Meal Plan Week 5

Meal Plan Tips

These tips are designed to help you cut down on food prep and food waste, by using up leftovers.

• Purchase a large 5 to 6-pound pork loin or pork shoulder roast and cut into 2 roasts. OR purchase two 3-pound pork roasts or 6 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs to use in place of pork--see notes at bottom of these tips for using chicken.
• On Sunday, use half the pork roast to prepare BBQ Pork (or chicken) shred a full head of green cabbage. Use half the cabbage to make homemade coleslaw and the other half reserve to serve with the pork carnitas.
• Serve the BBQ pork as Sandwiches with coleslaw on Sunday night and serve the leftover meat over baked potatoes topped with cheese and a side fruit salad on Monday and to make a BBQ Pork Pizza on Wednesday.
• On Tuesday, use the remaining half of the pork (or chicken) to make Carnitas and use leftover cabbage for Mexican Slaw. Make extra rice if desired to make burrito bowls for quick lunches.
• On Friday, make a large Greek salad and use it to serve with the pasta on Saturday as well. I recommend using extra olives, spinach, tomatoes, etc. to make a Greek Quinoa Salad for hearty lunches throughout the week.
• To Use Chicken Instead of Pork:
  • For BBQ Chicken: Using my recipe for Instant Pot BBQ Chicken, double the recipe and follow the instructions as written. Alternatively, use the same ingredients as the Instant Pot recipe and cook on low in the crockpot high for 3-4 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.
  • For Chicken "Carnitas": Instead of using pork loin, use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs and the same seasoning/liquid as the carnitas recipes use. For the Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 8 minutes (11 minutes if chicken frozen) with a full natural pressure release. Or cook on low in the crockpot high for 3-4 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.