Feeding your family does not have to be complicated, expensive, or time-consuming! With my free meal plans, meal planning is possible for the BUSIEST of people! And making a wholesome dinner for your family becomes a reality, instead of a task that seems unreachable.
Do you want to feed your family more wholesome meals made with REAL food?
How about saving your family some money at the grocery store?
Check and Check.
Let me tell you the secret to making those things a reality.
MEAL PLANNING
We have all heard that meal planning is the key to getting dinner on the table with less stress.
But it is a lot of work.
Let me do that work for you!
I have been creating meal plans for decades. In fact, that is why I started this blog. I had been sending out my meal plans to my close friends and extended family and they wanted a place to find my recipes.
And now, I am here to offer YOU the same time-saving, money-saving, family approved meal plans!
FREE HEALTHY MEAL PLANS
Best news--I am offering these meal plans to you for FREE!!!
Because it is my goal to help families of all shapes and sizes sit down to a wholesome, delicious meal--without stress!
Things to know about my Family-Friendly Meal Plans
- They will be tried and true and have been given the picky eater seal of approval.
- Meal plans will be made with a budget in mind.
- Meal plans will utilize similar ingredients for the week to minimize cost and food waste.
- Meal plans use seasonal ingredients to cut back on food cost (and for better tasting meals!)
- No recipe will have hydrogenated oils, high fructose syrup, or MSG.
- Every recipe will be made with whole foods and from mostly scratch (occasionally I will take a short-cut like store-bought salsa or an organic pie crust.)
Meal Plan Testimonials
- They really took the guesswork out of what to cook, which for me, was very time-consuming. So I’m very thankful for this huge time saver. -Morgan
- I really enjoy the variety and ease of your recipes. They make my life with three kids and a working husband so much easier by providing ideas for delicious, healthy, and simple, real food meals that my whole family can enjoy together. Thank you! -Christi
- I love your meal plans and the extra details you add in your email which helps me plan my shopping and how I will make the meals. All of your recipes I have tried so far have been well received by my family of 5 and have been easy to prepare for me, a mom who works full time. -Kim
- I LOVE everything about your meals and meal plans. It makes my life so much easier when I get them. -Beth
- The meal plans helped me stay on budget! Thank you for your hard work and help! -Ella
Sign up for Meal Plans NOW
Cindy Wargo
Thank you very much for your helpful tips, I am brand new to Instant Pot. I have tried pork steak and boneless/skinless chicken breasts, and they both turned out chewy, dry and tough. Also 'm tried chuck roast, which was chewy. I'm hoping you can tell me what I'm doing wrong.
Thank you for your help and time. Cindy
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Cindy. I am glad you stumbled upon my site as well. You may want to try out my Instant Pot Chicken Breast and Instant Pot Pork Chop recipe. Another tip is to allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 10 minutes when cooking meat to keep it tender. I hope that helps.
Terry Lippold
Thank you for your meal plans. My needs are:
I am a strict vegan and eat NO animal products.
Also, I am trying to lose weight by avoiding ALL added oil and all plant foods that are heavy with oil like avocados, nuts and olives.
Terry
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Terry! While I respect your dietary needs, I am unsure that my meal plans will be of help to you. While I have a lot of vegan recipes, my meal plans are not exclusively vegan. You can check out all my vegan recipes though--I am sure you will find many to enjoy!
Jo
Terry. For vegan/whole plant food. try Forksoverknives website. They have one or two weeks of free plans.
Also try googling "menu plans for vegans".
Hope that helps
Carol
Hi Kristen! I’m new to the IP, and after success making Mac n cheese (under the supervision of my son hahaha), I decided to pressure cook a small 3.5lb boneless ham and three whole sweet potatoes. I found a recipe online and added the correct amount of fluid etc., yet the IP never came up to pressure. For at least 25 minutes it cooked with steam escaping, and eventually the timer came on, but never to full pressure. A few minutes later I could smell the contents (and as Martha Stewart’s tip tells, you once you smell what you’re cooking it’s likly done) and decided to cancel it. The potatoes were perfectly cooked and the ham, since it’s really fully cooked appeared heated. Not a pressured cook meal as anticipated. I’m a veteran at cooking with the stove top pressure cooker, so I figured I’d give this a try (since my son owned one, rarely used it, and I keep hearing about how great it is). Although the food tasted fine, it was an epic fail. I researched a bit and came to no real conclusion for the failure, as I followed all directions and rules for successful results. Any ideas or insights? I’m planning to try some of your IP recipes and look to avoid a frustrating outcome. Your help is so appreciated as I attempt to cook using newer methods.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Carol! I hate that you had a frustrating experience with your ham and potatoes. It sounds to me like your Instant Pot did not seal properly, therefore no pressure was reached fully (but because it was working to heat up to pressure the whole time, the ham and potatoes cooked.) You can read more about reasons why your Instant Pot may not seal here. The most common reason for this occurring is forgetting to put the seal on the lid, not having the vent knob pointed to sealing not venting, or not having enough liquid. Please let me know if that did clear up the issue for you!
Vickie
Hi and thank you for all your help with the Instant Pot - mine is a 6 quart duo and seems to not have a manual button. I use the pressure cook one and then adjust the time. I understand mostly how it works, but I just need basic meat recipes - like cooking a plain roast or may a few whole chicken breasts as I can do a meatloaf in my oven. Thanks for any simple recipient for plain ole roast or chicken.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Vickie! I am so happy to help you with the Instant Pot. I have a few favorite recipes I think you will LOVE. I have one for Pot Roast, one for a whole chicken, and one for chicken breasts. I think that is just what you are looking for.
Lois Cotterly
Thank you for these recipes. I just got one for Christmas and I don't know where to start.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you found my meal plans and Instant Pot recipes. Enjoy!
Paula Gershoony
I'm excited to be on your list for tips and meal planning and how to use my new Insta pot. Thank you
Kristen Chidsey
I am so excited to have you hear Paula!!
Diana H Morris
Every meal I prepared in it has been excellent! Needed recipe/suggestions for a whole chicken. Great time saver.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Diana! I am so glad you have been enjoying my meal plans. I love this Homemade Rotisserie Chicken Recipe and Instant Pot Whole Chicken recipe 🙂
Marti
Hello! I love your meal plans but I'm wondering if you have them archived anywhere on your site? I like to go back and search them. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you love the meal plans Marti. Unfortunately, they are too large to house on the blog, but I am looking into bundling them together for purchase. But I will keep sending them to my subscribers for free.
Denise B
Thanks for your tips and instant pot recipes. I’m a newbie and you’re recipes have and tips have been so helpful! Looking forward to your meal plans too! Thank you!!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so happy you have found my tips helpful. I hope you enjoy these meal plans as well Denise.
Mandy
I would like to have the week's worth of meal prep ideas!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Mandy--you can sign up right here: https://amindfullmom.com/instant-pot-email/ and every Saturday a week's worth of meals will be delivered to your inbox.
Enjoy!
Queen of Spices
Planning meals for a week and shopping for those is such a time and budget saver. I started that at the end of 2014 and am hoping to keep going with that.
Kristen Chidsey
I hope you stick to your goals. The amount of time, money, and sanity I save is amazing!