My 14-Day Meal Plan (only shop once!)

I went to the grocery store on Friday to STOCK UP so that I could make enough meals for the next 14 days without leaving the house (as recommended). I’m sharing my meal plan here in case you need some ideas.

My cart was so full that it was honestly a little embarrassing. But I’m glad I did this because my 12-year-old has not been feeling well (with a fever), so we’re definitely all staying very close to home right now! It’s nice to know that I don’t have to go anywhere for a while with so much uncertainty out there. This is such a sad and scary time, and it’s going to take us a little time to find our “new normal” with a suddenly cleared schedule (no more sports, school, etc. due to the coronavirus pandemic).

I saw some moms talking on Facebook about how they bought a bunch of groceries but weren’t quite sure what meals they’d be making with everything. As we’re all aiming to be prepared I think it would be beneficial to take just a little extra time before leaving the house to come up with a plan. This will also help you be efficient at the store so that you can get in and out of there quickly (hopefully without picking up any unwanted germs)!

My 14-Day Meal Plan

DINNERS

Here’s what I’m making for the next two weeks, with a focus on saving produce that holds up really well for later in the plan (here are some other long-term veggie suggestions from Super Healthy Kids). I’m also mixing in different meats, vegetarian meals, and seafood just like I usually try to do for our dinner plans. We’re already on Day 5, and here are all the details:

• Day 1 – VEGGIE PASTA + FISH
  I love to have seafood the first day I come home from the store because that’s when it’s freshest, of course! I made a really simple seafood recipe in a skillet on the stove (found in my 1st cookbook, page 263) and paired it with a marsala pasta similar to this one, except substituting mushrooms for the chicken.
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• Day 2 – TACOS
  Everyone loves tacos! I put Pork Carnitas in the slow cooker and served it with corn tortillas, cheese, sour cream, sliced cabbage, radishes, and green salsa.
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• Day 3 – QUESADILLAS + SALAD
  I used the leftover carnitas (a big pork shoulder makes a lot; we had some for lunch too!) and paired it with Monterey Jack cheese and whole-wheat flour tortillas to make quesadillas. We had a simple salad with citrus dressing on the side.
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• Day 4 – QUINOA CAKES  (double) + LOADED SALAD
  I am making the Quinoa Cakes (from my third cookbook, page 140), but here is a different version for this savory type of cake on the blog. They hold up well leftover so I am doubling the recipe. I am pairing it with a hearty salad loaded with bacon, cheese, roasted potatoes, and mushrooms.
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• Day 5 – TANDOORI CHICKEN
  I love a one-dish chicken dinner, and Tandoori is one with great flavor.
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• Day 6 – KALE & TOMATO PASTA (double)
  My older daughter loves this recipe and calls it “breadcrumb pasta.” Since I know it’s a favorite, I plan to double it for leftovers for lunch.
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• Day 7 – STEAKS W/ WILD RICE & ORANGE SALAD
  I’ve got steaks stashed away in our freezer, which we’ll throw on the grill and serve along with wild rice (that lasts in the pantry pretty much forever) and a citrus salad I saw in a magazine.
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• Day 8 – SHRIMP & GRITS (double)
  I often buy a 2-pound bag of frozen shrimp to have on hand whenever I need it. I plan to thaw some out and make Shrimp and Grits (a southern favorite!) and add a bell pepper plus spinach on top for a one-dish meal. The double batch will be there for lunch or dinner the next day.
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• Day 9 – LEFTOVERS
  At this point, I figure we’ll have some leftovers from previous dinners to “scrounge” something together without cooking again. I always like a break from cooking!
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• Day 10 – SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS (double) + BROCCOLI
  I’ve got frozen ground beef that I’ll thaw and I bought some broccoli, which is a pretty hearty vegetable and should still be fine on day 10.
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• Day 11 – QUICHE W/ BRUSSELS SPROUTS & BACON
  I stocked up on eggs at the store and we love a good quiche (could also sub a frittata), so I’ll make that and serve it with Brussels sprouts that’ll hold up pretty well for a while. I also bought and froze bacon for this night as well. If we don’t feel this is enough food I might also whip up some homemade biscuits (probably a double recipe to supplement lunches!).
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• Day 12 – CHICKEN & RICE SOUP (double)
  I’m going to do a version of this soup on the stovetop and add carrots to increase the veggie consumption without having to make a second item. Carrots hold up in the fridge for a while, thankfully!
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• Day 13 – PORK TENDERLOIN W/ RAMEN & SWEET POTATOES
  I’ve got pork tenderloins in the freezer and will put them in a homemade teriyaki marinade (from my first cookbook, page 318), then roast or grill them and serve them whole-grain ramen and roasted sweet potatoes. Potatoes are one fresh item that will last a while, so I’m using them late in the plan.
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• Day 14 – PASTA W/ PEAS & HAM
  Thanks to frozen peas hanging out in the freezer and a sealed package of ham, this yummy pasta dish has ingredients that last long enough until the last day.

LUNCHES/SNACKS

Many of these lunch and snack ideas can be supplemented with fruit or items from the pantry to make a complete meal. I also bought sandwich fixings (including hummus & cheese) and plan to use dinner leftovers from doubled recipes when we have them. We also have homemade frozen soups in our freezer and an emergency stock of canned soups (that’s sadly not looking so alarmist now!) that we can pull from if we need to.

• LOADED NACHOS
  I made and shared this on social media the other day … and got lots of questions! So, to answer those, here’s what I did. I put a layer of organic tortilla chips (which are technically a treat since they are deep-fried in refined oil) on a baking sheet then topped them with some of the leftover pork carnitas and cheese. I let that melt in the oven at 400 degrees F, then topped them with avocado, diced red onion, sliced cabbage, cilantro, diced tomato, sour cream, and green salsa. It ended up being a hearty lunch!
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• GUACAMOLE
  I put this out with the rest of the tortilla chips along with lunch fixings. I was sure to use all of our avocados in the first few days!
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• HOMEMADE PIMENTO CHEESE
  I made this and put it out with sliced oranges and whole-grain crackers. It’s also great on bread, like a kicked-up grilled cheese sandwich.
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• SMOKED SALMON (OR TROUT) DIP
  I’ll do something similar to above, getting out fruit and crackers, when I make this smoked fish dip (from my second cookbook, page 170).
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• WHITE BEAN DIP
  Also good with crackers or tortilla chips, or even over salad, and found in my first cookbook, page 195.
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• SMOOTHIES
  My oldest loves smoothies so I bought plenty of her usual ingredients that she’s loving at the moment … frozen berries, spinach, bananas, applesauce, and peanut butter. Similar to this smoothie recipe, but using apple sauce instead of apple juice.
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• Also, BEEF JERKY, POPCORN, SALAMI WRAPPED CHEESES, YOGURTS, SALTED CASHEWS, DRIED & FRESH FRUIT

BREAKFAST

I bought our normal glass bottles of whole milk and also some extras of UHT milk with a much later expiration date. We also have frozen blueberries that we put in our homemade granola cereal (and I stocked up on granola ingredients), and I bought a box of organic cereal for the kids. I also got plenty of flour and eggs so we can occasionally make crepes, pancakes, waffles, etc.

TREATS

I bought two bags of chocolate chips and figure with our flour, sugar, butter, eggs, etc. supply we can get creative. My 15-year-old already made whole-wheat chocolate chip cookies, and I’m sure as the days go on we’ll get a hankering for homemade brownies or some other kind of sweet treat! Maybe even this tasty dessert bar recipe—yum. It would be nice to have *something* to look forward to. It’s such a sad time for everyone!

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Well, that wraps up my loose plan for the next two weeks or so. I’d love to hear what you’re making and eating while we go through all of this unprecedented craziness! I’m also curious how you’re holding up through all of this? It sure is a great time to try some new recipes you never had time to make before … if you’re feeling up to it, of course!