Weekly Meal Plan 1: January 1-January 6, 2018

As part of my first 2018 Weekly Action Plan, in an effort to plan and prepare healthier meals, I decided to create a monthly meal plan for January during the first week of the month.  I just completed the first week and wanted to share my first week's menu with you all.  

The meal plan has 3 meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner) and 3 snacks for each of the days.  Most of the meals have links for recipes already on our site--and may be downloaded with the full menu via the link at the end of this post.  A few of the meals will have recipe posts added this week--so be sure to check back for updates to our recipes in the sidebar of the blog or within this post.

Weekly Meal Plan for January 1-Janary 6, 2018

As you will see, I plan a week's menu that uses many of the same ingredients in various recipes throughout the week--or I plan for leftovers to serve for the following day's lunch or a later day's breakfast.  Using chopped peppers and onions repeatedly allows me to prep the week's vegetables in one chopping session--and grilling extra steak or chicken seasoned with a bbq rub or with a Mediterranean seasoning blend allow for as "repurposed leftovers" a day or so later in the week!  As I get into the habit of working through a month-long menu, I will also begin to add shopping lists and more helpful tips for planning and prepping these meals.

You will notice that there are very few processed foods (aside from some of the meat and cheese).  This menu is heavier in fat and calories than future menus will likely be--as we begin to modify our diet and shift away from the busy fall/winter's convenience foods and snacks.  

Our blog sidebar's What's Cooking Today section will be updated daily with the day's recipes--and I hope to post recipes for my homemade Ranch Dip / Ranch Salad Dressing, Cucumbers with Lime, Black & Bleu Buffalo Chicken Salad, and my Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken breasts and Oven Roasted Winter Vegetables over the next couple of days!

You may download this week's menu here--and check back in this post for additional recipes a little later in the week.

Hopefully, I will get the entire month's menu up by Friday!

Happy eating!