Continuing on the theme of doing as few shopping trips as possible right now … I’m sharing another meal plan that I’m using for the next 14 days (with only shopping once)! Planning ahead is key if you’re trying to avoid unnecessary trips to the store. I actually got the groceries for this plan through an online order from our mainstream grocery store this time. That’s something I haven’t done in years, but I’m trying hard to stay home as much as possible.
There were no “pick up” time slots available (for the next seven days) so I had to choose delivery. We set up some tables in the garage and asked for everything to be dropped off there for us (pictured!). I am so thankful for these hard-working grocery store workers!! Seriously, I just want to applaud them whenever I get the chance.
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After the bags were dropped off my husband and I spent the better part of an hour disinfecting and putting everything away (what has our world come to?). He put on gloves and wiped down each package, box, and bag with Clorox wipes (except for the fresh produce) and then handed them to me just inside the door where I put things directly away and also took items out of their package when possible. It was tedious, but I don’t want all this staying at home to be for nothing!
In addition to this grocery haul I also plan to go to our farmers’ market, per usual, this weekend. They’ve put some good new restrictions in place to limit how many people can enter at a time and have also encouraged ordering ahead whenever possible (which I’ve done)!
Here’s my latest meal plan in case you need some ideas.
My Latest 14-Day Meal Plan
DINNERS
As before, with this meal plan I’m attempting to save produce that holds up well for later in the plan and am also mixing in different meats, vegetarian meals, and seafood to keep things interesting.
I’m also reinstating having my kids pick/cook dinner once a week for us (now that they have time again!). Last night was the first night and it was just lovely. I was very impressed with the meal my 9th grader made for us, and she was definitely pleased with herself as well (see Day 1 details below). And my 7th grader was in charge of cleaning up after her (it was quite the mess!). Now, this is one thing I can get used to with all of us home together!
- Day 1 – FISH + GREEN BEANS + SWEET POTATO PANCAKES
My 9th grader picked seafood for one of her meals, so she got to cook first while it was fresh. It took her some time in the kitchen, but she pan-seared fish (we got flounder and she followed a Sole Meuniere recipe she found in a cookbook), green beans (made with shallots and lemon, recipe from the same French cookbook as the fish), and sweet potato pancakes (similar to these, but with all sweet potatoes) and the outcome was delicious! She even had everything ready/warm at the same time, we were all very impressed.
– - Day 2 – TACOS
We had tacos on the last meal plan, but these will be different. (And let’s face it, my family would never tire of tacos, haha.) These are made with ground pork (you can also sub beef), which I not only doubled but combined with a can of pinto beans to really stretch the meat so we could have leftovers on day 3. I will be using the spice mix from my first cookbook and serving them with all the fixings including corn tortillas and fresh chopped lettuce.
– - Day 3 – LEFTOVER TACOS
To mix things up the next day, I’ll stir in some leftover roasted sweet potatoes and carrots that I had on hand (from the previous week’s meal plan) and big lettuce cups (similar to romaine) to use as shells along with the remaining four tortillas.
– - Day 4 – MAC & CHEESE CASSEROLE WITH BROCCOLI + SALAD
This was my 7th grader’s pick for the week. The recipe is also in my first cookbook and she chose broccoli for the add-in, although that is quite flexible depending on what you have on hand! She’ll make a side salad of some sort to go with it.
– - Day 5 – ASIAN LETTUCE WRAPS (DOUBLE)
There are so many choices when it comes to lettuce wraps, but we decided to go Asian for this meal. You can use either ground pork or beef, depending on what you have on hand, and I’ll serve it with whole-grain ramen noodles. I plan to double the recipe so that I can add it to the lunch mix the next day because this is something my family really likes.
– - Day 6 – STUFFED BELL PEPPERS + POTATOES + SALAD
Again, lots of choices when it comes to stuffed bell peppers! I chose the quinoa stuffed peppers from my first cookbook (really using that one a lot this week) that also includes a little sausage. I’ll roast some potatoes on the side and also whip up another little salad.
– - Day 7 – PASTA WITH CARROT & ZUCCHINI + GARLIC TOAST
This is my 9th grader’s second meal that she chose for the plan. She’s a wannabe pescatarian so I am not surprised by her choices! She also said she is going to make us chocolate mousse for dessert so I bought some chocolate chips. YUM. The pasta recipe is from a gorgeous cookbook a friend got me a long time ago called The Forest Feast.
– - Day 8 – LENTIL & SAUSAGE STEW + BISCUITS
My husband agreed to take a turn with dinner as well and this was his choice. It reminds him of a meal from his childhood, which back then was a can of lentil soup, a package of precooked sausage, and a tube of biscuits. We “real foodinized” this meal in my second cookbook (Fast & Fabulous) and that’s what he’ll be making. I hope there are some leftovers for lunch the next day. (Oh and I’m splitting the pack of sausage between this meal and the one on Day 6, so I was sure to have them close together.)
– - Day 9 – TWICE BAKED POTATOES + GRILL PACKETS
We’ve got some spring weather on the horizon so I wanted to be sure we fired up the grill (and hope to do this even more with the next set of meals). These Kale & Bacon Stuffed Potatoes are my family’s favorite (I’ll try to double them because they are great leftover) and I’m serving it with a version of these Grill Packets (just substituting some steak for the potatoes since we’re having potatoes on the side).
– - Day 10 – HOMEMADE PIZZA (DOUBLE)
Everyone loves pizza, right? I’m not sure yet if we’ll do regular whole-wheat crust or deep-dish (I’ll survey the kids), but for toppings, I got bell peppers, onion, pepperoni, and mushrooms. I hope to have some sausage as well, but it all depends on if I can score some at the farmers’ market on Saturday! Also, if you want to make this one fun and interactive try a make-your-own pizza night.
– - Day 11 – LEFTOVER PIZZA
Since this meal is a favorite, we’ll make enough for leftovers and also serve up any extra veggies we have on hand from previous meals.
– - Day 12 – CHINESE CHICKEN + COCONUT RICE + ROASTED CARROTS
I’m looking forward to making one of my favorite recipes from my 3rd cookbook (On a Budget) that can be found at the bottom of this post, along with roasted carrots and coconut rice.
– - Day 13 – HUEVOS RANCHEROS + ORANGES
I noticed that we have some frozen chorizo sausage in the freezer, so I thought that would be good with some classic Huevos Rancheros along with sliced oranges on the side.
– - Day 14 – SPINACH LASAGNA
This is really the perfect meal to save till the very end because it doesn’t require any fresh ingredients (the spinach is frozen). And we’ll definitely have a little bit leftover for lunch the next day.
LUNCHES/SNACKS
Again, I’m going to share my running list of ideas so I knew what ingredients to have on hand for daytime meals. We can supplement with fruit and pantry items and (hopefully) dinner leftovers when we have them!
- WHITE BEAN SALAD (pictured above)
A recipe from my 2nd cookbook (Fast & Fabulous), this is a filling salad with white beans and arugula (or whatever lettuce you can get your hands on).
– - AVOCADO TOAST
We love avocado toast and will obviously have to eat this near the beginning of the plan. Our favorite recipe is also in my Fast & Fabulous cookbook!
– - CHEESE TOAST WITH RICOTTA & ORANGES
I recently shared that this is one of our favorite rituals after shopping at the farmers’ market. They have the best bread and fresh ricotta there! And it’s great for breakfast or lunch.
– - CHICKEN SALAD
My older daughter doesn’t really like most chicken salads, but she happens to love this one “Loaded Chicken Salad” recipe. She’s funny like that. I have a whole chicken in the freezer so I definitely plan to make this so we have food to eat for a couple of days instead of just ingredients!
– - PASTA SALAD
I don’t know which exact recipe I’ll make yet … so many options! But I thought this would be another great thing to have on hand to supplement lunches.
– - PITA PIZZAS
My kids love pita pizzas, and lunch really does not get much easier than this. I have a few whole-wheat Trader Joe’s pitas left in the freezer and will definitely cry when they run out!
– - SMOKED SALMON WRAPS
Smoked salmon and cream cheese will hold up well before they are opened, and since I have four frozen homemade tortillas in the freezer I plan to throw together the wraps found in the lunch section of my newest (On a Budget) cookbook.
– - BEET SALAD
Beets will also hold up for a bit (and so will unopened goat cheese) so I got ingredients to make something like this salad for lunch one day. I can roast the beets while making dinner the night before so it’s quick and easy to throw together.
BREAKFAST & TREATS
Not much new/different here compared to the last plan, although I did buy a couple of boxes of whole-grain cereal (Organic “Cheerios” and Rice Chex) to mix in with the homemade breakfasts.
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Well, that summarizes what I shopped for this week. I had a feeling whoever got my online order might hate me because I know it’s a lot! But that’s the only way to do it if you’re only going to go once every two weeks to avoid outings.
How are you handling meals and groceries at the moment?
Thank your for sharing your 14-day meal plan! Indeed, it’s tedious disinfecting the grocery items you bought but it’s better not to get infected.
THANK YOU for these 14 day meal plans!!! its important to know how to meal plans.
It’s really helpful not to have to make decisions about this with everything else going on.
I can’t thank you enough for over a month of meal plans! I already use lots of your online recipes, but there is something so wonderful about having a whole plan in place even with side dish and salad suggestions! All four of our kids and husband have commented over and over how great the meals have been too. Even with all the uncertainty going on around us, it has been an anchor having good meals to look forward to. I am definitely ready to purchase some of your cookbooks!
We’re so happy to hear this! Glad it’s helping you and your family through these strange times. – Nicole
Thank you !!
THANK YOU for these 14 day meal plans!!!
It’s wonderful not to have to make decisions about this with everything else going on.
hi! i was a recipe tester for your Day 12 meal.. loved it!
Such a weird time, isn’t it? So many things to think about. Thanks for sharing these menus. :) Regarding the groceries and need for cleaning, here’s a great article with some scientific context about causal chains and what it takes to transmit the virus from surfaces. It really helped put my mind at ease.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/26/dont-panic-about-shopping-getting-delivery-or-accepting-packages/
Great to see all of the variety of dishes you guys eat! I can’t wait until my daughter (almost 2) is old enough to help with cooking. She already likes to help a little bit, but her skills are limited! I found this article about grocery shopping reassuring. I applaud you and your husband for having that kind of patience to wipe every down, but I don’t know if I could do that. The WSJ is a reputable source so I feel like I can trust what they say. Anyway, love to read your posts!
https://www.wsj.com/articles/safety-advice-if-you-must-visit-the-grocery-store-11585336520?mod=e2fb&fbclid=IwAR0qzB92W3zzXOIiCj4fuyog8gEEDJ3NacIytVfzrDhjh0DRrRQ1OoyBL2s
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for these 14 day meal plans!!! It’s wonderful not to have to make decisions about this with everything else going on. I followed your first 14-day plan to the letter (a few days left), and it was such a gift to our family! So nice to shop once and know healthy, delicious dinners were on the calendar each night!
Another option for disinfecting groceries is to just leave the non perishables in the car/garage for a day or two. The virus dies on plastics and cardboard after 24-48 hours.
I would like to know what kind of smoked salmon you use? Is it canned or what you find in the refrigerator section at the store?
Stores in my area that have online order and pick up are booked days out as well,even deliveries are booked for days. Meat has been very hard to find in most stores in my area too. I have had to rely on beans and nuts for a source of protein more than I would like. I prefer for my family to get most of our protein from pastured animals but compromising is a must at this time. We have ordered half a cow from one of our local farmers but it will not be ready until May.
My local butcher shop has been a much more reliable meat source than the grocery store, so try that if it’s an option for you.
Disinfecting things before they enter the house would be nice if we had something to use, but we have not been able to find any disinfectant in our area or online ever since this thing first started. We do unpack delivered boxes outside and throw the outer box straight in the recycling bin.
I am jealous that your farmers market is still open. Ours closed, so I have been buying grocery store eggs. Thankfully, I had recently stocked up on meat during a previous Farmer’s market trip. I am in the process of menu planning for my grocery run tomorrow. Trying to go every week to week and a half, depending on when milk/fresh produce runs out.
I was thinking about wiping my grocery items down as well. Glad to see that I’m not the only one. We are out of clorox wipes though and none of our stores in town have any. I did make a bleach solution for disinfecting.