Homestead Meal Planning Made Easy And Healthy

Meal planning and meal prepping is essential for life on a homestead, especially if you are wanting to eat clean. There is so much going on. You may have the garden to tend, animals to feed and nurture, kids to care for, DIY projects in various stages of completion. It really helps to have meals figured out. Doing some farm to table menu planning really helps. If you are in our facebook group Homesteading Recipes and Meal Planning you have already gained some helpful farm to table meal planning strategies. (If not, please feel free to join) This guide is packed with even more tips and tricks to help you plan healthy, delicious, nutrient dense and whole food meals for your family. In general, our family tries to eat very little processed food. We eat a lot of protein and veggies and fruit.  I hope that this guide to homestead meal planning made easy and healthy helps you with some tips and tricks you will find useful in your own home.

On our homestead, we have fresh eggs, a plentiful garden, and a food forest with fresh fruit which we love to use in our meals.

• I am allergic to sunflower and my husband is allergic to coconut – so as I am authentically sharing our meals and tips – anything that I mention in this guide will not include either or those things if you are wondering why I did not add them in any of my recipes or lists.

• *this post contains affiliate links, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

Homestead Meal Planning for breakfast

Eggs

If you have chickens and or ducks on your homestead (we have both), then you also have an abundance of eggs! The great news is that there are so many delicious and healthy ways to use them.

Egg Cups, quiche ,  Fritattas, and egg bakes,  great options for a protein and veggie packed breakfast

Breakfast burritos – these freeze wonderfully and are so easy to make. We LOVED the California style burritos in San Diego – so our favorite combo is bacon, eggs, cheese and potato.

I also LOVE deviled eggs for breakfast or a quick snack – check out our Youtube video on how to make delicious smoked eggs.

Smoothies and Shakes

Let’s talk smoothies – smoothies are a great way to use the delicious fruit and greens you are growing. Berries, peaches, pears, apples, kale, spinach, even zucchini can be tossed in a smoothie.

 My tip for easy – ready to go smoothies- make smaller single serving bags for an easy busy morning breakfast. As a result of doing this – you will have an easy grab and go solution.

Anyone making a shake can just grab a fruit bag and add it to protein powder and liquid of choice. Adding a good fat such as avocado or a nut butter ( I love cashew, peanut, almond and pecan butters)will really help balance the meal and you feel fuller longer. 

Oatmeal or another grain

 Make up a big pot of hot grains like oats or buckwheat and have add ins like fresh or dried fruit and nuts out for each person to make their own.

Doing this ensures that you will have a hot and hearty breakfast on those especially busy mornings.

Greek Yogurt, Parfaits or Chia pudding 

Like with the oatmeal, having yogurt, or chia pudding as a base and then delicious, healthful ingredients as toppers is key. 

Pancakes/ waffles

Pancakes and waffles both freeze really well, add some fruit and you’ve got a easy breakfast.

Muffins 

I love making muffins, they freeze very well and are easy to warm up. My muffins have NO added sugar and are also dairy free.

My favorite muffins are Maple pumpkin oat, ( pictured) cherry almond, and blueberry or White Chocolate Pumpkin Peanut Butter Muffins

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Homestead MEAL PLANNING FOR LUNCH 

Salads – I love taking leftover protein and making a fresh salad, and adding garbanzo beans, or lentils for extra nutrition. 

 Sandwiches and Wraps

 You can put pretty much anything in a wrap and will be delicious. I make buckwheat crepes or use corn, cassava or homemade naan bread.

soups 

Leftover soups are a quick and easy lunch – I like to make at least one homemade soup or chili a week. Don’t do the canned stuff, they are loaded with sodium and preservatives. 

Weekend Lunches

On weekends we are always doing some kind of DIY project on the farm or in the house – so lunch is always something easy like sandwiches, pizza, or leftovers.

Homestead MEAL PLANNING FOR DINNER

Although I like to plan what I am going to have for dinner each night of the week. I do not stick to EVERY night’s plan because life happens or I change my mind on a whim. However, it definitely helps me to have that plan in place)

Even if you are not a planner, these tips and suggestions will help you have a plethora of healthy food at the ready so you can throw something together fast. We do a few nights on repeat that my family really likes and these include:

Easy Freezer meal prep video

THEMED NIGHTS MAKE MEAL PLANNING FUN

Meatless Monday – we love to do veggie lasagna or Neatloaf

Taco Tuesday – This is fun to switch up. We do a lot of venison tacos, fish tacos, or nachos ( one of my super powers is to make kick-ass nachos with ANY leftover)

Big Salad Night – Big salads are so fun and bursting with fresh veggies from the garden like my Summer Steak Salad . 

Homemade Pizza Night – I either make a homemade gluten free crust or use a store bought frozen one and pile on the veggies.

Burgers and Air fryer fries – I skip the bun and pile the toppings like sautéed mushrooms and avocado high on my burger  

Destination Dinners – these are so fun, pick a location and theme your dinner, and music to go with it

Habatchi at home – perfect to make fried rice when you have leftover protein of any kind.

Pasta Night – We love pasta night, this could be lasagna, Alfredo, spaghetti and clam sauce, ramen 

Build your own Baked potato Bar – I make sweet potatoes and russets and then set out all the yummy toppings

Soup and Sandwiches – Think out of the box – this could be oven subs, wraps, quesadillas, French dips, BLTS …

Appetizer Night – We love to mix it up for these – charcuterie, wings, dips, and more – use your imagination and have fun! 

Cookware and Appliances I swear by for meal planning

Cast Iron

Are you even a homesteader if you don’t have at least one Cast Iron Pan? Cast Iron pans are hands down the most used piece of cookware in our home.

Slow cooker or Pressure Cooker

I especially love my Instant pot for soups and chili and also because I can use frozen meat in it if I need to.

My go to instant pot meals are…

White Chicken Chili

Taco Soup

Zuppa Toscana

Tuscan beef

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Air Fryer

I have a Big Boss Air fryer because I wanted something that did NOT have a non-stick surface – the Big boss has a giant glass bowl, no non-stick coating and is VERY easy to clean

Some of our favorite things to make in the air fryer are…

Fries

Chicken Wings

Taquitos with Black beans, Chorizo and kale

Toasted Ravioli

Jalapeno poppers

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Almond Cow

I use my almond cow to make homemade plant based milks and cream for our coffee, soups, and more.

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Blackstone Griddle

We have our Blackstone out on our porch and it is perfect for delicious country style breakfasts and Habatchi at

home.

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MY TRIED AND TRUE METHODS FOR Homestead MEAL PLANNING

These are all the things that I do regularly to plan meals for my family. Using these meal planning tips are a huge sanity-saver when it comes to meal times in our home.

PICK A DAY TO PREP FOOD FOR THE WEEK

I like to do this on the weekends, usually Sunday. I flip through cookbooks, blogs, and take inventory on what I have on hand and then make a list of the meals I am going to make. After I shop, I prep what I can ahead of time.

Places to gather meal ideas

I get meal inspiration from a variety of sources and one of my favorite things to do as I love trying out new dishes. When I spend the time to gather ideas, I get excited about the upcoming meals and am more likely to stick to my menu.

Cookbooks

Facebook group Recipe sharing and Meal planning group for inspiration – Meal planning Monday post each week and nightly what’s for dinner posts for ideas

Blogs

Pinterest

Having protein thawed

I always have at least two kinds of protein thawing in the fridge, this way there is always something ready to cook up.

Here I have two chicken breasts which is the perfect amount for any soup or chili ( for my family of 4) and ground lamb which could become meatballs, wraps, egg roll in a bowl, burgers and more.

SIDES AND FILLERS – COOK UP A BIG POT OF RICE OR QUINOA 

Cooking up a big pot of rice or quinoa is perfect for creating easy bowls. Doing this will make easy fillers for wraps and side dishes for quick lunches or to round out a meal.

I love to cook a huge batch and then freeze what I am not using that night in 2 cup servings – then I have cooked grains ready to go whenever I need them WITHOUT all of the salt and additives of those store bought pouches.

Having a well stocked Pantry and Canning

Having an accessible Homesteading pantry is a lifesaver for meal planning here are some of the things that I keep in mine. I am obsessed with labeling my dry goods these labels that I found on Amazon come in a set of 157 and I love that they have pretty much everything that you could think of for a pantry.

Dry pasta 

Quinoa and Rice 

Canned and dry beans

Canned Tomatoes 

Chicken Broth ( if you have homemade broth to can – even better!)

Green Chiles 

Pesto 

potatoes and sweet potatoes 

salsa 

flavorful spice blends – a few of my go to are Tzatziki, Rancher Steak Rub and Scampi blend they can be found HERE

dried fruit, seeds and nuts 

ghee

Olive oil, Avocado Oil 

nut butters, peanut, almond, cashew 

Flours – Einkorn, Almond, Buckwheat

maple syrup

dates

figs

cacao ( I use cacao in place of cocoa in baked goods as well as in hot chocolate)

Canning

Homesteading and Canning go together like peas and carrots (see what I did there)

Canning is a fantastic way to preserve your bountiful garden harvest to get your family through the fall and winter when there is not as much fresh food growing and also a wonderful way to have a nice stock up of food for emergencies and when life throws you a curve ball like a hurricane ( I am in South Carolina – so we definitely know about those).

A few great items to can are…

Stocks

Jams

Salsa

tomato sauces

vegetables

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KEEP HEALTHY OPTIONS IN THE FRIDGE 

Sliced turkey

Crumbled Feta or Goat Cheese 

Cheese – I like to have cheddar, Parmesan, gouda, Swiss, and mozzarella 

Mustard

beets

Salad greens – I always have a big container of mixed greens as well as a smaller one of arugula (if I am not growing them in my garden)

Vegetables – I always have mushrooms, a bag of coleslaw mix, and other in season produce 

Fruit – berries, lemons, limes, apples, oranges

olives

Corn tortillas

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KEEP HEALTHY OPTIONS IN THE FREEZER 

Fruit – berries, mangos, bananas

Mixed veggies, broccoli, peas, corn, green beans 

Protein such as chicken, venison, pork tenderloin

Wild caught fish and shellfish ( I do not recommend tilapia as a healthy fish option – research it!) 

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TIPS TO COOK ONCE, EAT TWICE

Transform leftovers – Roasts or leftover pork or chicken can become nachos, enchiladas, hash, bowls, wraps, salads and more.

Add Beans – When making ground meat, adding a can of beans will easily double it, making it cost effective, and delicious! We do this a lot for taco meat. Tacos night one and then nachos, enchiladas or bowls another night.

Make two – When making things like lasagna, double the recipe. Cook one and put the other in the freezer.

Freeze soups, stews and chili – All three of these freeze very well and it is so nice to be able to pull out a homemade soup whenever you want one. 

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CLEAN YOUR PRODUCE AND CUT OR CHOP SO IT IS READY TO GO 

I like to throw all of my produce in a bowl with Thieves fruit and veggie soak and then dry and transfer to glass storage containers for easy access throughout the week. 

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I hope you enjoyed this guide to Homestead Meal Planning Made Easy And Healthy. Please let me know which tip or trick you found useful in the comments!

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