Summer-friendly Meal Plan

Last week was our first week of Summer.  And let me just say, it's going to be a lonnng one!  The husband is MIA from 1:00 AM to 5:30 PM (with a bedtime of 7:00 PM), 5-6 days/week.  In the meantime, the soon-to-be first-grader is going stir crazy.  Not to mention I'm still working a few hours every week, and filling up the rest of our days with gym and library outings and swimming and piano lessons, all without my own car.  Many thanks go to my chauffeur mom who makes it all possibe!  So my weekly meal planning is a little more... relaxed.  I still try and stick with the daily themes, but I don't have a specific meal planned for dinner.  Instead, I sat down with the eldest and together we came up with a Summer breakfast/lunch plan:

Monday:

-scrambled eggs

-sneaky mac & cheese

Tuesday:

-oatmeal

-soup w/ cheesy toast

Wednesday:

-cereal/granola

-chicken nuggets w/ steamed broccoli

Thursday:

-oatmeal

-sneaky quesadillas w/ grapes

Friday:

-breakfast drink w/ muffin

-nachos w/ apples & carrots

Saturday:

-cereal/granola

-sandwich w/ crafty applesauce

Snacks (to be eaten between meals):

-popcorn

-rice crackers w/ hummus

-veggie straws

-complete cookies

-fruit & yogurt pops

-granola rounds

-green drink

-hard-boiled eggs

-animal crackers w/ almond butter & honey
-trail mix

And I pretty much eat the same as the kids.  Except I opt for overnight oats in lieu of oatmeal, and I almost always pick granola over cold cereal...  My snacks also include things like homemade vanilla Greek yogurt with chopped walnuts and prunes.  Mmm, so good!  I tried to keep our meals (and snacks) nice and balanced.  For example, I don't like to eat wheat or dairy more than once a day.  So I didn't want to have a muffin for breakfast then a sandwich for lunch.  It's important to make sure to eat a varied diet, so that we're getting all the nutrients we need from all sorts of sources.  Plus, it keeps things interesting ;)

Upcoming recipe: another green drink, or two.  And hopefully this week I'll have some energy to discuss blender options!  *B