Use this fresh, spring inspired meal plan for your growing family!
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Signs of spring
Where we’re from, when those last ice caps melt on the lake, snow boots are swapped for muddy rain boots, frog friends are found just about everywhere, and there is just a bit more daylight left at the end of the day, we know warmer weather is coming! As the seasons change from cold and dark, to warmer and brighter, I wanted to share with you how I transition our meal plans from winter inspired meals to more spring inspired.
Before we get started!
If you haven’t taken a peek at the first 2 meal plans I created this year, there is some helpful information in both of those. Even if you don’t need winter inspired meals, you’ll want to check out the information on how to balance macro-nutrients for your kids, meal planning baby steps, food availability, (all of these points are in the Winter Meal Plan 1 post), and also how my husband fits into the meal plan as a commuter (in Winter Meal Plan 2).
How are the meals really changing here?
For some parts of the world, spring feels a bit warmer, but here spring really takes its time. Springtime in Michigan can bounce between a 40 degree cool rain, to 65 degrees and sunny in just a matter of 24 hours! So you’ll still see some cold weather foods, like soups and warming dinners, but with a fresh twist using in season, spring veggies. The biggest change will just be that we’re transitioning into spring produce. This is exactly how we were meant to eat by the way! Eating with the seasons gives our bodies a variety of nutrients, gives our guts a break from the same foods over and over all year long, and allows our bodies to follow the natural rhythm of the seasons of the year.
“Spring cleaning” isn’t just for your house!
Certain times of the year are better for cleansing than others. All of those great spring greens help clear out our livers and digestion from the winter. You’ll notice that some of the heavier winter foods with longer cook times to keep our homes warm, will be replaced with quick sheet pan veggies and lots of raw salads. If your body is not in a place to handle raw salads, please listen to your body. If you are on a healing journey, you may need to stick to lightly steamed or roasted veg until your digestion can handle raw.
The school routine home stretch!
And alllll the tired lunch packing momma’s said “amen!” By the end of Spring Break I am capitol D.O.N.E. with school routine, but there is a couple months left, and it really does matter what the kids are eating before school for breakfast, and while at school in their lunchboxes. In fact, as the weather warms and activities pick up, the fuel these kids are taking in matters all the more. Their busy bodies and burning metabolisms need real fuel, not just fillers. “Make every bite count” is what I always keep in mind while planning meals for my growing kids, and that doesn’t have to mean elaborate fancy food at every meal. Keep it simple, but meaningful.
A note about age groups and portions
As I have mentioned in both the Winter Meal Plan 1 and Winter Meal Plan 2, one of my hesitancies in posting meal plans is how every kid’s food intake needs vary – even within the same age group. Please adjust portions to your kiddos – my meal plan is not set in stone or the only way. It is meant to be inspiration. One difference I have noticed as my kids have gotten older, is that I used to be able to get away with way more smoothie breakfasts when they were little. Now, smoothie breakfasts are still a great warmer weather breakfast, but my older kids need some sides even if the smoothie is packed out with great fat and protein. That is just one example, so definitely adjust each meal of the day to how your kids eat.
Let’s do this!
Here is a free PDF of my Part 1 Spring Inspired Meal Plan! Right below the image will be a blank version, in case you want to fill in your own!
Want to build your own meal plan?
I’m all about that! here is a free blank PDF of the meal plan so you can sit down with the family and create your own plan of attack!
Spring Inspired Dinners to Swap in the Dinner Section
Whether the dinner ideas in the dinner section aren’t your jam, or you have already been through the spring meal plan once and are itching for something different, here are some other meal ideas to swap in! Most of this list is from right here on the blog. Any recipe links that have a page number are from my cookbooks. Those with page numbers in green are from The Little Lunchbox Cookbook, and those with page numbers in pink are from Nourished Beginnings.
- Easy Salmon Burgers
- Egg Salad Pinwheels
- Ginger Almond Crispy Chicken Stir Fry
- Chicken & Kale with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce
- Fresh Spring Vegetable Soup {pg 87}
- Nourishing Greens Soup {pg 88}
- Skillet Chicken & Kale with Garlic Mushroom Sauce
- Rainbow Broccoli Salad
- Spaghetti & Veggie Monster Mini Meatballs {pg 69}
- 5 Charcuterie Board Meal Concepts
- Colorful Vegetarian Rainbow Pinwheels {pg 15}
- Creamy Roasted Carrot Soup {pg 76}
- Veggie Fried Rice {pg 166}
- Salmon Mini Meatballs with Simple Kid Friendly Pesto
- GF Ramen Noodle Bowls
- Mexican Chicken Salad
- Brain Boosting Bow Tie Pasta Salad {pg 98}
- Fish Taco Buddha Bowls
- Party Time Confetti Bean Salad {pg 112}
- Spring Onion Soup
- Spatchcock Whole Chicken {pg 119}
- Mango Marinade For Fish or Chicken
- Instant Pot Spring Leek & Asparagus Soup
- Slow Cooker Beef Roast
- Colorful Rainbow Chicken Salad with Fruity Poppyseed Dressing {pg 104}
- Sheet Pan Fish Tacos
- Taco Tuesday Fajita Salad with Kid Friendly Fajita Salad Dressing {pg 101}
- Real Food Sloppy Joes
- Fish Sticks {pg 81} or Chicken Fingers {pg 78}
- Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken & Veggies
- Crispy Fish Asian Stir Fry
- Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Fish & Roasted Veggies
So let’s talk meal plans!
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below how the meal plans have been helping so far this year! How can we make them more user friendly? Are you finding them useful? I would like to continue another Spring Meal Plan later this month, so I do take this feedback seriously! If I’m going to put the time into them, I want them to be relevant to you.
