The focus of this blog tonight was not to talk (some more) about the upcoming wedding. It was however to discuss the ever daunting task of meal planning. We will be on an incredibly tight budget upon returning from the wedding. I will have quit my job at Target to spend more time with my family, but I will be working as a baby-sitter/nanny nearby. My goal is to spend the rest of the month of April (we return April 16th) planning meals and saving whatever we need to in money for a 30-day meal preparation for May. I have two full weeks planned out (More on that later) and have two weeks remaining.
I have been doing some homework on the meal planning subject and have found two wonderful resources online.
The first one is Eat Your Books. You can sign up for free and in your virtual bookshelf, have up to 5 cookbooks at your fingertips. You can also sign up for a monthly or yearly subscription ($2.50/mo or $25 for a year) and receive unlimited books to your bookshelf. I chose the free one because honestly, right now, I'm not going to use much more than the time-saving, crock-pot, kid-friendly recipes, and while there are quite a few of those, I know I won't use more than five for now. That is the gist of what this website does. They also have some articles on there, but really, some of them are a little weird.
The second resource I found is Mel's Kitchen Cafe. It is exactly what I have been looking for: A recipe index by type (appetizer, main course chicken, main course beef, side dishes, desserts, drinks, you get the idea), recipe tools, menu's, and even an area for 30-day meals, or meals that you plan to freeze for up to a month or more. Probably my favorite tool would be the Online Grocery Shopping List. You can make more than one list at a time (I have one for each week), adding what you need for each week for your meals. Best of all, you can save them, delete them (although I'm trying to figure out how still), and create as many as you want/need. I love this website!! Best of all, it's free to sign up!! I've gotten so many recipe's from this site already and they seem very easy, not always quick, but something I could do on a day that I work half a day or have off.
Okay, on to my two weeks of meal planning. I would like to have the other two weeks done before we leave for our wedding adventures. I used Mel's website on this, and I'm still working on my grocery list, but that's mainly just for me. Also, something to consider, our schedule will vary from the next persons, and sometimes it varies by week, or even by day. For example: Every Monday, I have chorus rehearsal. So, that'll be typically be a "guys night" so it has to be simple. Every Sunday, we'll be driving 60 miles round trip for church, so I need a crock pot lunch. We don't have G-man Wed-Friday and most every other Saturday's, so meals can be a little more....fancy for just the two of us. Please tell me what you think. I get there are quite a few "repeats", but remember we are on an extremely tight budget.
Week one looks like this.
Week 1
Sunday
Breakfast: Frosted flakes and milk
Lunch: Baked ziti, salad, breadsticks, fresh, lightly flavored/cooked green beans
Dinner: spiral noodle salad with olives, green beans, left over breadsticks, cherry pie fruit salad
Monday
Breakfast: chocolate muffins and OJ
Lunch: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich
Dinner: make your own pizza (french bread style), applesauce
Tuesday
Breakfast: Frosted flakes and milk
Lunch: Roasted turkey sandwich, baby carrots with ranch dip
Dinner: penne w/roasted green beans and balsamic butter; cherry pie fruit salad
Wednesday
Breakfast: chocolate muffins and OJ
Lunch: PB&J
Dinner: Sloppy Joe's; garlic mashed potatoes; applesauce
Thursday
Breakfast: Frosted flakes and milk
Lunch: spiral noodle salad w/olives; remaining cherry pie fruit salad
Dinner: penne and marinera sauce, peas, stinky toast
Friday
Breakfast: chocolate muffins and OJ
Lunch: PB&J
Dinner: Leftover night!
Saturday
Breakfast: Frosted flakes and milk
Lunch: Mac & cheese; peas
Dinner: Frito Pies (w/leftover Sloppy Joe meat)
Week one looks like this. And this one is NOT done (dinners missing)
Week 2
Sunday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese; toast
Lunch: crock-pot roast w/potatoes and carrots; salad, rollsDinner: left overs from lunch
Monday
Breakfast: frosted flakes; 2% milk
Lunch: roast beef sandwiches, carrots with ranch dip
Dinner: TBD (thinking DiGiorno pizza pack that comes with breadsticks and cinna-sticks)
Tuesday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese; toast
Lunch: homemade white chili and turkey sandwiches
Dinner: hot dogs and applesauce
Wednesday
Breakfast: frosted flakes; 2% milk
Lunch: turkey sandwich; carrots and ranch dip
Dinner: Simple Ramen noodle soup (paired w/????)
Thursday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese; toast
Lunch: roast beef sandwich (left over from Sunday lunch); carrots and ranch dip
Dinner:
Friday
Breakfast: frosted flakes; 2% milk
Lunch: Turkey salad; applesauce
Dinner: Left overs
Saturday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese; toast
Lunch: grilled cheese; applesauce
Dinner: thinking Taco night?
What do you think? What are simple things your hubs can make? What are things your kids will eat that are not pre-made, processed, or unhealthy? Thanks for the feedback!!
