I think spring has finally arrived here in West Michigan! Although we sometimes can get another blast or two of snow in April, but I’m really hoping not especially after the winter we had. Like me, I know so many of you are happy to see winter go and be gone for a VERY long time!
All the warmer weather and sunshine has me in the mood for some lighter food. We definitely ate our fair share of soups, chilis and heavier meals this winter, but I needed to it to make it through.
I’m excited to be trying a few new meals this month! I feel like each time I peruse the cookbooks I keep finding different recipes that I want to try. I hope you all like them too! Like the last couple of months, a shopping list will be included from now on with these dinner meal plans.
For the month of April, I will be using three different cookbooks, as well as some online recipes. The cookbooks I’ll be using are the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook, Trim Healthy Table and Convenient Food. A lot of you probably have the first two books, but the third one is by my blogging buddy, Briana Thomas Burkholder. It is a FANTASTIC book that I highly recommend adding to your collection. You can read my full review of it here.
In addition to this month of dinner meals, each Monday I come out with a full meal plan for the week. By full meal plan, I mean that I plan out all meals, snacks and drinks. I try to make life on Trim Healthy Mama as simple as possible for my readers.
I get a lot of questions each month about what my monthly grocery budget is. I spend right around $450 per month for my family of 7. That is for all our meals, snacks and drinks, NOT just on this dinner menu. If you’re curious about how I do that you can read this article I wrote that goes into all the details.
All of these meal plans are FREE, printable and come with a printable shopping list too. If you’d like to see some samples of my full meal plans, you can find them here. To ensure that you never miss a post you can sign-up to be on my e-mail subscriber list too. See the picture below on how to find out where to subscribe.
Thank you for your feedback and encouragement about these dinner meal plans. My goal in blogging is to help Trim Healthy Mama’s get and stay on plan. I know many of you don’t like to meal plan or just don’t have time so I want to continue to be a help. As always, please let me know if you have any suggestions or ways that I can further help.
***I have a family of 7 so these meals all serve at least 7. Many of the meals leave leftovers even for my size family.***
This meal plan covers five weeks. I find that it helps me to have five full weeks planned out, that way if I don’t get my meal plan done before the first of the month I have a couple of days of leeway in there.
April Week by Week Printable Meal Plan
Here’s what’s on the menu this month:
Week #1: March 31 – April 6
Sun – Refried Bean Burritos (bowls) with Brown Spanish Rice and lettuce on the side (E)
M – Slow Cooker Italian Beef & Cabbage (S)
T – Easy Cheesy Fiesta Chowder (S) pg. 144 Convenient Food ***I’m making 1/2 the recipe.
W – Quick Tomato Basil Chicken over brown rice (E)
Th – Low Carb Beef & Cheese Enchiladas (S)
F – Chicken Fried Double Rice (E) pg. 53 in Trim Healthy Table
Sat – Fathead Pizza (S) ***I double the recipe for my family to make 2 pizzas. I use pepperoni, mozzarella, onion and green pepper for the toppings.
Week #2: April 7-13
S – Burger Bombs over salad with Ranch dressing (S) pg. 212 in Trim Healthy Table
M – Lovin’ TexMex Skillet (E)
T – Cheeseburger Soup (S) pg. 155 in Trim Healthy Table
W – Spaghetti with meat sauce over zoodles with a side salad (S) ***My family will eat their’s over regular noodles. This is NOT reflected on the shopping list.
Th – Cabb & Saus Skillet with broccoli (steamed from frozen) on the side (S) pg. 58 in THM Cookbook
F – Sweet & Spicy Stir-fry (E)
Sat – Fathead Pizza (S) ***I double the recipe for my family to make 2 pizzas. I use pepperoni, mozzarella, onion and green pepper for the toppings.
Week #3: April 14-20
S – Chicken Fried Double Rice (E) pg. 53 in Trim Healthy Table
M – Hearty Two Bean and Lentil Chili (E)
T – Taco Salad – ground beef over lettuce and topped with cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream (S)
W – Cowboy Grub (E) pg. 59 in THM Cookbook
Th – Philly Cheesesteak Roast with broccoli on the side (S) pg. 159 in Convenient Food ***I’m using frozen broccoli for the side.
F – Asian Grilled Chicken with brown rice and broccoli on the side (E) pg. 164 in Convenient Food ***I’m using frozen broccoli for the side.
Sat – Fathead Pizza (S) ***I double the recipe for my family to make 2 pizzas. I use pepperoni, mozzarella, onion and green pepper for the toppings.
Week #4: April 21-27
S – Happy Easter! Ham, green beans with butter, brussel sprouts cooked in butter, mashed sweet potatoes (XO)
M – Cabb & Saus Skillet (S) pg. 58 in THM Cookbook
T – Italian White Bean & Spinach Soup (E)
W – Spaghetti with meat sauce over zoodles with a side salad (S) ***My family will eat their’s over regular noodles. This is NOT reflected on the shopping list.
Th – Chicken Fried Double Rice (E) pg. 53 in Trim Healthy Table
F – Lovin’ TexMex Skillet (E)
Sat – Fathead Pizza (S) ***I double the recipe for my family to make 2 pizzas. I use pepperoni, mozzarella, onion and green pepper for the toppings.
Week #5: April 28 – May 4
S – Chicken Bacon Rice Casserole with a side salad (S) pg. 140 in Trim Healthy Table
M – Sweet & Spicy Stir-fry (E)
T – Taco Salad – ground beef over lettuce and topped with cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream (S)
W – Slow Cooker Italian Beef & Cabbage (S)
Th – Hubby Lovin’ Chicken with a side salad and broccoli (S) pg. 218 in Trim Healthy Table ***I’ll be using frozen broccoli.
F – Cowboy Grub (E) pg. 59 in THM Cookbook
Sat – Fathead Pizza (S) ***I double the recipe for my family to make 2 pizzas. I use pepperoni, mozzarella, onion and green pepper for the toppings.
Your monthly plan is so helpful, Darcie! Thank you!!