Week 29 ⋆ 100 Days of Real Food

Need some ideas for dinner this week? Take a peek at what I feed my family with this FREE Weekly Real Food Dinner Plan, complete with 5 dinners, side items, and a treat.

Why Meal Plan?

Not only does meal planning save you time and money, but I quickly learned the key to cutting out processed food is planning ahead! If you don’t have at least an idea of what your next meal is going to be, chances are you’ll end up starving and at the drive-through out of desperation.

Meal Planning Benefits:

• Save time – Look at you, so organized! When you have a plan, you can make just one trip to the grocery store for the week, and always have an answer to “what’s for dinner.”
• Reduce stress – With planned recipes and ingredients on hand, there are fewer surprises, and you might just get some help in the kitchen.
• Eat better – It’s easier to enjoy a variety of delicious, healthy meals and discover some new favorites along the way when you take the time to plan ahead.
• Save money – Buy only what you need and waste less food.

Meal Planning Resources

I’m not gonna lie, while I enjoy the results, planning out our meals is a chore that I do not look forward to each week. So, to make it easier on you (and myself, ha!), I’ve worked hard to create these resources:

• Meal planning guidance and easy recipes in ALL of my three best-selling real food cookbooks.
• My complete meal planning system in my Meal Planner Workbook (I use my personal copy every week!) plus 52 weeks of blank templates.
• My partnership with Real Plans for customizable meal plans made for you each week from over 400 of my real food recipes (+ over 1,000 others)—based on YOUR family’s preferences—in a convenient app, complete with grocery lists.
• Free weekly dinner plans, like the one below (fill out the form and I’ll send them to your inbox each week).

This Week’s Free Dinner Plan

Here’s your Friday Dinner Plan … Thanksgiving Edition!

With the upcoming holiday, I thought I’d share something a little different in order to help make the entire week a little easier for you. If you have family and guests coming into town, I’ve included a tasty snack, a make-ahead breakfast option, an easy crowd-pleasing dinner for earlier in the week, and of course, the main event meal for Thursday.

As always, simply click the recipe names to open each one, where you can easily adjust quantities and print so you’re ready to shop and cook.

If you need additional side ideas, I’ve got you covered with my list of Go-to Basic Sides (and more).

Feel free to share this dinner plan (and recipes) with friends and family using the sharing buttons at the top/bottom of each post, and don’t forget to subscribe using the form above to keep the plans coming.

Easy Dinner: Slow Cooker Sunday Sauce

Side Dish: Whole-wheat spaghetti and a simple side salad

Side Dish: Fresh fruit

Appetizer/Snack: Pesto Cream Cheese Bake

Thanksgiving Day: Smoked Turkey

Side Dish 1: Green Bean Casserole

Side Dish 2: Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

Side Dish 3: Classic (Whole-Wheat) Bread Stuffing

Next-Day Leftovers: Grilled Turkey, Brie, and apple Sandwich

Treat: Pumpkin Cheesecake

I hope you enjoy your dinner plan and are back for more next week!
🙂
Lisa

Get Meal Plans Made Just for You…

Do you love leftovers? Hate them? Have some foods that a certain someone just won’t eat, or have food allergies or sensitivities?

We’re all different, and this can make meal planning a real challenge. That’s why I’ve partnered with Real Plans to offer meal plans made for YOU each week—based on your answers to some simple questions.

Get ready to feel both organized and good about the food you’re feeding your family, while they do all the hard work of figuring out what to make and what to buy.

—Lisa Leake, #1 New York Times Best Selling Author of 100 Days of Real Food