Take a peek into what real food meals our family of 5 ate for 2 weeks during summer break from school!
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That sweet summer sun!
Have you ever visited the Lake Michigan shoreline in West Michigan? It doesn’t seem likely that a place so darn cold in the winter could possibly produce the most amazing summers, but it is so true! We live for our Lake Michigan beach days all summer long, and that means having some sort of meal plan to make sure that we can both enjoy the summer sun, and still keep these active kids fueled!
How the summer meal plan will look a little different
Earlier this year, I shared a fall meal plan, winter meal plan, as well as a spring meal plan. Each season brings different rhythms to the day, which means meals flow in a certain way depending on the time of year. The summer has a look of its own as well. And the summer schedule is definitely different now than when my kids were really little because summers look different with a house full of teenagers. You’ll notice we still have a bit of a sports schedule. Actually, our days are pretty flip-flopped. During the school year, sports take place after school, and in the summer, for the most part, everything is in the morning! You’ll also notice that we try to pack up a few times a week to enjoy meals at the beach.
Key notes to pay attention to for your own summer meal plan!
- You’ll notice how we flow meals from one day to the next to streamline any cooking, while also making sure the kids are fueled well for strenuous sports. Pay attention to notes where I’m doubling recipes.
- Use the notes section to see how I plan ahead…and also utilize very capable kids to help and take ownership of their fuel!
- You’ll also see how we approach early morning practices – both the fuel the day before AND the day of. Both matter!
A note on portions…
This meal plan is based on my crew. Right now, my girls are 17, 15, and 12 years old. And, when this meal plan was made, they are do participate in sports. My youngest is in year-round gymnastics. Summer is upgrades and conditioning season, and she’s in the gym over 16 hours per week. And cross country conditioning is all summer long for my older 2. All 3 do require a lot of fuel! If your kids are younger, or need smaller portions, just adjust that! If your kids need more, add more!
My biggest piece of advice for your meal plan…
Don’t get overwhelmed. If you are new to cooking and real food, might I make a suggestion? Perhaps just starting with ONE meal of the day for a whole week? Just look at how I did breakfast. That’s it. Block out the lunches and dinners. Just start with how to flow breakfast from one day to the other in a real food way. Make yourself a nice little sustainable habit, and then you can move onto lunches, and then dinner. (You can find over 60 kid friendly breakfast ideas in my cookbook Nourished Mornings for some ideas!)
So here is the 2 week plan!
CLICK HERE to get your free PDF with clickable recipe links! You can also click the image below.
