with quinoa, kale chips, bread (squash and beets roasted Sunday)

Tuesday: Roast salmon, brown rice, steamed bok choy, sliced oranges and kiwi

Wednesday: Mediterranean night – hummus, veggies and pita for dipping, kibbe or falafel (hummus might be purchased, might be homemade)

Thursday: Posole with pork, sliced radishes, avocado, cheese and whole grain tortillas   actually, we had waffles. They were yummy.

Friday: Leftovers (we are moving Take Out and Trashy TV to Saturday because of Friday night soccer practice)

What is on your menu plan this week? What kind of tips do you use to stay sane and healthy in your eating?