My Summer Meal Formula
Eating in the summer is like a gameshow.
You pull a lever and see what you get: 92 and humid, a kid who missed a nap, an unexpected rainy afternoon at the pool, boob sweat that’s affecting your mental health? All at the same time?!
I want to help meals in the summer be as simple as possible, and the answer is not a list of recipes. It’s a list of categories.
Listen to this episode to get a ton of details on how to put together your own summer meal formula. This post is a companion to that for you to see how I use the formula in our family.
You’ll notice that the formula works more for dinner because we already have good rhythms for breakfast and lunch. If you have existing rhythms that work, don’t change them just because. Only apply The Summer Meal Formula if you need it.
My Personal Summer Meal Formula
Breakfast
Like I shared in the episode The Summer Meal Formula, we already have a breakfast rhythm. I bake pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, Waffles of Insane Greatness in this Rolls Royce of waffle makers that was a gift and from which I will never depart, The Best Magical Pancakes, and Rockstar Banana Bread (which apparently I’ve never posted a recipe to and will adjust that in the coming days), all of which hang out in the freezer.
Every morning, people fix their own thing from what’s in the freezer, what’s in the pantry (cereal and instant oatmeal), and I’ll occasionally scramble some eggs of more than one person wants them. Kids grab what they want, supplement with a banana and a glass of milk, and breakfast is done.
We’ll eat one Denny’s Grand Slam adjacent breakfast a week where I’ll make King Biscuits, bacon, scramble more eggs, and oven-fry Trader Joe’s hashbrowns.
It’s a good rhythm. I don’t need a Summer Meal Formula for breakfast since we already have something that works.
Lunch
Our lunch? Field Trip Lunch or leftovers pretty much every single day. My kids are creatures of habit in that regard, so it’s a sandwich for the boys (or a quick quesadilla if somebody is sandwiched out), salami and cheese for Annie which she eats for lunch literally every single day, a couple of fruits or vegetables, and something crunchy. We have kid plates with four compartments, and that’s what goes into the compartments every single day (kind of like what would go in a brown bag you’d take on a field trip).
Lunches change up because what’s in the four sections changes, but the categories are the same.
Kaz and I eat leftovers, or I eat The Chickpea Bowl and Kaz eats various combinations of tortillas, salsa, and cheese. Truly. Every single day.
It’s a good rhythm that doesn’t need the more elaborate dinner formula.
Dinner
I have ten categories and 3-4 recipes within each. The categories are spread out over two weeks, and then when I meal plan every week (or every month), I just choose one of the 3-4 recipes within that category.
You don’t need more recipes. That’s actually your worst enemy. Choice is what’s killing your dinner mojo. Limiting your options will make dinner so much easier. This is basically a summer dinner queue with a glow-up.
My Categories
STUFF ON A BUN OR IN A WRAP
burgers and a side
hot dogs and a side
Sloppy Joes (I’ve always enjoyed this recipe)
taquitos/tacos/burritos (We can’t have this be an entire category because my kids are weirdos and hate this kind of food; we’re working on it.)
CRUNCHY STUFF
Trader Joe’s mandarin chicken and rice
chicken fingers and a side
breaded pork cutlets and a side
CHICKEN ON THE GRILL
barbecue chicken (For sauce, we’re good with good ol’ Sweet Baby Ray’s.)
chicken marinated in Olive Garden dressing (seriously)
OTHER STUFF ON THE GRILL
salmon, rice, and a side (usually broccoli)
Korean beef and rice
sausage and veggies
Asian pork meatballs (recipe probably coming eventually)
NOODLES
spaghetti and meatballs (sauce here + Kirkland meatballs from Costco)
ramen
PIZZA
No need for specific recipes here since there are so many directions to go with pizza in crust, sauce, and toppings. Here are some of my favorite recipes: this NY style dough, this Neapolitan style dough, and this is a great sauce recipe. You could also skip the homemade dough and make pizzas on store-bought naan bread. Put them on the grill or under the broiler. Just broil the naan on its own first, and then put the broiled side down when you add your toppings. That way you get a crispy bottom even though you’re using the broiler. If you want more pizza talk, check out these two podcast episodes.
CHEESY THINGS
grilled cheese and tomato soup (Sara Lee artisano bread is THE BEST for grilled cheese.)
quesadillas
INSTANT POT RECIPES
an Asian chicken recipe I’m still working on, so nothing to share yet
jambalaya from this cookbook
BREAKFAST FOR DINNER
This is whatever we have and want and in whatever combination. King Biscuits often makes an appearance, and bacon is always around.
YOYO DINNER (you’re on your own)
This is literally what it sounds like. Everyone is on their own and picks what they want. If that means someone picks ice cream for dinner, whatever go for it. It’s summer.
SNACK PLATTER
This is when you take a bunch of stuff you have and put it on a big platter, plate, or cutting board. It’s like a charcuterie tray but for applesauce packs and Cheezits (or an actual charcuterie board).
My Matrix/Formula
I spread out the categories over two weeks and choose a recipe within each category when the time comes.
My two-week rotation is:
Monday - Noodles
Tuesday - Chicken on the Grill
Wednesday - Rice Bowls
Thursday - Cheesy Things
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Snack Platter
Sunday - Breakfast for Dinner
Monday - Crunchy Stuff
Tuesday - Stuff on a Bun
Wednesday - Instant Pot Recipes
Thursday - Other Stuff on the Grill
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Out
Sunday - Yoyo
I just keep repeating that. In theory, I could plan the entire rest of the summer without repeating much of anything. You can change things up whenever you want; you are the boss of the meals. But these are all dinners that fit into our summer food vibes and can be adjusted when needed.
The point is to limit the choices. There are 28 named meals up there and several others that can riffed into an oblivion. That’s a lot of meals. Don’t use the entire Internet. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Choose a really great wheel and then start moving.
Hope seeing my wheels helps.
