Family Meal Plan: Summer Menu

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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. 

🍽️ 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.

  1. Scrambled Eggs + Muffins 
  2. Whole Wheat Waffles
  3. Breakfast Burritos (with roasted sweet potatoes)
  4. Oatmeal (with frozen berries)
  5. Egg Bake 
  6. Pancakes
  7. Granola + berries + milk (like cold cereal)
  8. Scrambled Eggs + Muffins 
  9. Waffles 
  10. Breakfast Cookies
  11. Oatmeal or Overnight Oats
  12. Egg Bake 
  13. Strawberry Pancakes
  14. 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.

  1. Homemade Lunchables
  2. Quesadillas
  3. Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches
  4. Sandwich on a Stick Lunchbox Ideas
  5. Leftovers
  6. Muffin Tray Meal
  7. Hummus Sandwich
  8. 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?”!

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586 Comments

  1. Emily says:

    I absolutely love your philosophy on food. I agree with everything here, and it’s nice to see it in words by some one else- I’m far too much of a mess myself to have written it out so perfectly! (we certainly share a fear of “fat free” foods and artificial sweeteners!) Thank you for all the fantastic looking recipes that i absolutely cannot wait to try! I have been meaning to try a clean meal plan and you have so kindly laid it out for all.

    1. Melissa says:

      Thanks girl! It’s so fun finding fellow food lovers who have a similar look on things!

  2. wanda teeter says:

    I would love a list of shopping items. New to this, and going to try to get my family into it. DM has food intolerance’s. Thanks much!

  3. Laura says:

    LOVE this! Started out looking to incorporate more veggies and have started moving toward clean eating/real food. Have got my husband on board with the theory, now to get him to stop buying junk food when I don’t!

    1. Melissa says:

      Mine is grandma… she’s always bringing over some kind of weird something! :/

  4. Cindy says:

    I love your forthrightness and balance to healthy eating.

  5. Erin Lamon says:

    If you created a grocery list I would love to have a copy. Thank you. I am brand new at this concept but excited to introduce a new CLEAN way of eating to my family! 😉 erinlamon1@gmail.com

  6. Rita says:

    Hi I saw your 2 weeks clean eating plan. And I find it interesting. Can I have you a copy of the grocery list pls? I am new to all this and I need some guidance to start cos I am so clueless. I want to start eating clean and staying healthy. My email address is cosyice@yahoo.com. And thank you for your time, hard work and for posting to help people like me eat clean.

  7. Melissa says:

    I’m excited to find this on pinterest today. I have been feeling like my family needs to eat healthier for so long and I’ve been scared to try. My husband and I have four children, two boys, two girls. The boys both have autism- one very high functioning and one low functioning. The behaviors are what get us, and I hear just cutting out all the junk really helps with that. So, I’m going to be a copy cat and go by your guidelines above to really get us started. I’m going to do my very best to get us started and ignore the comments of “its all or nothing” I’ve heard for years. Its intimidating to think my kids can never have certain things again- I don’t know how I would make it work, but for now, your ideas are way less scary. Thanks!

  8. Alexis Pratt says:

    Hi!! Found you on pinterest and I absolutely LOVE this! Can I have a copy of the grocery list please??? Apratt0214@gmail.com I can’t wait to get on the bandwagon!!! Thank you soo much.

  9. Erin says:

    I would love to have your shopping list as well, if you don’t mind, five8sonehalf@gmail.com
    I just found your blog throught pinterest and I’m loving it! Thank you!

  10. Ruth Lake says:

    Thanks so much for all your suggestions and encouragement, for a beginner at eating clean. Three months in and I am a little weary. Your blog really gave me a pick up and offered hope.