Do you ever wonder what the writers on Keeper of the Home really eat? Wonder no longer. One writer each month will take a turn to share an actual two-week menu plan. Erin, who is due with her third baby two weeks from today, is sharing an easy meal plan for pregnant moms. Be sure to click back to Natalie's meal plan from last month!
Written by Erin Odom, Contributing Writer
I must confess: When I volunteered to write up the July meal plan a few months back, I was shooting for an easy assignment. I knew I'd be very pregnant with our third child (I'm due two weeks from today!), and how hard would it be to share my next two week's worth of meals?
Well...if I'm completely honest with you, meal planning has been challenging to me this entire pregnancy! Truly, I've really slacked off (and I'm not proud of that!).
I've never been and probably never will be a gourmet cook, but I strive to feed my family simple whole foods meals (quite the contrast from my early homemaking days of meals consisting mainly of canned creamed soup casseroles and boxed pasta dishes). Time and time again this pregnancy, I've turned to my quick and easy meals list because I honestly just haven't had the stamina to slave hours away in the kitchen. (And, realistically, what mom of toddlers and preschoolers really does have that time?)
What has helped in my meal planning the most? Stephanie's Plan It, Don't Panic (both the challenge and the book), using my recently-won List PlanIt membership (the Lord knew I needed that one!) and, even more recently, Plan to Eat. I also try to keep my plans flexible, so I can take advantage of any clearance items at the grocery store if I happen to find them.
So today I'm giving you a two-week plan that is nothing fancy...but it's real. Most of these meals don't take very long to prepare, and, really, anyone can make them. For frugality's sake, I incorporate a lot from our garden in our summer meals. One thing you will not see are soups. My husband does not like soups in the summer (and can I blame him in 90+-degree heat?), so I only serve soups from about October through March.We also do not eat a lot of breads.
Without further ado, here's an easy-peasy meal plan from a an aspiring gourmet chef very humbled homemaker:
Image by Mycophagia
Week One
Sunday
- Breakfast: sausage, scrambled eggs and fruit
- Lunch: crock pot chicken & quinoa (Crock Pot meals are my favorite for after church...although I admit we've eaten out a lot more frequently this pregnancy!)
- Dinner: leftovers before church Life group
Monday
- Breakfast: gluten-free banana-flax muffins and fruit
- Lunch: leftovers from Sunday's lunch
- Dinner: rice flour fried chicken, green beans, oven-roasted potatoes
Tuesday
- Breakfast: gluten-free banana-flax muffins and fruit
- Lunch: salmon pasta salad (great omega-3s for baby's developing brain!)
- Dinner: taco salads (For these, I simply place a handful of tortilla chips on each plate, top them with lettuce, tomatoes and peppers and place either ground beef or poultry cooked with my homemade taco seasoning on the very top. I sometimes cook black or kidney beans instead of the meat to save money. I garnish with shredded cheese and either sour cream or plain yogurt). This is Stephanie's version of taco salad.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: protein-packed pancakes, fruit
- Lunch: salmon pasta salad
- Dinner: Greek lemon chicken with veggies from the garden (usually squash and zucchini)
Thursday
- Breakfast: protein-packed pancakes, fruit
- Lunch: Mediterranean chickpea salad
- Dinner: pasta with chickpeas and garlic sauce (a new meal I found on Pinterest)
Friday
- Breakfast: thick peanut butter smoothies
- Lunch: leftovers
- Dinner: quesadillas (I simply place cooked meat or beans, some shredded cheese and veggies from the garden inside a tortilla, fold it in half and cook each side for a few minutes on an oiled skillet.)
Saturday
- Breakfast: sausage, scrambled eggs, fruit
- Lunch: leftover quesadillas
- Dinner: stir-fry over rice
Image by jugglerpm
Week Two
Sunday
- Breakfast: sausage, eggs and fruit
- Lunch: crock pot stuffed peppers
- Dinner: leftovers either before or after church Life group
Monday
- Breakfast: Gallo Pinto (a traditional Costa Rican breakfast)
- Lunch: leftover Gallo Pinto
- Dinner: baked chicken tenders, asparagus, brown rice
Tuesday
- Breakfast: breakfast bars, fruit
- Lunch: veggie/hummus plate
- Dinner: simple sugar snap pea pasta salad with shrimp
Wednesday
- Breakfast: breakfast bars, fruit
- Lunch: leftover pasta salad
- Dinner: garden salads topped with grilled chicken
Thursday
- Breakfast: homemade pumpkin-flax seed granola with yogurt or milk
- Lunch: leftover salads
- Dinner: easy baked spaghetti, garlic cheese biscuits
Friday
- Breakfast: quick cinnamon rolls (sub in whole wheat flour, palm shortening and sucanat or organic sugar), fruit
- Lunch: leftover spaghetti
- Dinner: crock pot chicken cacciatore over rice
Saturday
- Breakfast: bacon, eggs and fruit
- Lunch: leftovers
- Dinner: Italian cream cheese chicken casserole
Having at least one daily serving of the each of the following is your goal, making sure you consume the necessary 300 additional calories:
protein - meat, poultry,fish, beans
carbs - rice, breads, potatoes, cereals, pasta, fruits, veggies
calcium - milk/dairy, cheese, yogurt, salmon or sardines, spinach
iron - lean red meat, cereals, whole-grains, spinach, etc
vitamins A, C, D, B6, B12 - eat combination of natural foods plus supplements
folic acid - green leafy vegetables, dark yellow fruits & vegetables, peas, beans, nuts
fat - dairy, meat, nuts, peanut butter, avocado
I can't speak to what my meals look like during pregnancy. But I made home made "blankets" for our pigs last week, and felt pretty proud of that meal. :)
Sounds like a great, easy meal to me! :)
Thank you for sharing your 2 week meal plan. I'm going to try and use some of the recipe's in my meal planning schedule!
I hope you enjoy the meals you try! These are some of our favorites!
Hi Erin! Thanks for linking in my Gluten-Free Banana Flax Muffins! Have a great weekend : )
You are so welcome! I found them in a google search a few weeks ago, and they've quickly become a favorite! I love how there is no "strange" ingredients...I always keep rice flour and flax meal on hand, and they are PERFECT for my gluten/dairy/egg-free daughter!
Mercy - I'm glad no one asked me to do such a thing....or else my list would say:
-Peanut Butter and Jelly
-Baked Oatmeal
-Peanut Butter and Jelly
-Baked Oatmeal
....you get the picture. I think you're doing GREAT!
LOL, Stacy...pb and j would SO be on my list if Little Girl could eat bread. I haven't tackled the art/challenge of making GF bread yet, so we eat very little sandwiches here. I sure wish we could! And she doesn't like oatmeal. :( I didn't include...cough (as you would say)...Chick-Fil-A...b/c I would NEVER go there, would I? ;)
Oh this is so helpful right now! I have REALLY been slacking in the menu-planning dept. the past few months. I am pregnant with #3 and have been too sick to cook, let alone plan a menu as it seems most foods I have an aversion to! ;) I am hoping the nausea will subside soon so I can get back on track--it has been so long since I have planned a menu, I really think these quick meal ideas will help get me back on track. Thanks & congrats on your baby!
Congrats on baby #3!! I was the same way in my first trimester! I still haven't made chicken stock since about 17 weeks. I just couldn't do it (or cook a whole chicken), so I resolved to wait until after Baby Girl is born to start over (something about the smell of it cooking bothered me).
I hope you can use some of these easy recipes! Not much of what I make is "hard."
I'm also pregnant with my third and trying to prepare myself to cook a whole chicken. I'm very afraid of the gag reflex! This is a great resource here, though!
Those breakfast bars look awesome; I pinned them!
They are yummy & easy...and so is your pasta salad!
Eggs, pancakes and almond butter and honey sandwiches:) Any time things get busy (or I'm sick or pregnant or just plain tired!) I just stick with a few very basic meals.
Sounds like a great plan to me! :)
Stopping by from the blog hop. Come visit sometime, http://www.southernmadeintheshade.blogspot.com
The tea is cold, cookies are warm, and no shoes are required! Kathy B.