Weekly Family Meal Plan: 14 Miles on Sunday, Soccer & Feeding Everyone

Another week and another attempt at convincing myself that planning seven days of meals will make life feel less chaotic on the daily.

While this week is a pretty normal week full of chaos for the family, it’s a big running week for me: 27 miles total, including hill repeats, a progression run, and a 14-mile hilly long run on Sunday. The longest run that I’ve ever done.

So, to avoid becoming a hangry little goblin, I’m planning my food a little differently. It’ll be protein forward, like normal, but with extra carbs around my runs, and I’ll be prepping and precooking as much as possible to make getting out of the house easier.

I’m also going to plan some lunch ideas for the boys. While our entire school district receives free breakfast and lunch, there have been a few times when the boys have decided they want to pack lunch from home. Or, as my little says, “I want lunchbox.”

So we’re going to have some easy lunchbox options preplanned and easy to throw together for those days too.

Monday – September 28 – Full Body Strength (me)

Breakfast:

Egg, potato & sausage breakfast bowl
My usual Fairlife + Double Scoop of Vanilla Javy coffee with Collagen

My Lunch:

Turkey & cheese sandwich
Fruit
Protein yogurt

Boys’ Breakfast:

Protein waffles
Fruit

Boys’ Lunchbox:

Turkey & cheese sandwich
Fruit
Pretzels
Snack

Dinner: Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Garlic Parmesan chicken
Roasted potatoes
Green beans

I’ll make extra chicken so I can use it for lunches later in the week.

Tuesday – September 29 – 4.5-Mile Easy Run + Upper Body (me), Both Boys Have Soccer

Tuesday is officially a slow cooker dinner night for the forseeable future because there is no way I’m cooking a meal between soccer practices.

My Breakfast:

Protein waffles
Chicken maple sausage
Banana
Coffee

My Lunch:

Chicken salad with crackers
Berries
Protein yogurt

Boys’ Breakfast:

Waffles
Eggs
Fruit

Boys’ Lunchbox:

Chicken salad sandwich
Apple
Pretzels
Yogurt

Dinner: Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken, tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and Italian seasoning cooked in the crockpot, served over pasta with Parmesan.

Wednesday – September 30 – 4.5-Mile Hill Repeats (me), Big Has Soccer

My Breakfast:

Overnight oats with berries
Eggs
Coffee

My Lunch:
Turkey & cheese snack box:

Turkey
Cheese
Crackers
Cucumbers
Fruit
Yogurt

Boys’ Breakfast:

Oatmeal
Banana
Eggs

Boys’ Lunchbox:

Turkey & cheese sandwich
Grapes
Pretzels
Yogurt

Dinner: Taco Bowls

Everything goes on the table, and everyone can build their own:

Seasoned ground beef or turkey
Rice
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Corn
Black beans
Cheese
Avocado
Salsa

Thursday – October 1 – Strong Foundation Strength (me), Both Boys Have BJJ

My Breakfast:

Egg & potato breakfast bowl
Coffee

My Lunch:

Turkey & cheese wrap
Cucumbers
Apple
Protein yogurt

Boys’ Breakfast:

Waffles
Fruit

Boys’ Lunchbox:

Turkey & cheese wrap
Fruit
Pretzels
Snack

Dinner: Sheet-Pan Lemon Garlic Chicken

One pan. That’s all. Everything gets seasoned and roasted together.

Lemon garlic chicken
Baby potatoes
Broccoli

Friday – October 2 – 4-Mile Progression Run (me)

My Breakfast:

Oatmeal
Banana
Eggs
Coffee

My Lunch:

Leftover taco bowl

Boys’ Breakfast:

Waffles
Fruit
Eggs

Boys’ Lunchbox:

Leftover taco bowl OR turkey sandwich
Fruit
Pretzels

Dinner: Chicken Parmesan Pasta

Chicken Parmesan
Pasta with marinara
Broccoli or salad
Garlic bread for the boys

I don’t really like spaghetti or pasta, but I do have a big run coming up, and I know I need to start fueling for it. So pasta it is.

This is one of those meals where I’m reminding myself that I’m eating to support the training I’m asking my body to do.

Saturday – October 3 – Active Rest Day (me), Little Has a Soccer Game

My Breakfast:

Protein waffles
Eggs
Berries

Boys’ Breakfast:

Waffles
Fruit
Eggs

My Lunch:

Turkey sandwich
Apple
Yogurt

Boys’ Lunchbox:

Turkey & cheese sandwiches
Grapes
Pretzels

Dinner: Chicken & Rice Bowls

Chicken
White rice
Roasted vegetables
Avocado

Keeping dinner simple and filling tonight because tomorrow is a big one.

Sunday – October 4 – 14-Mile Hilly Long Run (me), Big Has a Soccer Game

This is the biggest one yet. Fourteen hilly miles. Hilly, yea maybe. Because you know, running 14 miles wasn’t enough, so Runna had to add hills.

Before the Run

This is not the morning for me to hit snooze a million times, eat a banana and decide that’s enough…even though that works during the week for my school day morning runs.

I’m going to need to actually eat. So, I’ll wake up, take my thyroid medication, give it time, eat a decent breakfast, hydrate, and let it digest before heading out.

My Pre-Run Breakfast:

Bagel
Banana
Small amount of peanut butter
Water/electrolytes

And I’ll fuel during the run with Huma gels every 2–3 miles.

Post-Run Lunch

I’m going to want food. Like actual food that’s ready to go. So all of the leftovers from the week will get pulled together for a chicken and rice bowl.

Chicken & Rice Bowl:

Chicken
Rice
Vegetables
Avocado
Fruit

Sunday Funday Dinner: Smoked Brisket + Mac & Cheese + Veggies

I miss the smoker. So now long run Sundays are officially the day we’re turning that bad boy on.

Smoked brisket
Mac & cheese
Big veggie
Garlic bread or fresh made sourdough

The Weekly Prep That Makes This Possible

I’m keeping prep pretty simple this week.

Breakfast Prep

Cook breakfast potatoes
Cook turkey bacon
Hard-boil some eggs
Make overnight oats for Wednesday

Lunch Prep

Cook extra chicken Monday
Prep turkey & cheese
Wash fruit
Portion pretzels/crackers
Make a few grab-and-go snack boxes

Dinner Prep

Cook taco meat ahead of time
Chop vegetables for the sheet-pan dinner
Have Tuesday’s slow-cooker ingredients and Wednesday’s sheet pan meal ready in the fridge
Get the potatoes and other sides prepped ahead
Make sure everything for Sunday’s brisket is ready to go

And if I finish this week with 27 miles in the books, two well fed little boys, a happy and full husband, a stocked fridge, and enough energy left to smoke a brisket on Sunday… then I’ll call that a very successful week.