August is typically the time of year when people start getting back into school schedules and extracurricular activities. Since this year is looking very different for so many folks, I think it’s more important than ever to have family dinners when possible. Meal planning is such a big help in that department.
Having these monthly dinner meal plans has really helped me after a long day of homeschooling my five kids to not have to make one more decision. A delicious and nutritious dinner is already planned out and shopped for and all I have to do is cook it. I hope that these meal plans are a help to your family too.
I’m sticking with theme nights. Once the weather cools down I’ll swap salad night for soups. For now, we’re enjoying those delicious on plan salads with all the lovely summer produce.
Here are the themes for this month:
Sunday – Hodgepodge
Monday – Mexican
Tuesday – Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
Wednesday – Italian
Thursday – Salads
Friday – Pizza
Saturday – Grilling
If you’re wanting to create your own meal plan, give this method a try. It really helped me to organize my thoughts and options better. It also helped me to repeat meals less and have more variety. My family is excited about that!
For the month of August, I’ll be using two cookbooks – Trim Healthy Table and the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook. I also have quite a few online recipes mixed in as well.
As always, a shopping list is included with these dinner meal plans. My goal is to make it as easy as possible for you and your family to stay on plan.
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.
***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.***
August 2020 Printable Week by Week Meal Plan
August 2020 Printable Week by Week Shopping List
Here’s what’s on the menu for August:
Week #1: August 2-8
S – Egg Roll in a Bowl Part Deux over brown rice (E) pg. 63 in Trim Healthy Table
M – Taco Salad – ground beef over lettuce and topped with cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream (S)
T – Instant Pot Kielbasa and Cabbage with a side salad (S)
W – World’s Laziest Lasagna Skillet with salad on the side (S) pg. 69 in Trim Healthy Table
Th – Two Bean Zucchini Salad topped with grilled chicken (E)
F – 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.
Sat – Little Sweet Little Spicy Drumsticks with Tzatziki Cucumber salad on the side (S) pg. 221 (chicken) and pg. 266 in Trim Healthy Table
Week #2: August 9-15
S – Chicken Fried Double Rice (E) pg. 53 in Trim Healthy Table
M – Low Carb Beef and Cheese Enchiladas with lettuce on the side (S)
T – Crockpot Buffalo Chicken over salad (S) pg. 92 in Trim Healthy Table
W – Italian White Bean and Spinach Soup (E)
Th – Trim Mac Salad (S) pg. 181 in THM Cookbook
F – 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.
Sat – Grilled chicken on top of Colorful Lentil Salad (E)
Week #3: August 16-22
S – Trim Zuppa Toscana Soup (S) pg. 86 in THM Cookbook
M – Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl (E)
T – Slow Cooker Chicken and Quinoa Chili (E)
W – Spaghetti meat sauce over cauli rice and with a side salad (S) ***My family will eat their spaghetti over regular pasta. This is NOT reflected on the shopping list.
Th – Ranch Hand Taco Salad (E) pg. 200 in Trim Healthy Table
F – 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.
Sat – Grilled burgers wrapped in lettuce with broccoli and fresh veggies on the side (S)
Week #4: August 23-29
S – Cabb & Saus Skillet with green beans on the side (S) pg. 58 in THM Cookbook
M – Zesty Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Casserole (E)
T – Carnitas in a low carb tortilla shell topped with sour cream, cheese and guacamole with a salad on the side (S)
W – Slow Cooker Italian Beef & Cabbage with broccoli on the side (S)
Th – Trim Mac Salad (S) pg. 181 in THM Cookbook
F – 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.
Sat – Grilled Chicken with Cauliflower Mac and Cheese on the side (S)
Week #5: August 30 – September 5
S – Nacho Stuffed Peppers (S) pg. 142 in THM Cookbook
M – Easy Mixed Rice and Beans (E)
T – Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Casserole with broccoli on the side (S)
W – Spaghetti meat sauce over cauli rice and with a side salad (S) ***My family will eat their spaghetti over regular pasta. This is NOT reflected on the shopping list.
Th – Taco Salad Crunch (E)
F – 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.
Sat – Grilled burgers with Melissa’s Amish Broccoli Salad on the side (S) pg. 271 in Trim Healthy Table
I would just love tips on how you v=can get your kids to eat what you want. My daughter is 11 and so picky!! No veggies other than potatoes. No casseroles or soups
Well fortunately my kids eat most vegetables without complaints. They’ve always been like that. Not sure why but they love veggies. However, for the veggies they don’t like I either try to hide them in food by dicing small or puree. If they don’t like a dish (or think they don’t) they have to take at least 3 bites.