Each week I'm reminded of my love/hate relationship with menu planning. The organizer side of me loves to have a plan. The lazy side of me votes for ordering pizza every day. I then remind myself that would not be frugal or kind to my figure (and I need all the kindness I can get). I love the search for new recipes and knowing each day what's on the menu, but it can become a chore to do it each week especially when you get in a funk and can't think of anything to cook. For this reason I have decided to try a new method. With a little extra up front planning, I've put together a month's worth of meals (4 different weekly menu plans). I then plan to recycle these menus over the next few months with some flexibility built in. My hopes are that this will save me time each week.
I started with a theme for each night of the week and then added 4 dishes to each category. I had never planned around themes before, but I found it to be a cinch! I had my husband tell me what things he would like to see on the menu as well. I left a few blanks for new recipes that come up or unexpected dinners out.
There is a drawback, because I'll have things planned for the month, I won't necessarily be planning around the weekly sales. I don't think this will dramatically impact our grocery budget though because honestly with being back to teaching, I haven't been keeping up with it that much. I'll still check the sales for other items and can match up side dishes with what's on sale.
So here's a peak at our menu. Notice that meat has made a comeback? We're starting to have it 2-3 times a week now. Here's to having a plan!
I would love to hear if any of you have tried planning this way and how it has worked for your family.
Week 1:
Monday-Blackbean & corn quesadillas with spanish rice
Tuesday-Stuffed peppers, Italian corn
Wednesday-Chicken & vegetable paella
Thursday-Breakfast for dinner
Friday-Meatloaf, veggies, corn casserole
Saturday-zesty black bean soup
Sunday-Turkey burgers
Week 2:
Monday-Southwest rollups
Tuesday-Spaghetti, salad
Wednesday-Skillet chicken, brown sugar carrots
Thursday-Salad and baked potatoes
Friday-Slow cooker applesauce chicken, butternut squash, broccoli
Saturday-taco soup
Sunday-Grilled veggie sandwiches
Week 3:
Monday-black-bean salads
Tuesday-Homemade pizza
Wednesday-zucchini and squash bake, veggies
Thursday-Crockpot Italian chicken, green beans, potatoes
Friday-Parmesan chicken, salad
Saturday-Cheddar and vegetable soup
Sunday-BLT, fruit
Week 4:
Monday-Southwest black bean pasta
Tuesday-Sloppy lentil sandwiches, salad
Wednesday-?
Thursday-Vegetable stir fry, ambrosia salad
Friday-?
Saturday-Fiesta chicken soup
Sunday- Egg salad sandwiches, chips, raw veggies
Posts
Great job Lindsay!
ReplyDeleteI did a month menu before we moved. I knew I wouldn't be able to think clearly with work & packing. While planning I starred the days that we would be in the moving process, knowing those would be days I would not want to cook! So for those days I picked meals that would be great to freeze. Then I chose days in the weeks leading up to moving to cook my freezer meals. It was really nice to have things planned out that far ahead!
I have gone back to my week by week planning though. Not really sure if made a big difference for me or not. Plus I plan my meals according to my work schedule which is forever changing.
A word about the sales...when you make your grocery list for that week's shopping... you can take a look at the sales & swap out a meal from one week to another if a sale corresponds with a particular meal.
Keep up the great work!
~Ros
Thanks Ros! This will come in handy for the moving process. Good idea about freezing ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteHOW do you do it??? ack. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love that you're trying the monthly menu... AND that you're doing black bean dishes on Mondays. I think that would make me look forward to Mondays more!
~Karmann
Well Karmann, perhaps the 3 of us gals can get together once a month & "swap" recipes/meal plan! I think it would be a great time!
ReplyDelete~Ros
I was home from work on Tuesday and Wednesday so I had a little extra time, but it seriously didn't take that long. I think it will be worth it. And Ros, I'm always up for new recipes. Or...we could have a freezer cooking day.
ReplyDelete