How was everybody’s weekend?  Mine was great, just super snowy!  It was gorgeous looking out at the snow falling, but that meant my husband had a far less relaxing weekend than I, shoveling and re-shoveling a whole lotta snow!

In other news, you can now follow Self Care Bestie on Facebook!  As I’m sharing a lot of what I do on social media, I’ve been noticing some trending hashtags related to self care.  We’ve already discussed #selfcaresunday, so today I want to talk about #mealprepmonday.  Have you heard of this?  It’s basically a way for people to share how they plan their meals for the week (usually packing lunches for an entire week at once).  As we know, healthy eating can be a challenge in today’s busy world.  Often we have the best of intentions to eat clean all day, only to be derailed when we wind up hungry and at a stoplight in front of a McDonald’s.  When it comes to eating right, the old saying is definitely true…if you fail to plan, plan to fail.

To be honest, breakfast and lunch usually aren’t my struggle when it comes to eating clean.  It’s dinner that usually puts me into a tailspin, trying to figure out something my two picky boys will eat, as well as something that’s not chicken nuggets for my husband and I to enjoy.  But I also don’t want to make 2 or 3 different dinners each night, savvy?  

So what’s a Bestie to do?  Plan, but KEEP IT SIMPLE.  I don’t know about you, but most nights I don’t have time to make a super complicated recipe with old grains and kale and ingredients I can’t pronounce with cookware I don’t own.  So I’ve come up with a week’s worth of clean dinners that don’t require a recipe and ingredients you can keep stocked for nights when you just can’t even…but you’d still like to love your body by feeding it well.  For the sake of this post, I’ve organized them by day of the week, but obvs feel free to mix it up.  Take what works for you and leave the rest!

Sunday:  Salad greens with salmon, radishes, mushrooms, cucumber, carrots, balsamic vinaigrette.  Whole wheat crackers.  Grapes.

Monday:  Turkey burger lettuce wraps – ground turkey patty, slice cheddar cheese in a romaine leaf with tomato, red onion, salad dressing.  Blue corn tortilla chips.  Baby carrots with hummus.

Tuesday:  Grilled flank steak.  Baked sweet potato.  Broccoli & cauliflower sauteed in olive oil and garlic.

Wednesday:  Baked cod.  Acorn squash & sugar snap peas in olive oil with sliced almonds.

Thursday:  BBQ chicken breast.  Steamed broccoli sprinkled with parmesan cheese.  Whole-wheat couscous.

Friday:  Broiled salmon.  Baked sweet potato.  Broccoli sauteed in olive oil.  

Saturday:  Grilled chicken on mixed salad greens, cherry tomatoes, carrots.  Oil & vinegar.  Whole wheat crackers.

Per usual, I always have to give my “I’m not a doctor or a dietitian” disclaimer, but hopefully this at least provides some inspiration for clean, healthy dinners that don’t require a culinary degree.  Bon appetit, Besties!