The first couple weeks of the school year are always somewhat chaotic, and this year is no exception. I’m struggling to adjust to my new (but also old) routine and the lack of flexible time in my day. I really do enjoy the structure, but the shift is whiplash-inducing. This year, seemingly more than others prior, I’m having a hard time getting on top of what I’m doing at work and as a result, my outside of school time feels equally stressful and confusing. Case in point: I just spent some time working on my Highlights post for tonight…but it’s an off week for Highlights.
At any rate, I maintain the theory that menu planning will keep me sane. There’s a lot going on in the evenings this week (including the return of grad school) and I’m glad I have a plan so at least we’ll get to eat. If someone else wants to come over and clean the house, that’d be awesome. Though I tried to leave myself a day of rest, this past weekend ended up being really busy too, due to circumstances beyond my control. But it wasn’t all work. I made it to a really great preserve swap in Pittsfield that I’m looking forward to telling you about on Tuesday.
I didn’t take a picture of this week’s CSA pick up, but it consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, beets, delicata squash, onions, carrots, bell peppers and radishes. I also picked up apples and cider at the farmer’s market. I’m so into apples right now; pumpkin on the order hand I could just as soon ignore.
And this, friends, is what a menu plan looks like when I don’t have a lot of time to think about it and know I won’t have a lot of time to cook:
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Cajun seasoned salmon with roasted summer squash and couscous |
omelets + delicata squash |
Pizza Margherita + salad |
30 Minute Black Bean Soup | Vegetable stir fry with rice noodles. | Dinner Out |
I meal planned for about a month and half earlier this year and it was awesome! Then I went on vacation and let that phase slip away. I think it’s awesome that you can do it at all!
My work’s been super busy too, so it’s been a lot of easy meals around here, like eggs topped with veggies or quesadillas or pasta.
Hope things slow down for you soon, and that you get into your rhythm for the schoolyear.
I feel the same way about apples vs pumpkin! I cannot wait to go apple picking, though I’m pretty bummed I won’t be able to drink fresh cider. (unpasteurized, boo!) Maybe I’ll have to find myself some apple cider donuts instead…
Is all cider unpasteurized? The more I hear about pregnancy, the less interested I am. But I am glad to hear that I’m not the only one who’d choose apples over pumpkin.
I think there is probably some that is pasteurized, but I would bet anything local/fresh from a farm is not pasteurized – or that’s what I’ve always seen at least.