April is the first full month of Spring and my family is so ready for warmer weather. We love being outside and cooking over the fire pit or on the grill, without freezing. My kids love roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the open flames.
Spring is our favorite season and the one that gets us back outside and enjoying God’s amazing creation. But that doesn’t mean we don’t meal plan. We still gather recipes we enjoy and put them in some sort of order to give us a working plan.
Although I try to stick to our plan pretty strictly, it doesn’t always happen. But, that’s the joy of meal planning and flexibility. As a busy homeschool mom of 6, some days go well and others…not so much. Some meals take more prep than others, so I will often move things around to fit our timeline.
I do my best to plan around family time together and enjoying those few precious hours we have with my husband before lights out. Meal planning has also been a life saver to our budget. We don’t have the extra cash to just go buying all kinds of groceries and not eat them. So we plan.
Meal plans are great way to add in some practical life skills for your kids – budgeting, planning, prepping, cooking. Or allow each family member to pick a meal for the week to prep and cook, if you want. So many fun ways to add in family time and learning too!
Special Meals for the Month
During the spring months, I love to eat more salads, especially for lunchtime. With it warming up most days, I don’t like to turn on the oven or stove to heat up the house, so my go-to lunch is salads or something that doesn’t require cooking. With a little prep work, you can have some delicious salads for lunch ready to go. Check out these egg salad recipes or these mason jar salad recipes for the month.
Although we grill year round, we kick it up a notch when warmer weather and longer daylight hours hit. I can’t wait to give these grilled seafood recipes and these chicken wing recipes a try this year! And if you’re looking for some great recipes to bring in a rich source of vitamins, check out these spinach recipes! Now is the prime time for fresh spinach.
Choose from Two Meal Plans
The regular meal plan includes slow cooker meals on Sundays and Wednesdays, for a break in the kitchen or those busy days. There are a variety of soups to get you through those chilly nights as we welcome in spring and some salads to break it up just a bit.
Or choose the Instant Pot Meal Plan. On this plan I have included some delicious winter and festive meals with a variety of meats (fish, chicken, pork, beef), plus a few salads. Also, the suggestions for breakfasts, lunches, snacks and desserts at the bottom are all Instant Pot recipes!
As always, feel free to move any of the recipes around as needed to fit your family’s schedule. However, you can combine the two for more variety. And if you’d like to switch up some of the Slow Cooker Meals to an Instant Pot recipe, check out this Instant Pot beginners post for a great link to help!
There is a variety of meats (fish, chicken, beef, pork) as well as soups and salads (on both plans) to keep the whole family happy. My hope each month is that you will find some new favorites to add to your own must have rotation.
You can download each meal plan by clicking on the corresponding images below.
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Annette has been married to her husband and best friend since 2003. Together they are raising their six children to follow the Lord’s will, no matter what. Annette longs for the day when she will meet her angel babies who have entered heaven before her. She enjoys creating UNIT STUDIES and FREE PRINTABLES for homeschool families. You can follow her crazy life at In All You Do where she blogs about homeschooling, homemaking and marriage while trying to maintain her sanity. She is also the owner of Thrifty Homeschoolers where she shares her tips on homeschooling without breaking the bank.
