Family Meal Plan: Summer Menu
on Oct 03, 2017, Updated Sep 17, 2024
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This family-friendly, two-week healthy meal plan is designed for the spring and summer months and is full of recipes the whole family will love that are easy to make — plus, it comes with a free printable shopping list.
Healthy Meal Plan + Tips
If you want to feed your family well but aren’t sure where to start, this is the post for you. I have a whole foods approach to eating that your whole family will gobble up (with no health food store needed… score).
This meal plan is ideal for families because all of the recipes are beyond simple, the ingredients are easy to find, and your whole family will chow down the meals. If you are new to healthy eating or trying to eat with a focus on whole foods, this a great place to start because the recipes are very traditional while also being simply delicious, if I do say so myself.
I do want to mention that “healthy” is a relative term, and we may not agree on what it means. To me, it’s about balance, eating foods that make you feel good, and not restricting yourself.
Table of Contents
- Healthy Meal Plan + Tips
- Healthy Eating Meal Plan: Summer Menu
- Breakfast:
- Lunch:
- I’ve made this EVEN EASIER! Sign up here to get a free PDF printable shopping list for the dinners included in this meal plan.
- 2 Weeks of Dinners the Whole Family Will Love
- Week 1
- Week 2:
- Sides for dinner:
- Snacks:
- I’ve made this EVEN EASIER! Sign up here to get a free PDF printable shopping list for the dinners included in this meal plan.
🍽️ More Easy Family Meal Planning Ideas!
Healthy Eating Meal Plan: Summer Menu
Let me take the thinking out of feeding your family! This eating clean meal plan is great for busy families who want to eat at home more! You are going to love all of the tried-and-true recipes I’ve been making for my family of seven for years.
Breakfast:
Here are 14 breakfast ideas to start your morning off well.
- Scrambled Eggs + Muffins
- Whole Wheat Waffles
- Breakfast Burritos (with roasted sweet potatoes)
- Oatmeal (with frozen berries)
- Egg Bake
- Pancakes
- Granola + berries + milk (like cold cereal)
- Scrambled Eggs + Muffins
- Waffles
- Breakfast Cookies
- Oatmeal or Overnight Oats
- Egg Bake
- Strawberry Pancakes
- Granola + berries + milk
Tip: Make a double batch of the waffles and pancakes on the first day, and freeze half for the second time you plan to serve them for breakfast. Thaw in the fridge overnight, and reheat in a toaster. Easy as can be!
Lunch:
Here are some simple lunch ideas for your family that can be made at home or taken on the go to work, school, or the park.
- Homemade Lunchables
- Quesadillas
- Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches
- Sandwich on a Stick Lunchbox Ideas
- Leftovers
- Muffin Tray Meal
- Hummus Sandwich
- Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich
Remember: Don’t overthink lunch! I feel like this should be a fuss-free meal in the day.
I’ve made this EVEN EASIER! Sign up here to get a free PDF printable shopping list for the dinners included in this meal plan.
2 Weeks of Dinners the Whole Family Will Love
Dinner is the hardest meal of the day because everyone’s a little bit tired, and there’s still a lot left to do (homework, sports practice, baths, bedtime, cleanup, etc.). Here’s my easy meal plan that is perfect for summertime dinners that’ll take the stress out of getting the final meal of the day on the table! All of these recipes are made WITHOUT TURNING ON THE OVEN! They are made in the slow cooker, on the grill, or on the stove top. No hot house needed!
Week 1
Day 1: Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork (the BBQ sauce is served as an optional addition at the end)
Day 2: Grilled Salmon Foil Packets
Day 3: Stovetop Chicken Enchilada Skillet
Day 4: Garden Veggie Pasta
Day 5: One Pot Sausage Rice and Peas
Day 6: One Pot Farmstand Wonder
Day 7: Leftovers/Eat out
Week 2:
Day 1: 5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken Legs
Day 2: The BEST chicken tacos
Day 3: Healthy Quinoa Taco Casserole
Day 4: Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna
Day 5: Shrimp Stir Fry
Day 6: Grilled Sausage and Veggie Foil Packs
Day 7: Leftovers/Eat out
Sides for dinner:
Summer is such an EASY time to get sides for dinner. Serve fresh fruit (watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew, peaches, cherries, or berries) just as they are because they are in season and taste great.
Veggie options include corn on the cob, grilled or lightly sauteed zucchini, fresh green beans boiled with onion until tender (it takes a good long while for them to cook, about 40 minutes), simple salads with great dressings, cucumber salads, or just garden cucumbers and tomatoes on a plate with salt and pepper.
Don’t overthink your sides in the summer, but do plan on them (and add them to your shopping list accordingly). Hit up the roadside stands, your grandpa’s garden, the farmer’s market, or your neighbor. Summer is a great time to eat simple foods just as they are from the earth. Fresh and seasonal produce makes fruits and veggies a treat to add to meals.
Snacks:
If your kids are like mine, I bet they are eating you out of house and home while home from school!
- You have lots of snack options that go beyond sliced fruit, vegetables, and string cheese sticks, but don’t discount those simple options, as well.
- I always keep a veggie box in my fridge. It’s the best thing ever, and makes it way easier to eat veggies regularly!
- One of my 8 No-Bake Oatmeal Bites are always in my fridge! My kids LOVE these.
- Smoothies in all shapes and sizes. Just don’t get tricked into using sugar if your recipe calls for yogurt. Read that label!
- Popcorn… Did you know you can pop it in a brown paper bag in the microwave?
- Homemade Graham Crackers.
- Whole Peanuts. Peanuts in the shell are so much more fun to eat if you don’t mind the mess. Trust me.
- Popsicles. Easy Rainbow Popsicles are a favorite around here. I make a double-batch of smoothies and freeze half in popsicle molds all the time, but you can also try freezing a 100% fruit juice for easy popsicles. Popsicles are the easiest way for my kids to enjoy fruit and hidden veggies.
- Boiled Eggs.
- No-Bake Date Balls. The peanut butter and jelly ones are our favorite.
- I always have a loaf or two of 100% whole wheat bread ready to slice and butter. Just toast a piece and spread peanut butter on it for a really good and filling snack.
- Healthy Snack Bars.
- Healthy Fruit Dip. This is perfect with apples for some extra protein and fat.
See? Meal planning is easy… Just let me do it for you!
I’ve made this EVEN EASIER! Sign up here to get a free PDF printable shopping list for the dinners included in this meal plan.
Love a summer meal plan? Don’t worry, I have a fall and winter one too! You can find my fall and winter meal plan here.
I hope this free meal plan for families really helps you out, saves you time, and takes some of the thinking out of “what’s for dinner?”!
Hi Melissa… I am so happy to have found your blog… Wonderful blessing that it is! So much good information and wonderful recipes.. it will take me a bit to take it all in, but I’m beginning! And I would like to comment on something you stated: I’m glad to see that you don’t let people pull you down for your information. As you stated, we are all in our OWN place and do things in our OWN way… this is YOUR way and what works for YOU… and that is all that matters. There is always negative people out there who just don’t get it (ignore in a good way). Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful thoughts, recipes, lists, etc. as you are making a positive difference in so many peoples lives – including mine too now! So thank you!
Do you use red or white wheat?
I like to use white whole wheat berries when I grind my own; it’s a lot less “wheaty” if you ask me. I’ll use red in a pinch though!
I like your thoughts. I am the same..can’t afford organic and do not shop health food stores. Try to use what’s on hand for my recipes.
Please send me a grocery list this looks perfect! nikkigwin7@gmail.com
https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2014/12/free-shopping-list-free-2-week-healhty-meal-plan.html
It’s online now! Enjoy!
Could you please include me for the grocery list! Thank you for being so honest about your family food values!
I just posted it so that everyone can have it! You can find it here: https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2014/12/free-shopping-list-free-2-week-healhty-meal-plan.html
Enjoy!
If you buy the book for 4.99 you receive shopping list and menus
The book is new and different (and better in my opinion! I spent almost a year working on it!). So it has like 10 new recipes that aren’t on the blog (a handful are repeaters but good ones) and it comes with all the recipes and the shopping list for the 14 meals plus lots of more. This free meal plan that is just links (you have to collect the recipes yourself if you want them in one place) has it’s own shopping list and you can find it here> : https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2014/12/free-shopping-list-free-2-week-healhty-meal-plan.html I think you’d love the book, and if you combined it with the free that a month of meals! Enjoy Elsa!
Could i please get the grocery list as well?
I decided it would be best to just turn the shopping list into a public post so that everyone can find it! Yay! You can find the shopping list here! Thanks so much for asking : https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2014/12/free-shopping-list-free-2-week-healhty-meal-plan.html
I’m in Australia and just found you on Pinterest. I love your guilt-free approach, it’s so hard not to feel guilty about many things when you are a mother. We eat organically, but have not yet managed to be sugar free. I intend to try your two week menu, and I also would love a copy of your grocery list please. Sandra
I decided it would be best to just turn the shopping list into a public post so that everyone can find it! Yay! You can find the shopping list here! Thanks so much for asking : https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2014/12/free-shopping-list-free-2-week-healhty-meal-plan.html
Please send grocery list
Akc2bfree@yahoo.com
I decided it would be best to just turn the shopping list into a public post so that everyone can find it! Yay! You can find the shopping list here! Thanks so much for asking : https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2014/12/free-shopping-list-free-2-week-healhty-meal-plan.html
I just found you recently on Pinterest. PLEASE DO NOT STOP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING! I have hunted for a source of “clean” recipes. But yours are actually logical and practical for life. My only concern is to find recipes I can make that have no preservatives and would be good for my family! Just good food not freaky food! And that you are a woman of God is super incredible to see! I look forward to trying so many recipes!
Any in particular your husband particularly adores?
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Kind words are so powerful. My husband likes the Steak Carnitas in the slow cooker and he loves anything grilled meat + roasted veggies + some kind of starch (homemade bread, brown rice, potatoes…) He’s pretty easy to please though. I can’t wait to heat what you try!
Would I be able to get the grocery list also? Lissa1072@gmail.com
Thank you for this post. I’d love to try it so could you send me the shopping list to katharine.gosling@gmail.com. Probably won’t get everything on it here in Ireland but will try my best. Thanks
I decided it would be best to just turn the shopping list into a public post so that everyone can find it! Yay! You can find the shopping list here! Thanks so much for asking : https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2014/12/free-shopping-list-free-2-week-healhty-meal-plan.html