Meal Plan Week 42

Wow, we are already at our meal plan week 42. Fall is here and we are back into the swing of school, sports, and extracurricular activities. This means our dinner game needs to be on point. We will be starting to choose a different Slow Cooker Meal every Monday. This way we can have dinner ready for when the kids need it and there is less prep for us rushing to get dinner ready.

One reason we plan our meals is to make sure we are getting the most out of our food by overlapping the ingredients. We also are trying to use produce that is in season such as yellow peppers, corn, and onions. 

Once a week we schedule a night to finish anything that is leftover from the day or two prior. A lot of the meal leftovers will also double as school lunches. We try to include how we package the leftovers for lunches as our kids do not have microwaves at school.

Meal Plan Week 42 In-Depth and Top Tips

Monday

Meal Chicken Teriyaki in a Slow Cooker recipe by Fit as a Mama Bear With Steamed Quinoa

This is an amazingly easy recipe by Shelby over at the Fit as a Mama Bear site. The chicken cooks in the slow cooker so we can focus on getting other things done on our incredibly busy Mondays. The change we had to make was to swap out the soy sauce in the recipe with coconut aminos to make this a top 9 free meal for us. 

We also will add in a large diced yellow pepper, a chopped carrot, a handful of broccoli florets, and medium yellow onion during the last hour of cooking to add a few veggies to the mix. The veggies released enough liquid to keep it saucy. 

Everything will be served over steamed quinoa. The quinoa will go well with the perfect teriyaki sauce. Rice could be used but because we want to send leftovers the next day for lunch, we prefer to use quinoa.

The best thing is we can prepare this meal on Sunday night. Everything will be chopped, sauce made and measured, chicken trimmed and kept in a couple of containers in the fridge. This way we can dump and go on Monday morning, significantly reducing the work that morning.

Brands We Have Found:

Coconut Aminos

Naked Natural Foods

Coconut Secret

Top Tip:

If the sauce is too thin, pop the lid off the slow cooker for 15 mins after the chicken has finished cooking and cook on low.

How to pack it for lunch the next day:

Fill an insulated container with hot water and set aside to preheat the container and keep in as much heat as possible.

In a pan, similar to a wok or a deep frying pan, use half to heat the chicken teriyaki and the other half the quinoa. We will add a couple of tablespoons of water to each side. Cover with a well fitting lid, and let it cook over medium heat for 3-4 mins. Remove the lid and stir each side, keeping the food unmixed or mix, depending on your preference. Let any excess water still in the pan cook off 1-2 mins. Make sure the chicken is up to 175F internally before dishing up.

Empty the water out of the insulated container, wipe it dry. Fill the container with the reheated quinoa and then top with the teriyaki chicken. Make sure the food will be warm but not hot when opened by the kids.

Don't forget to send a fork, spoon, or chopsticks in the lunch kit.

Tuesday

Meal Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup and Romaine and Orange Salad

The Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup is one that we love to make in early fall. It feels like a harvest time dinner for us and the peppers are usually fairly priced still.

The salad is a pretty easy one my mum used to make when we were growing up. It is a bed of romaine lettuce with a couple of peeled fresh clementines or rinsed and drained mandarin oranges from a can. Very thin slices of red onion, and pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) to top the salad off. The dressing is 3 parts olive oil and 1 part white wine vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar.

Top Tip:

Roast the peppers and tomatoes together so the juice from the tomatoes helps to stop the peppers from burning.

How to pack it for lunch the next day:

We will reheat the roasted yellow pepper soup, just like we do the lazy lasagna soup. See that meal breakdown for more info.

For the salad, send the dressing on the side of the salad. If sent with the dressing on the salad, the lettuce can get a bit slimy in the lunchbag.

Wednesday

Meal Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas is another insanely easy meal that is made on one pan in the oven. We will also serve homemade pico de gallo, chunky guacamole, and cowboy caviar with our fajitas.

To make our chunky guacamole we dice avocados, red onion, tomato, jalapeno (without the seeds to make it milder for the kids), and shredded cilantro. Mix them together with the juice of a lime and a dash or two of garlic powder.

The pico de gallo is diced tomatoes, red onions, jalapenos, and cilantro. The juice of a tangerine or clementine squeezed over top, salt and pepper and a pinch of garlic powder.

For the cowboy caviar, see the nachos.

Brands We Have Found:

Top Tip:

Prep the chicken, peppers, and onions on the weekend and store them in the freezer. Thaw them the night before in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, the chicken can be trimmed the day before and veg sliced. Both can be stored in the fridge for a day before cooking.

How to pack it for lunch the next day:

We send the leftover fajitas as either a salad on romaine lettuce, or as a wrap in the kids' lunches. If making a wrap, drain the fajita chicken, peppers, and onions REALLY well so it doesn't make the wrap soggy. We send guacamole as a dip on the side for the wrap, rather than on the sandwich.

Thursday

Meal Nachos with Cowboy Caviar and Ground Beef 

Rob loves nachos. He could eat them everyday. We will be making these ones with ground beef or use fajita filling, if there is extra leftover.

For the ground beef we sometimes mix it with black beans to stretch the meat and add plant based protein. Instead of cutting hup more veggies, we will be adding a few scoops of cowboy caviar to the nachos.

To make the cowboy caviar- we will be mixing canned corn, canned black beans, diced tomatoes, red onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and avocado. We usually mix together about ⅓ cup of each, except the cilantro and jalapeno, those we add a couple of tablespoons each.

Usually cowboy caviar has a vinaigrette dressing on it. We prefer the fresh taste of lime juice (1-2 limes), salt and pepper, and a couple of pinches each of garlic, cumin, chilli powder.

Brands We Have Found:

Top Tip:

By using the cowboy caviar we are saving time chopping up more veggies. We are finishing up any leftover topping from the previous night to help reduce our food waste and budget. It is also great as the kids are learning to be a bit less picky with their toppings and have to try other foods on their nachos.

How to pack it for lunch the next day:

We usually don't send nachos to school but they can be sent cold to school in a bento box with dairy free sour cream as a dip.

Friday

Meal Lazy Lasagna Soup

In our Free 12 Recipe Soup Collection download is the recipe for Lazy Lasagna Soup. It is a really easy meal that is a great way to  have that lasagna taste without all the work. 

For a vegan or vegetarian soup, replace the stock with soy and gluten free vegetable stock and the ground beef with lentils or top 9 free vegan ground.

Brands We Have Found:

Top Tip:

Finding Top 9 Free lasagna noodles can be super difficult. Replace the long thick noodles with gluten free penne or fusilli. To add extra protein, consider using lentil or chickpea based noodles.

How to pack it for lunch the next day:

This lasagna soup heats up really well like any of our other soups. We send it in an insulated container with a spoon to school so it will still be warm.

Warm up a thermos by filling it with hot water. 

In a pot on the stove over medium-high heat bring the desired amount of soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Dump the warm water out of the thermos and pour the hot soup into it instead. Seal the thermos and send it with a gluten free roll and a spoon for lunch.

It is important to make sure the kids can open the thermos themselves and that the soup isn't too hot when they open the thermos, for safety.

Saturday

Meal Egg Free Meatloaf, Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes, and Air Fryer Corn Ribs

For the third ground beef meal this week we are making an egg free meatloaf that we bake in the oven. The sides will be dairy free mashed potatoes and corn ribs. It is a typical weekend roast style meal we love to have as a family. This recipe is great as it feeds 6-8 and is perfect for having guests around.

Top Tip:

Double the recipe and freeze half the meatloaves after cooking for an easy dinner another night. We freeze the meat loaf after it has cooled so we can slice it in ¾ inch thick slices. To freeze, slip a piece of parchment paper in between the slices to keep them apart.

How to pack it for lunch the next day:

When we send meatloaf for lunch there are two ways to send it. The first is to heat it up by frying it in a pan with the potatoes and popping it in a prewarmed insulated container. 

The second way, our kid's preferred way is to send meatloaf sandwiches on gluten free bread, like Carbonaut, Little Northern Bakehouse or Promise bread with a smear of ketchup. The kids like their meatloaf cut thinly. It is easiest to cut the loaf in thin slices when it has chilled in the fridge until cold.

Sunday 

Meal Leftovers

We will be finishing up any leftovers from the last few days. Some of the soups will have been sent for school lunches with the kids. We usually let the kids choose their favourites and finish up any last portions. Rob is always on clean up duty and usually ends up with a bit of everything, kind of like a leftover buffet.

We Love Feedback!

Did you make any of the meals from the meal plan week 42? Please 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.