It’s time to start thinking about your meal plan for next week — the first of 2017! From slow cooker meatballs to oodles of zoodles topped with creamy burrata, we’ve got five weeknight meals that will get you through the week and begin the year on a healthy and totally delicious start. So grab a pen, make your shopping list, and stock up before the weekend’s over.
Top: Burrata and Tomato Zoodles | i am food blog
Related: Meal plan: 5 easy dinners from the tastiest baked chicken to a quick one-pan shrimp.
If you’ve never done #MeatlessMonday before, this is the week to start so that you can create a habit of it that will last all year long. This Roasted Vegetable Cobb Salad is the pinnacle of dinner salads. Hearty, tasty, and endlessly adaptable, you can turn this salad into anything you want. In fact, Jonathan uses spring veggies, but you’ll obviously be choosing winter ones. And if you’re worried that the family will think that this is too healthy, just explain that this is tossed with a butter dressing. Mmm.
Because it’s the new year — and I’m still recovering from all that holiday eating (oof) — I’m planning on more than just one meatless meal this week. Next up is this Burrata and Tomato Zoodles recipe at i am food blog (above & top). If we’re skipping meat, we might as well top the whole thing with decadent, creamy cheese, right? And if you don’t want to make zoodles, you can substitute pasta instead, using our foolproof method for how to cook pasta perfectly.
By Wednesday it’s time to whip out the slow cooker! This week, I’ll be using it to make these Slow Cooker Sriracha Meatballs at FoodieCrush. You can serve these with rice and salad or do as Heidi does and pile them on top of cooked soba noodles with shredded cabbage, carrots, red peppers, scallion, and crushed peanuts. Perfect.
Related: Meal plan: 5 easy dinners from slow cooker vegan chili to a classic comfort combo.
Poached fish is a great way to serve flavorful seafood that’s also super healthy, but I know that poaching can be intimidating to some home cooks. Fear not: Jennie at In Jennie’s Kitchen has got you covered with her simple, expert method for how to poach salmon. Follow her directions and you’ll be making poached fish once a week — at least until your healthy eating resolutions get pushed out of the way by Valentine’s Day chocolate. Ha!
Fridays are about pizza, mac and cheese, burgers, and other family-friendly comfort foods, which is why I’m swapping those out for Quinoa Stuffed Peppers at Souvlaki for the Soul. Having grown up with Greek-style stuffed veggies, these are a total comfort food for me and I think that they can be for you and your family too. Warming and cozy, they have all the makings of a comfort dish — including cheese, thank you very much — but are way healthier. Give them a try and see if they stick. You may be surprised. And P.S., you can use 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar for the pomegranate molasses if you need a more common substitute.
