Family Meal Plan: Summer Menu

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

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.

Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

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. You can check out my food philosophy here (LINK). 

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?”!

About Melissa

You May Also Like:

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

586 Comments

  1. Dianne says:

    Like so many others have said, I am encouraged by your plan and life philosophy also. My 19 year old daughter has encouraged me to join her and eat cleaner food. At 51, I have spend the past 20 years cooking for so many others’ tastes and preferences, I now need to focus on my health! Thank you for your post, we are off to grocery shop and get started today. After this 2 week plan, we are moving on to your original post. I would also like the grocery list if one is available!

  2. Amanda leopin says:

    Thank you so much for this post ! I love how you don’t bring JUNK FOOD in your house but let the kids have them occasionally else where and birthdays and such ! Awesome work . You look amazing !!!

  3. Susan W says:

    Love your blog; thanks for the recipes! I found you via Pinterest…Applause to you for healthy eating and buying local foods. “Refined” (not “refind”) flour is a spelling correction that needs attention.

    1. Melissa says:

      Oops! Thanks Susan!

    2. zaneta says:

      Can you post the grocery list on here Melissa?

  4. Kelly says:

    This was a very good read. All of this is very new to me but I’m excited about giving it a try. Could you please email me your grocery list as well?

  5. Pamela says:

    I’m sooo glad to have found this. I have been wanting to “do” the clean eating “thing” and I was simply overwhelmed by all I have researched. Thank you for making it real!!

  6. Shelaine says:

    Can’t wait to try these. I also try to live by the 80/20 philosophy. I have accepted it is ok for me not to like KALE and I can still be healthy!

  7. Erin says:

    I just stumbled upon your blog, and I am very impressed with your efforts to be self-sustaining and to eat clean. I really like your idea of 80/20, and I will be incorporating it in our home. We are in the market to buy a home soon, and I would love to have a hobby farm as well. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Melissa says:

      Thanks for the kind words Erin!

  8. Nicole says:

    Thank you for sharing your take on cleaning eating. Some things that have been a huge turn off for me are the cost and the idea of all or nothing. The cost is a huge one. I live in a small town with limited options. I can’t find fancy grains and all organic stuff, nor can I afford it. I like the idea of we all do what we can in the stage of life we are in. We need to support one another, not tear each other down because we think we are superior because of our eating standards. I love your positive outlook on this. Also, my husband and son are resistant to the idea, so I never really started, but I think I don’t have to dive totally in before I know how to swim. Looking over your recipes, I have decided to re-evaluate mine and keep the ones that fall in line with how I view clean eating for my family, then slowly add new ones to see what they think. 80/20 is a fantastic idea. My biggest downfall is I LOVE to bake. My favorite is pecan rolls and baguettes. All that sugar and white flour. But I agree with you, I would take that stuff homemade with ingredients I trust over processed foods. Thanks again for this post. It was just what I was looking for when searching cleaning eating!!!

  9. Brenda says:

    Melissa, I just found your blog through Pinterest and feel I’ve found a kindred spirit. I subscribe to the 80/20 principle as well. I make as much of our food as I can myself – no processed or frozen, pre-packaged foods for us except as an occasional treat. I’m actually proud of the fact that my teenagers think of what a lot of their friends eat on a regular basis, as “treats” – frozen pizza, hot pockets, etc. We don’t live on enough land to even have laying hens, but I would if I could. Thanks so much for sharing! I look forward to visiting often.

    1. Melissa says:

      Thanks for the kind words Brenda! You’d love hens if you could have them 🙂