Menu Plan Monday

I’ve made a change to my meal plan each week. I now have a new “theme day” – but before I tell you what that is, I want to share with you the story behind this change.

Last Thursday, Hubby worked late. Because he works overnight, he got home around 2pm. He was beat, so went to lay down and nap for a while. In the meantime, I prepared a delicious dinner (If I do say so myself).

Come 4:30, I send Little Dude upstairs to wake up Hubby and tell him dinner is ready. The table is set – my delicious dinner is ready to be eaten – and we all sit down.

“I’m not at all hungry. We had sandwiches delivered for our staff meeting and I ate too much” Hubby informs me.

Are you kidding me? You couldn’t have mentioned this before I went through the trouble of making dinner? Did it occur to you that I could have done something else with my time instead of slaving over the stove?

This may seem like I’m being dramatic, but it’s not the first time this has happened. Hubby works a bit late every Thursday because of his staff meeting. And recently, a few time he just wasn’t in the mood for dinner.

So from now on, I’m going to save myself the trouble. Thursday’s are now going to be “Breakfast For Dinner”. Hubby is not a big fan, whereas Little Dude and I could live on breakfast foods – particularly scrambled eggs. Now if I get “I’m not hungry” from Hubby, who cares – go fend for yourself. Little Dude and I are having breakfast.

And now for this week’s menu. I have the standards in stock for breakfasts, lunches and snacks. For dinners I’ve planned the following:

• Sunday: Football Food (chicken wings, sweet potato fries and fried green beans – yum!)
• Monday: Ham and baked sweet potatoes
• Toddler Tuesday: Little Dude can choose from fish sticks, grilled cheese or pizza
• Wednesday: Sweet & Sour Chicken
• Thursday: Breakfast For Dinner – probably eggs and bacon (so I can make extra bacon for Friday)
• Friday: Bacon Cheese Burgers
• Saturday: Angel Pasta Chicken

So this week’s tip: plan your menus around the schedule of you and your family. If you know a particular day of the week is not conducive to making a full dinner, make it breakfast for dinner day!

PS: As always I’m linking to Laura @ OrgJunkie.com and participating in Menu Plan Monday. Head on over for some great meal planning ideas and recipes!

Menu Plan Monday

Because of a super busy week coming up, I did my shopping a day earlier (Sunday) and spent most of the afternoon preparing foods for the week. I made veggie quicke cups, pancakes, and cooked a whole box of spaghetti. I cut up carrots, celery, yellow peppers, strawberries, pineapple, watermelon. I froze some of the fruits to make smoothies (previously mentioned fruits plus blueberries and pre-cut bananas. I froze on cookie sheets; once frozen, I tossed them into bags) I even popped popcorn and bagged it into individual servings for the Little Dude.

Breakfasts: cold cereal, veggie quiche cups, pancakes or smoothies

Lunches: veggie quicke cups, mac & cheese, PB&J, salad, tuna, ham & cheese,

Snacks: fruits, cut-up veggies with hummus or cream cheese, popcorn, cereal bars, graham crackers, yogurt, pretzels

Dinners: Each dinner is served either with a salad or a veggie side.

• Sunday – bacon cheese burgers and sweet potato fries
• Monday – spaghetti & meatballs (spaghetti pre-cooked, sauce and meatballs made by Hubby and in the freezer)
• “Toddler Tuesday” – I let my Little Dude choose dinner. He chooses from chicken nuggets, fish sticks, hotdogs or pizza. He also has to choose a vegetable. (9 times out of 10 it’s peas – yuck!)
• Wednesday – steak and grilled veggies
• Thursday – pork roast with apples and sweet potatoes (crock pot) with egg noodles and salad
• Friday – open (see note below)
• Saturday – grilled chicken (I’ll probably reheat the left over grilled veggies with a can of diced tomatoes, add the grilled chicken and serve over left over spaghetti)

I only planned 6 dinners this week because on Friday, Hubby and I are going to the ACDC concert (I’m so excited!!). We’ll probably have left overs or go to the diner where as Little Dude will be spoiled rotten with my parents and will probably get pancakes for dinner.

So what’s your plan for the week? Did you even plan? If not, you should! Did you catch my talk show guest starring Laura from orgjunkie.com? Take a listen to the two of us get all giddy over meal planning!

Visit Laura and join in the Menu Plan Monday fun!!

Episode #27 – Meal Planning How and Why

First, I share my thoughts on Alice.com – a new website to order household goods from.

Alice provides you a better way to manage all of your household essentials online. You tell Alice what you buy—choosing from great deals on 1000’s of products—and Alice goes to work. We organize all of your products, find coupons and deals for you, remind you when you might be running low, and help you order just the items you need so you can avoid that trip to the corner drugstore or the big-box store. And all this convenience comes direct to your door with free shipping included.

I LOVE ALICE! It cut my time in half in the grocery store! That alone is worth a try!

Next, I’m so super excited to be joined today by Laura from I’m An Organizing Junkie. I’ve wanted to talk with her for some time now about menu planning. After all she is the super fabulous hostess of Menu Plan Monday!

Not only does she tell us how and why she began meal planning, Laura provides such useful information on dealing with food allergies. This is a must for moms having a hard time planning menues around someone with food allergies. Bottom line – it’s not as hard as it seems!

You won’t believe how much fun the two of us had discussing meal planning! We talked, and talked, about:

• How we each meal plan
• Planning around food allergies
• Using themes in meal planning
• Getting the kids involved (and the hubby)
• Where we get our recipes

Both Laura and I hope that after this show, you’ll be convinced to start planning your family’s meals!

If you need help meal planning, I have a how-to guide just for busy moms. For less than the cost of a fast-food dinner, you can be on your way planning your menus. Click here for the Meal Planning Guide.

Meal Planning Works For Busy Moms

Yesterday was on of those days where NOTHING went right. It started first thing with spilling my first cup of coffee. I should have realized it would go down-hill from there.

In the afternoon I had to take my dog Molly to the vet to have a boo-boo taken care of. And Little Dude came with us. Oh what an exhausting experience! A 45-pound nervous and hurt dog and a 35-pound toddler – not a good combination when you have to wait 1/2 hour in the waiting room!

Then to top it off, there was an accident so we got stuck in traffic on the way home. UGH! After all was said and done, the whole trip took almost two hours! Twice as long as I had anticipated.

What does this hectic day have to do with meal planning?

The whole ride home (actually the whole time we sat in traffic) I was starting to panic because dinner time was very soon. I was anticipating a toddler melt-down.But when I arrived home, dinner was already cooking! All I had to do was steam the veggies and set the table!

How did this miracle of miracles happen?

Hubby realized we were running late. So he looked on my meal plan list for the week, saw what was planned, and did the job. And because I prepared in advance, all he had to do was throw it together and pop it in the oven!

Meal Planning Saves Time and Sanity

Each Sunday afternoon I plan our family’s meals for the coming week. I post the menu for the week on my fridge. I create my shopping list. I pull ingredients from my freezer and pantry to have them handy.

Advanced meal planning saves me time at dinner time (aka The Witching Hour). Because I know what to make, and have the ingredients ready, cooking dinner is easy-peasy! And the bonus is that Hubby can jump in and help when needed. I didn’t even have to tell him what to do – everything was ready for him to just put together.

Do you meal plan? Do you need help planning your family menu? I have a how-to guide to help you get started. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to save time and money by planning your family meals in advance. Chapters include The Strategy Session, Making The Shopping List, Short Cut Cooking, Plan Your Leftovers, Storage And Reheating Tips, Recipe Suggestions and more. Click here to learn more about Meal Planning for Busy Moms.

Need Help Menu Planning?

My favorite way to save money on household expenses is menu planning. I’ve talked about it before, I know, but that’s because, second to your mortgage, food just may be your highest monthly expense. So, it does make sense to trim that expense as much as you can, right? (Hint, the answer is yes!)

I talked with the owner of DineWithoutWhine.com — my favorite menu planner for busy moms, and she has given me a coupon code that I can pass onto you so you can save 20% on her menu planning service.

To get started, go to this site DineWithoutWhine.com and choose either the 3, 6, or 12 month subscription option. When you’re checking out, enter this code: 04AO (The first digit is a zero and the last is an uppercase letter “O”.) and you’ll save 20% instantly.

Most people give up on their New Year’s Resolution before January 31st. Give yourself the tools to actually make it work this year. You’ll be so glad you did!

DineWithoutWhine.com
Coupon: 20% off 3,6 or 12 month subscription to menu plan
Code: 04AO (that’s a zero first and then the letter o at the end)
Expiration Date: 4/15/2008