Munch Menu V.20
A whole week of quickies, because who wants to be in the kitchen?
If you’re new here, welcome! To get started, check out my first munch menu, which includes my dietary philosophy and an overview on how to use these weekly meal plans. Also, make sure to stock up on my (mostly) non-toxic munchkin kitchen essentials which help make meal prep much easier.
We’ve been in a bit of a scheduling predicament since setting up shop in Spain. Which is that even if your child no longer naps, siesta for all ages is real.
The best part of the day begins at 7pm.
As the heat becomes borderline tolerable, the town comes alive. Shops reopen. The beaches are at their most gorgeous and fun.
The last thing I want to be doing is making dinner.
Spanish families seem to operate with completely different sleep needs. An early dinner with children begins around 8:30pm. The playground is PACKED at 10pm. How these munches are able to wake up and function and be dropped off at camp by 9am is a riddle I have yet to solve.
Our solution so far has been alternating early nights eating at home with late nights out as a family. I either make a sheet pan meal during the afternoon that will keep on the stovetop until we run home and frantically wash off the sand, wolf down our food, and get the munch into bed in under 40 minutes.
Or I make a quickie.
This month’s meal plan (my 20th!!) is dedicated to the latter strategy, though some elements can be made in advance. It’s a nod to a less responsible, less scheduled, more carefree season of life when you can cut a tomato in half, rub it on some crusty bread, and call it dinner.
If you’re joining me on this path, might I also suggest spying my storebought pantry meal planner? It is truly the lowest lift menu I could come up with while still feeding my child a vegetable.
Happy munching!
Phoebe
p.s. Now that we are well beyond our one year anniversary, you’ll get some added seasonal inspo with a little nod to the menus that hit your inbox last year. As a reminder, all the menus are always free to subscribers! Please forward this on to anyone in your life who might need a helping hand feeding the small tyrants at their dinner table.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
Munch Menu V.10
I’ve talked to a lot of mom friends about feeling left behind by the move towards Dr. Becky-style gentle parenting.
THE GAME PLAN
Store-Bought Spotlight
(elements you can buy)
Frozen Broccoli: This pizza broccoli side is always at your fingertips if you keep pasta sauce in your cupboards and broccoli in your freezer.
Brazi Bites: These little Brazilian cheese bread balls are the perfect size for a slider! If you wanted to skip the fries you could even use them as your carby side. They taste best fresh from the oven and are a great quickie to have in your freezer.
Canned Hearts of Palm: If you’re looking for a new veggie to incorporate might I suggest hearts of palm? If your kid likes briny veg, they should love these. However, in this week’s preparation you’ll hardly know they are a vegetable.
Sweet Potato Fries: Fridays are usually a treat meal in our house. The treat for me being not having to make much from scratch. So while you could make your own as a quickie, I like having this option in the freezer.
P.S. Have you been enjoying Munch Menus as a free subscriber? It takes me many many hours to put together these game plans every week. If you love them, it’s a very reasonable $1.50 per week if you do the annual option. A small price to pay for someone to do all the planning for you!
Meal Prep
(elements you can make in advance)
White or Brown Rice: Brown always takes longer, so it’s a good option for meal prep. If subbing white, that’s a night of quickie! However, fried rice always tastes best with rice that is a few days old.
Caprese Pasta Salad (can also be a quickie): Toss 12 ounces cooked pasta with 8 ounces halved cherry tomatoes, 8 ounces chopped mozzarella, 1 handful torn basil, salt, olive oil and a splash of balsamic. For a more formal recipe, I have this gluten-free Italian pasta salad on my site.
Bacon-Wrapped Hearts of Palm: A 2-ingredient recipe from my archives that I learned in Brazil. They only take 20 minutes in the oven, so could be a quickie too. Wrapping a new vegetable in bacon is a great way to break the ice in this house.
Burger Sliders: If you have time to make these marinated burgers in advance, they are truly amazing. If not, the quickie version is simply to take a pound of ground beef, form into small slider patties and season generously with salt and pepper on the outside. Sear in a skillet (easier for small patties) or on the grill. The brazi bites above are the perfect slider size, but you could get traditional buns or serve them “naked” with the romaine.
Quickies
(non-recipe recipes you can cook the night or day of)
Corn Fried Rice: If the rice is already made, this recipe takes 15 minutes!
Shiitake “Chips”: Thinly slice shiitakes (as thin as possible). Place a small cast iron skillet over a medium-high flame and coat with olive oil. Pan fry the mushrooms until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Remove to a plate and season with salt. You’ll want 2 mushrooms per munch. Alternatively, you can make shitake “bacon” with this recipe.
Pizza Broccoli: If you don’t want to turn on your oven, you can use the broiler. If so, just defrost the broccoli in the microwave before putting in the pan. Otherwise preheat to 425°F. Place the package of frozen broccoli in an oven proof casserole dish or skillet. Drizzle with tomato sauce, then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. If you have breadcrumbs, you can add (though be careful if using the broiler). Bake from frozen for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the broc is tender.
Mango Salmon Tacos: Follow this recipe for mango salmon, heat some corn or flour tortillas, and boom. A little aioli or spicy mayo would also be delicious on top as a condiment.
Avocado-Cucumber Salad: 1 pound cucumbers, diced + 2 avocados, diced. Throw in a bowl with the juice of 1 lime and season with salt to taste.
Tomato Toast: We are in Spain right now where this is always on the menu. Toast your choice of bread (baguette works well). Take a clove of garlic and rub it on the crusty cut side. Slice a tomato in half and rub on top so that the pulp catches on the coarse bread. Season generously with salt. Alternatively, you can pulse a tomato in the food processor with salt and top it like bruschetta but that’s not how the Spanish do it.
Crunchy Romaine Boats: This is not a recipe. It is just a suggestion to take the small crunchy bits from the center of the romaine and serve it on the side of your burgers. Your munch can make a lettuce wrap if they like or just dip the spears in their condiments like crudités.
FAMILY MEAL IDEAS FOR WEEKENDS
If you’re someone who goes the family dinner route, don’t worry, I still got you! Every month I’ll add two ideas from my archives or the internet that have been kid-approved in my house. You can make them on the weekends or rotate them into a munch menu.
Lemon-Herb Whole Fish with Cherry Tomatoes: My child loves a simple white fish and is not freaked out by seeing the whole thing on a pan – in fact, she thinks it’s cool! A side of Greek lemony potatoes would be fab with this one or some grilled zucchini.
Halloumi and Sweet Potato Tacos: Halloumi is a very kid-friendly vegetarian main course. It’s essentially as close to meat as cheese gets and tastes like fried food when pan-seared.
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My latest cookbook is your culinary and dietary road map to reclaim your favorite comfort foods without the consequences (complete with 130 anti-inflammatory gluten free recipes…that are also family friendly!). Ina Garten says “I love this book!”—listen to the queen and order your copy!
These are great and I’m loving the Spanish influence (also kudos to living the Spanish family life! It’s a shift but a dream!)