I recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend in the mountains with my family celebrating my mom’s birthday. Sweet conversations, creamy oatmeal with piping hot coffee, tear producing laughter, baby snuggles, hiking, picnics, and silly dances made for a joyful weekend.
My sister and I were in charge of the meals and had a lot of fun creating a meal plan to suite every taste. We’re a health-minded family, yet vary on our food preferences a bit, including a few food allergies. Our goals for meals were:
- Had to be varied so people could “create their own” to some extent
- Simple yet fun & flavorful
- Able to be prepped ahead. We had a short weekend together so we didn’t want to spend a ton of time in the kitchen or running to the (itsy bitsy) grocery store in this mountain town.
Whether you’re heading out for a weekend getaway with family or have guests coming to stay, I hope you’ll benefit from the ideas we created.
Friday
Dinner:
- Lentil Chili from Everyday Detox
- Cornbread
- Salad & Fruit
Saturday
Lunch:
Deli Sandwiches – including gluten-free, whole grain bread, hummus, and lots of veggies.
Salad Bar
- Spring Mix – 1 large container
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Hummus – classic & sun-dried tomato (homemade)
- Frozen green peas
- Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
- Balsamic vinegar
- Miso Sesame Dressing from The Full Helping
- Nuts/Seeds
Fruit & Baked chips
Dinner:
**Grill/Fire pit night
- Portobello mushrooms
- Corn on Cobb
- Veggie kabobs – mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, bell peppers, pineapple
- Diced Sweet Potatoes in foil
Dessert: Campfire Banana Boats from Nutrition Stripped
Sunday
Lunch:
Salad Bar & Wraps – Use leftovers from Saturday dinner
- Spring Mix
- Wraps
- Leftover hummus
- Salad bar items: Bell peppers, cucumbers, frozen green peas, artichoke hearts, broccoli, cauliflower
- Crackers (Crunchmaster and Mary’s Gone Crackers)
Dinner: **Birthday Celebration Night!**
Crockpot Sweet Potato Bar
- Sweet Potatoes
- Black beans
- Vegan Mexican Queso from Minimalist Baker
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Tortilla chips
*Place sweet potatoes in slow cooker (no need to poke or add water!) for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Some of us opened the sweet potato and loaded it with all sorts of toppings while others created a taco salad of sorts, with a big bed of greens, cubed sweet potatoes, and all the above toppings.
Birthday Dessert: Nut-Free Frosted Brawnies from Plant-Powered Families
Breakfast options included:
Fruit – melons (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon), pineapple, bananas, and apples
Oatmeal bar – We cooked steel-cut oats in the slow cooker (2 cups of steel-cut oats & 7 1/2 cups of water on the low setting for 10 hours) and had a bar of toppings including: apples, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, pumpkin puree, honey, maple syrup, and brown sugar.
Coffee….of course! 
Some of the family also brought grass-fed meat and raw milk cheddar to add to the dishes listed above. It was pretty easy to prep ahead. We split the items and made the chili, hummus, and queso in advance, as well as washing produce. I made the Frosted Brawnies over a week in advance and they kept nicely in the freezer.
From my family to yours…May your next trip be sweet and stress-free (at least when it comes to planning meals! 
)
