It sure is feeling like fall here in West Michigan and I couldn’t be happier! I’ve been craving soups and hearty dishes and wanting to wear sweaters. It is my favorite time of the year (weather wise).
This month’s meal plan is filled with a lot of my family’s favorite dishes. All fuel types are represented (minus crossovers) so that I can ensure that my family and I are getting in a great variety of foods.
If you’ve followed any of my dinner meal plans recently I’m sure you’ve noticed that I break down each day into a food category. This helps me immensely with planning and looking for specific types of recipes. October’s categories are:
Sunday – Asian
Monday – Mexican
Tuesday – Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
Wednesday – Italian
Thursday – Soups
Friday – Pizza
Saturday – Hodgepodge
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 October 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 8 so these meals all serve at least 8. Many of the meals leave leftovers even for my size family.***
Week by Week Printable Meal Plan
Week by Week Printable Shopping List
Week #1: September 25-October 1
S – Grilled chicken on top of Colorful Lentil Salad (E)
M – Burrito Bowls – (2) cans of black beans, lettuce and salsa on top of Brown Spanish Rice (E)
T – Paprika Chicken over cauliflower rice and green beans (I’m using canned) on the side (S)
W – Chicken Cacciatore over cauliflower rice with salad (FP)
Th – Creamy Taco Soup (S)
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 – Chicken Fried Double Rice (E) pg. 53 in Trim Healthy Table
Week #2: October 2-8
S – Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce and broccoli on the side with water to drink (S)
M – Lovin’ Tex Mex Skillet (E)
T – Creamy Verde Chicken Chili (S) pg. 78 in Trim Healthy Table
W – Slow Cooker Italian Beef & Cabbage with broccoli on the side (S)
Th – Italian White Bean and Spinach Soup (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 – Cabb & Saus Skillet with green beans on the side (S) pg. 58 in THM Cookbook
Week #3: October 9-15
S – Sweet & Spicy Stir-fry over brown rice (E) ***I’m doubling this recipe for my family of 7
M – Zesty Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Casserole (E)
T – Crockpot Buffalo Chicken over salad (S) pg. 92 in Trim Healthy Table
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 – Trim Zuppa Toscana Soup (S) pg. 86 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 – Egg Roll in a Bowl Part Deux (FP) pg. 63 in Trim Healthy Table
Week #4: October 16-22
S – Chicken Fried Double Rice (E) pg. 53 in Trim Healthy Table
M – Taco Salad – ground beef, lettuce, cheddar cheese, sour cream and salsa (S)
T- Instant Pot Kielbasa and Cabbage with a side salad (S)
W – Chicken Florentine over Zoodles with broccoli on the side (S) pg. 46 in THM Cookbook
Th – Hearty Two Bean and Lentil Chili (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 – Teriyaki Beef & Broccoli over cauliflower rice (S) pg. 82 in Trim Healthy Table
Week #5: October 23-29
S – Black Pepper Chicken over cauliflower rice (FP) pg. 68 in Trim Healthy Table
M – Low Carb Beef and Cheese Enchiladas with lettuce and sour cream on the side (S)
T – Slow Cooker Chicken and Quinoa Chili (E)
W – World’s Laziest Lasagna Skillet with salad (S) pg. 69 in Trim Healthy Table
Th – Creamy Taco Soup (S)
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 – Cowboy Grub (E) pg. 59 in THM Cookbook
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