First things first: my eyes are seeing stars when looking at those beautiful heirloom tomatoes from Crossroads Community Farm. Just gorgeous! I can’t wait to slice one up and sprinkle with a little bit of salt. So good.
The Plan:
Day 1: Succotash chowder
Day 2: Ratatouille, Watermelon and muskmelon chunks
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Tossed salad
Day 4: Gazpacho, Corn muffins
Day 5: Grilled steak and veggie kabobs with classic barbecue rub, Corn on the cob, Herb potato salad
Day 6: Baked salmon, Lemony couscous
Day 7: Burritos with shredded carrots, corn, black beans, and onions
This meal plan was curated using local foods that are in season now or preserved during the peak growing season in the U.S. Midwest. The plan is an exact replica of what our family is eating this week unless we are out of town. Meal plans are developed using whole foods and my meal planning system (click here!) and are meant to be healthy and easy to prepare. Most recipes will take no more than 30 minutes of active cooking time. Occasionally meals may require all day slow cooking, advanced prep, or some oven time. Recipes are provided when available. I sincerely hope this will help with your own meal planning!
Pantry Shuffle:
Out of Storage: (preserved when in season and coming out of my root cellar, freezer, canned, or dehydrated stash)
- Italian sausage from Mastodon Valley Farm meat share
- Bacon from Mastodon Valley Farm meat share
- Homemade vegetable broth
Into Storage:
- Succotash chowder (double recipe and freeze half in gallon zip top bag)
- Ratatouille (quadruple recipe and freeze in 3 x 1 gallon zip top bags)
- Corn muffins (double recipe and freeze half in gallon zip top bag)
Notes: How to Pack School Lunches and Still Eat the Seasons
My kids are back at school today! That means we’ve been preparing for one of the most dreaded tasks….packing school lunches. In my quest to eat seasonally, locally, and prevent waste, we’ve bucked the usual packaged lunch foods. That’s right, I’ve kicked the granola bars, fruit snacks, and Lunchables to the curb. I’ve found that the food I pack now is healthier, helps us avoid waste, prevents cavities (those gummies are terrible for teeth!) and is much cheaper than the packaged stuff. It wasn’t a popular decision at first, but now that everyone is used to it, lunch packing has gotten a lot easier.
Here are my tips that we use to pack lunches. Please keep in mind, I am sharing what works for us to try to help others that may have similar food goals and are struggling. Everyone’s lives are very different and if this doesn’t work for you then leave it.
- Leftovers are consumed first so that we don’t have any food waste. Since the kids don’t have access to a microwave for reheating, usually that means mom and dad take the leftovers. Super simple, super delicious.
- After leftovers, we focus on fresh fruit and veggies that are in season. The best part is that back to school coincides with the harvest season. Right now that means cucumber and tomato slices, grapes, melon, carrot sticks, peaches, apples, pepper slices, and so much more. In the winter it is usually fermented veggies, like pickles or kimchi. The good thing about this is since the produce changes with the seasons, it keeps the kids from getting bored with the food.
- Then we round out the meal with a protein and grain, usually cheese slices, hummus for dipping, a hard boiled egg, a nut butter sandwich, or a homemade muffin (take out of the freezer in the morning and it is defrosted by lunch – right now we have zucchini muffins and corn muffins in our freezer).
Lunch packing used to be a struggle, but now that we follow this formula it is a lot easier. We continue to work towards having the kids pack their own lunches, which means it is more likely they will eat it. I have to tell you, my stress level is so much better now! I’m always looking for good lunch packing tips though, so if you have any to share please post in the comments.
CSA Breakdown:
For those of you also using Crossroads Community Farm, here is a breakdown of how I will use each piece of produce this week. See the first CSA post from this season for details of how I structure the plans.
Tomatoes (so many!): succotash chowder, ratatouille, gazpacho (most will probably go into the ratatouille, 1-2 for the chowder, 1 for tossed salad, and the rest for the gazpacho.
Onion, Yellow (1.0 count):ratatouille, succotash chowder
Pepper, Red Sweet Carmen (1.0 count): kabobs
Zucchini, Green and/or Gold (1.0 count): ratatouille (I have extras to make a quadruple batch)
Basil (1.0 bunch): ratatouille
Potato – Red (1.0 bag – 3 lb): succotash chowder (1 lb), herb potato salad (2 lbs)
Lettuce Head, Red Leaf (1.0 head): tossed salad
Pepper, Red Bell (1.0 count): kabobs
Garlic (1.0 count): ratatouille, gazpacho
Cucumber (2.0 count): 1 for tossed salad, 1 for couscous salad
A1 Corn, Sweet (some tips cut) (6 count): succotash chowder, corn muffins, corn on the cob, burritos (I have extras)
