Meal Plan Week 20

The meal plan week 20 all the local fresh veggies are coming into the produce discounters and our garden. We are hoping to use as much of our own tomatoes and lettuce this week as we can. This is one of the few weeks we will not be having a big family roast on the weekend. With the weather being so hot lately the kids haven’t been eating as much of the roasts and we want to save the effort.

Meal Plan Week 20

Meal Plan Week 20 In-Depth and Top Tips

Monday

Burgers and Tomato and Avocado Salad

We will be doing our usual BBQ burgers up, maybe with a bit of our Root Beer Barbecue Sauce on them and some caramelised onions and dill pickles. The buns will be our favourite Little Northern Bakehouse burger buns and the Keg or Costco burger patties. 

The salad will be the perfect way to use some of our homegrown tomatoes. We slice them in rounds and then quarters. Slice up an avocado or two, and serve with torn fresh basil, also from the garden.

Top Tip:

This salad is like an allergen friendly version of a Caprese Salad. We use avocado in place of bocconcini in our tomato and avocado salad. The kids aren’t super fond of the balsamic vinegar dressing so they usually have theirs plain or with a touch of salt. A reduced balsamic vinegar and salt & pepper is added to the adult’s plates as dressing instead of tossing it all together.

Tuesday

BLTs/BLATs and Festive Spinach Salad

Bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches with or without avocado.

Cooked bacon from breakfast on Sunday. We feed a large family so we often bake our bacon 350 on a cookie sheet with an oven safe rack on it. The rack needs to be as big as the cookie sheet. It keeps the bacon out of the grease. Due to the grease runoff the cookie sheet needs fairly high sides and to be moved in and out of the oven with extra care. Cook for 10 mins and flip the bacon then cook for another 10-15 mins until the bacon is crispy but not burnt. 

A bit of Mama Yo! or Hellman’s Mayo on the toasted bread and the bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato layers. We also put a pinch of salt and pepper on the tomatoes.

We will have a Festive Spinach Salad with our sandwiches.

Top Tip:

This meal is also the perfect picnic dinner as it can be made ahead and packed up to be brought for an easy dinner in a park or at the beach to enjoy the last bits of summer.

Wednesday

Chilled Cucumber Soup and Garlic Bread

This chilled cucumber soup is our favourite hot weather meal. The cucumber soup only takes 10 mins to put together and then chill. We use our blender to bring it all together. 

The garlic bread will be extra burger buns, they come in a pack of 4 and we need 6 so with 2 packs we will have 2 buns leftover. Open them up and spread butter mixed with garlic powder or minced garlic and broil them. Cut the open face broiled buns in half and we will have enough for our family with the soup.

Top Tip:

Making the soup the night before and letting it chill overnight will bring out the most flavour possible. A quick stir before serving and it is ready to go.

Thursday

Grilled Chicken and Roasted Veggies on the BBQ

We will be using a Nandos sauce as a marinade for the chicken. The kids are not fans of anything spicy so we will be using one of the sweet ones, lemon and herb or the coconut mango one we saw in store last time we shopped. Lately, the thighs have been the best value for our family.

The veggies will be a combo of eggplant, orange bell peppers, zucchini, red onions, whole garlic cloves, and tomatoes in an aluminium foil packet. For the eggplant it will need to be prepped more info on how to properly prepare eggplant and why in the blog from Food52.  We make a bit of a less saucy ratatouille as we omit the tomato sauce and it is less of a stew more of a vegetable based side dish. Olive oil, fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, and salt and pepper. Usually 1-2 tablespoons of each herb and enough oil to coat all the quartered veggies. Cook over indirect heat on the BBQ, like on the top rack for 35-45 mins or until the vegetables are cooked through, especially the eggplant.

Top Tip:

Cook a bit extra of the chicken and save it for dinner on Friday.

Friday

Pasta Salad with Chicken

We will be making our usual pasta salad but will be adding extra chicken we grilled the night before, just for this meal. We will be cubing or shredding the chicken and adding it to the dinner for some protein. If chicken isn't a safe food, chickpeas are fabulous in this pasta salad, especially when left to marinade in the dressing overnight.

The pasta salad will be made of ½ a pound of gluten free macaroni. Cook, drain and chill the pasta. Toss it with orange pepper, halved grape tomatoes, diced red onions, green olives, and broccoli all chopped and mixed in. There should be around 2-3 cups of veggies when all chopped up. The dressing is ¼ C white wine vinegar, ½ olive oil, 1 clove minced garlic, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon thyme, ¼ teaspoon sugar, ⅛ teaspoon sweet paprika, to taste salt and pepper. Mix the dressing and then toss with the vegetables and chilled pasta.

Top Tip:

We slightly under cook the pasta to help gluten free pasta keep its shape and not go all mushy. Toss it with a bit of olive oil while still warm to prevent it from sticking together. The pasta is best made ahead so it can chill in the fridge.

Saturday

Hot dogs and Egg Free Potato Salad

Our kids have been asking for hot dogs for a while again so we will be making them for them. We use Little Northern Bakehouse hot dogs buns as they are safe for us. The hot dog wieners we like are from the Applegate brand. They have a variety of turkey, beef, and beef/pork blended. 

For toppings we use a store branded ketchup that is safe for us. Chopped pickles and onions have replaced relish for us as most pre-made brands of relish contain mustard. Sometimes homemade pickled red onions, Daiya cheese sauce, chilli and jalapenos are on the hot dog menu. Let us know what you top your hot dogs with!

The Egg Free Potato Salad is our homemade version of an egg less potato salad full of dill flavour our kids love. We never used to be able to get the kids to eat store bought potato salad but this one they gobble down. If you want a bit of an eggy taste add a tiny bit of black salt, or kala namak to the dressing and it will give it a sulphury taste and smell. A little goes a long way with it.

Top Tip:

This is a great meal to have as a BBQ with friends, the only thing that some people may prefer to use non top 8 food for are the buns.

Sunday 

Allergen Friendly Charcuterie Board

The other day I heard the British term for dinners like this and it is called “Picky Bits”. We used to call them appetiser dinners when I was a kid and Rob grew up with a light dinner of bread and meats called AbendBrot (evening bread). Lately they are more popular as charcuterie boards. No matter what you call it, these are all light meals for those days when you want a variety of items without a huge meal.

We do our own allergen friendly with items our kids like. There are so many new amazing dairy free cheese alternatives that have just hit the market. I really want to try the new Daiya grilling cheese and the kids want to try the Violife Brie-like one. We will choose 2-3 cheeses, 2-3 sliced meats, a cracker or two, and loads of chopped raw veggies and some fruit.

The deli counter is not a safe place for us to buy meat as some contain cheese so we usually get either Maple Leaf All naturals or Applegate cold cuts. The crackers are tougher, only a few are safe for our kids. Made Good has goldfish style crackers the kids love. We also use Laiki rice crackers and From the Ground Up Purple Carrot Crackers. 

Apple slices, orange wedges, figs, and dates are all fruits that we usually put on our board. Carrots, cukes, and cherry tomatoes will for sure be on offer to the kids. Sometimes a fig jam for the cheese will also make its way on the plate. There are also usually pickles and olives scattered on the dish.

Top Tip:    

Whatever is left over can become an easy DIY Lunchable for kids lunches for the beginning of the next week.

We Love Feedback!

Did you make any of the meals we did let us know? What is on your meal plan this week? Drop a comment on this post or tag us on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.

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We have to remind everyone that we are not medical professionals or dietitians, so these meal plans are not balanced for nutrition, they are for information purposes only. Please discuss any dietary concerns, changes, or proper meal plans with your medical team.

Always check the labels for any products to make sure they are right for you. We also encourage you to contact the manufacturers in addition to checking that the process of manufacturing is also safe for you, and that there aren’t shared lines. One product or ingredients may be safe for one person but not another. Always check the products and ingredients before purchasing.