Meal Planning: One Holiday Down…

Happy Sunday! Reflecting on a Wonderful Thanksgiving

I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving, no matter how you celebrated. Whether your gathering was large or small, featured turkey or tofu, and took place at home or elsewhere, sharing a meal with loved ones is always a beautiful experience. It’s a tradition I look forward to every year, and this year was no exception.

A Thanksgiving Twist: Pork Tenderloin

This year, we decided to switch things up and serve pork tenderloin instead of the traditional turkey. My immediate family was on board with the change, as they’re not big fans of turkey and aren’t particularly fond of the leftovers. When planning a menu change, it’s always best to inform your guests in advance. While expectations and traditions can run deep, we still included several traditional sides to keep everyone happy. The result? One of the best Thanksgiving meals we’ve ever had, thanks to great collaboration from our guests. I’ll be sharing some of these recipes soon, as they’d make a fantastic addition to any Christmas or holiday dinner.

Embracing December with a Bonus Week

With Thanksgiving behind us and December just around the corner, we’ve been gifted with a bonus week of the season. It’s a time filled with additional commitments, gatherings, and festive parties, which can easily become overwhelming. To keep the chaos at bay, I rely on old-school paper lists and a meal calendar posted in my kitchen. Knowing what’s on the menu for the week ahead brings a sense of calm and helps me maintain a bit of sanity, even on the busiest days.

This Week’s Meal Plan

Here’s a glimpse of what’s on our meal plan for the week. On days when I’m not cooking, we’ll be enjoying leftovers or quick and easy meals from the freezer and pantry. Our go-to options include bean and cheese tostadas, frozen Amy’s burritos, frozen Trader Joe’s pizza, and TJ’s Mandarin orange chicken with frozen broccoli and rice. These staples are always on hand and have saved us from the expense and less healthy options of takeout or delivery.

Enjoy the extra week of the season!

~Christina

Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard with Garbanzo Beans

This is a super easy, healthy and satisfying meal.  It calls for curry powder but has little to no heat. I add the full amount of cayenne and it still isn’t spicy.  The plain/Greek yogurt is key for this dish.  My kids all eat it and it fills them up so much that they don’t “need” a bowl of cereal an hour later.  I’m sure that just happens in our household though… A few things: I add chopped carrot and saute with the onions, feel free to also chop the chard stems and add here as well, add 3 minced garlic cloves with the spices, and only add the chopped swiss chard in the last 5 minutes of cooking.  Enjoy!   

Asian Noodle Bowls 

This is SO good! A huge hit and on regular rotation with my family.  The Thai Kitchen brand has rice noodles and they can be found at Safeway or Amazon (6 box pack).  You can easily leave out the shrimp (I cut each piece of shrimp into 3 pieces before sauteing) and add more veggies- I always add red bell pepper.  Low-sodium soy sauce is a must and coconut oil is a great substitution for the grapeseed/high heat oil.  Biggest tip for cooking this dish- have all ingredients prepped and ready, including the egg/sesame oil mixture.  You can easily overcook or burn each step if you’re not ready with prepped ingredients.  Trust me.  

Cobb Salad (copied from earlier post!)

This has been a staple in our home for over 10 years. When the kids were little I began by making a deconstructed Cobb salad for them- basically putting chopped up hard-boiled egg, bacon, avocado, tomatoes and chicken right on their high chair tray. As they got older I’d make little piles on their plates (no foods touching each other, of course) and finally graduated into tossing all the components together with the lettuce and dressing and they gobbled it right up. I always left the crumbled goat or blue cheese on the side for anyone that wanted it. I tried to always stick to a rule that when we were eating tossed salads, stir fry, or other foods that had many ingredients all mixed up, that they could pick out one ingredient but had to eat the rest. I do believe this helped them to eat or at least try new foods when they would have otherwise turned their nose up to it. This trick might have ended up with food being thrown from a high chair or booster but for the most part it was a successful rule!

For this salad, I try to prep some of these ingredients on the weekend, in the morning or at least in the afternoon so that putting it all together in the evening is a piece of cake.  You’ll need the following components:

Chopped romaine lettuce, sliced hard boiled egg, chopped tomato, crumbled bacon, diced rotisserie chicken, sliced avocado, and crumbled goat or blue cheese. Toss in a large bowl with the dressing below or a store-bought vinaigrette.

Homemade dressing:

2 tablespoons vinegar (apple cider, champagne, red wine or balsamic)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup or honey

¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of ground pepper

½ tablespoon mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Shake ingredients in jar or plastic container with tight fitting lid.