Mon-Fri Seasonal Recipes + Grocery Shopping List: January Week 1

This week: Chicken Enchilada Bake, Moroccan-Spiced Beef, Miso-Maple Salmon & more...

(Pictured is last week's beef bourguignon which was a huge hit. The meat was so tender and my kids loved the broth so much they were drinking it with straws.)

Happy New Year! First recipes of 2026.

If you’re new here, each week I write out the dinners I’m planning for my family along with a shopping list to make the farmers market and store more efficient. All the meals are built around protein and whatever produce is in season that month. For January that’s carrots, parsnips, potatoes, fennel, onions, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, hearty greens, apples, and citrus (oranges, lemons, grapefruit). Eating seasonally just makes more sense nutritionally. The food is at its peak, it supports local farmers, and our bodies digest it better when we’re eating with the seasons instead of against them.

Starting in the spring, I'll be working toward a garden kitchen that feeds us seasonally, so planning meals this way keeps me connected to that vision even now. It also makes shopping way easier. I hit the farmers market first and fill in gaps at the store.

My kids eat what we eat. No separate meals. I just make sure the base isn’t spicy and Anthony and I add heat at the end (we LOVE spicy food). Elliott is more adventurous and likes trying spicier bites, but Poppy is a hard pass so I keep it mild so she’s not freaked out to try things.

You’ll notice more red meat than chicken in these menus. This week is beef, chicken, salmon, and turkey, and sometimes I rotate in lamb. Grass-fed beef is just more nutrient-dense than chicken. It’s higher in iron, zinc, B12, and omega-3s, and the nutrients are more bioavailable, meaning your body actually absorbs them better. Cows have multiple stomachs designed to break down and process nutrients from grass, so when they’re raised the way they’re meant to be (roaming, eating grass, getting sunlight), the beef is significantly better for you than corn-fed. That’s why I prioritize it. When I do make chicken, it’s usually chicken thighs because we love them.

We don’t eat pork or any pig products. They tend to carry more parasites so I’d rather just avoid it. I also stick mostly to salmon for fish because it’s low mercury. I source wild-caught Alaskan salmon from our farmers market, and I buy fillets in bulk so they’re always ready. Wild-caught is worth it over farmed. Farmed salmon are raised in crowded pens, fed artificial diets, and given antibiotics. Wild-caught has more omega-3s, fewer contaminants, and just a better nutritional profile overall.

All of these meals feed 6 so there’s leftovers for lunch the next day. We eat leftovers for lunch almost every day and I love that it’s quick but still nutritious. If not leftovers, we’ll do smoothies packed with all kinds of good ingredients. We don’t eat out much during the week now that I’m in this routine of making dinner and having leftovers ready. Weekends I’m more flexible though.

I started writing these out because I noticed we just eat better when there’s a plan. No more standing in the kitchen at 5pm wondering what’s for dinner. I write out meals Monday through Friday but I’m flexible on which night we make what. I usually ask everyone the night before what they’re in the mood for from that week’s menu so I can move whatever meat we’re using to the fridge to defrost. It’s really important to us as a family to sit down together and have a meal at the same time every night. Making these meals is about the nutrition, yes, but it’s also about that time together. That’s what I love most about it.

Here’s what’s on the menu this week:

Chicken Enchilada Bake
Miso-Maple Salmon with Orange & Sesame Broccoli
Moroccan-Spiced Ground Beef with Carrots, Chickpeas & Raisins
Crispy Lemon Chicken Thighs with Fennel, Potatoes & Apples
Ginger-Garlic Turkey & Rice Bowls with Citrus

And if you missed it, here's last month's most-read post HERE.

Full recipes and grocery list below: