Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts

Monthly Meal Planning



This morning, my sister-in-law posted her monthly meal plans for February and March on Facebook. She asked others to post theirs, so Betsy, here's mine:

February

Week 1:
-Stir fry
-Chicken pesto pasta with chard
-Indian food leftovers from the weekend
-Potato soup and salad
-Homemade pizza
-Venison chops, new potatoes and cooked carrots (free meat from friend=must use)

Week 2:
-Chicken (or white) chili with cornbread and salad
-Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas
-Breakfast casserole
-Greek spaghetti with salad and homemade French bread (still learning...)
-Chicken Parmesan with rice and asparagus
-Event (no meal needed)

Week 3:
-Barbeque pulled pork sandwiches and salad
-Cornbread bake (taco-seasoned gr. beef and taco fixings on top of cornbread)
-Chicken satay with rice and edamame
-Turkey soup and salad (used frozen turkey pieces and broth from Christmas)
-Meatballs with gravy, french fries (from TJs) and broccoli
-Pizza

Week 4:
-Walnut-encrusted chicken with rice and asparagus
-Spaghetti with gr. turkey, homemade French bread and salad
-Chuck wagon beans with cornbread and broccoli
-Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (got to do these kind of meals sometimes)
-Pot roast with veggies, bread and salad
-Grilled Italian sausage and roasted winter veggies

Note: I plan for six days a week to account for a day of leftovers or convenience food.

Posted in: , on Monday, March 1, 2010 at at 12:18 PM 1 comments  

Meal Planning

So, I'm trying to get better at meal planning for several reasons including saving money, being more organized and shopping less. There are so many areas of being a homemaker that I feel like such a newbie in. This is one of them. Last month, I planned out meals for the the last 3 weeks of the month and did 4 hours of shopping for those meals in two days. For the rest of the month, I pretty much only had to pick up a couple things here and there, which kept me out of the stores for the most part. This is good for three reasons: I spend less money, it saves time and I don't have to drag my kids to the store one or more times per week.

So, now I'm taking this to a new level and trying to plan out the whole month of February. My dilemma is do I comparison shop, gather coupons, etc. and hit multiple stores or do I just stick with my main stops: Trader Joe's, Costco, Safeway and the produce stand. I tried the whole coupon bit a few months ago and felt like I was spending more time and money buying stuff I didn't really need (and being in the stores too often) than saving money. Part of the dilemma is that money is tight and comparison shopping or checking out discount grocery stores might be worth the financial savings...or it might not. Quality is also important to me and often, the better quality items are found at Costco, TJs and a local upscale market for produce. I'd appreciate any input.

Posted in: , , on Monday, February 1, 2010 at at 11:30 AM 1 comments  

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