And then there's Caleb. Eating is a social thing, and even when he can't eat the same foods as us, he still benefits from having us all sit at a table together, modeling the use of utensils, chewing, etc.
And then there's me. I'm not picky in the sense that there are a lot of foods that I don't like. I like pretty much anything. But if something doesn't sound good to me at that moment, I have a hard time making myself eat it. So when we don't have something planned for dinner and Nate looks in the fridge and says, "We could have tacos...pasta...," then I'm like, "GROSS! Yuck! No way!" And I end up eating a granola bar that's about as healthy as a candy bar for dinner. Then an hour later I'm hungry and I eat more packaged junk. Another one of my goals is to be healthier--I have no intention of losing weight (although a few pounds would be alright), but I want to feel generally better. You know. Move more. Not get tired from pushing my lightweights in their stroller up the hill at the zoo. That sort of thing.
And then there's Nate. He loves to cook. He says that he's never cranky while he's in the kitchen cooking. It's his happy place. He contributes to our dinners a lot, and he's glad to do it. But I get the feeling that he'd be glad to come home to some dinner made by me, too.
Enter: The Menu.
Such a novel idea. Why did I never think of this before?
I came up with 28 meals that we all enjoy and organized them into five different weeks. Each week contains one or two meals that takes some effort to prepare, and the rest are easy to throw together. Most of them I don't even need a recipe for. Some days are empty, for eating out or for leftovers or for whatever else happens to be going on that day. I tried to put similar meals on different weeks (so we don't have lasagna and stuffed shells in the same week), but I also put many meals that use the same ingredients in the same week--such as southwest egg rolls and Mexican salad (both use partial cans of black beans, so we don't waste half a can of beans).
Each week has some leeway as far as what we make each day. I see other peoples' menus that say: "Monday: tacos. Tuesday: lasagna. Wednesday: fried chicken," and I think, "But what if Monday comes around and I really, really, really don't feel like tacos?? Or what if Tuesday comes around and I don't have enough time to put together lasagna??" I just know that sort of menu wouldn't work for me. So, each day I look at my weekly list and choose what I feel like eating that day, and what I have the time and energy to prepare.
And I know that I'll have all of the ingredients I need for everything on that week's menu, because I also put together a handy dandy shopping list so we can go shopping every Friday or Saturday. I even organized it according to where I will find the food in our local store, going from left to right, because nothing is more annoying than looking at your shopping list and realizing you have to go back to aisle 1 again, even though you're on aisle 8 already. Grocery store ping pong. What a pain.
And do you know what else I have found? We're saving a lot of money by not going to Walmart. When you go to Walmart for some spinach, you also end up buying some curtain rods and some shower cleaner and some baby clothes (because they're on sale and they'll look soooo cute on little Russell even though he has way more clothing than any 13-month-old should ever need). And we're saving our receipts so we can see just how much money we spend on groceries in a month. So far it's around $65/week (and we haven't used any coupons). When we see something non-perishable on sale, we buy multiple so that five weeks later we don't have to pay full price for it. Then, before we go shopping we look through our fridge and our cupboards and our food storage and cross off everything on our list that we already have. And throughout the week I keep the lists handy so I can add to them when I find something ordinary that we're running out of (like butter or oil or flour).
This is our third week using this plan, and I can't tell you how much I love it! It helps that my boys nap until dinnertime, so I have an easier time preparing food. I honestly think this could be a really long-term thing for me. It's not a phase. I can do this!
So, would you be interested in seeing the menus and shopping lists that I've typed up? So you can use them for yourself and save the many hours that I spent putting them together? Well, alright then! You're welcome!
________________________________________
WEEK 1:
Italian dunkers
Crock pot roast
Lasagna
Loaded baked potato soup (in blender)
Ginger steak salad
Breakfast for dinner (any combo of omelets, pancakes, French
toast, sausage, bacon, etc)
SHOPPING LIST:
O French bread
O pasta sauce (3)
O lasagna noodles
O pancake mix
O brown sugar
O hot dogs
O steak
O roast
O ground hamburger/chicken/turkey (choose for lasagna)
O bacon
O breakfast sausage (optional)
O cottage cheese
O mozzarella (2) and cheddar cheese
O eggs
O sour cream
O milk
O potatoes
O cherry tomatoes
O romaine lettuce
O jalopeno
O ginger
O green onions
O carrots
O garlic
O lime
WEEK 2
Pollo Asado
Quesadillas with pinto beans
Lentil and Kilbasa soup
Sloppy joes
Calzones
tuna melts
SHOPPING LIST:
O bread
O hamburger buns
O corn tortillas
O pinto beans
O tuna
O stewed tomatoes
O lentils
O sloppy joe sauce packet w/ necessary ingredients
O pizza toppings
O rhode’s rolls
O chicken legs (large pack)
O ground beef
O keilbasa
O mozzarella and cheddar
O sour cream
O ricotta cheese (optional)
O apples
O oranges
O limes
O lemons
O carrots
O garlic (4 cloves)
O onions (3)
O avocados
WEEK 3
Cabbage and sausage
Café Rio burritos
French dip
Crock pot chicken
a la king
Taco soup
SHOPPING LIST:
O hoagie buns
O tortillas
O 3 cans coke
O diced tomatoes (with green chilies, optional)
O diced green chilies
O red enchilada sauce
O a jus sauce
O black beans
O tomato paste
O chicken broth/bullion
O cream of chicken soup
O frozen peas
O corn meal
O brown sugar
O pork (for pulling)
O sausage
O chicken breasts (many)
O roast beef
O mozzarella
O biscuit tube
O lime
O garlic
O cilantro
O avocado
O peppers (optional)
O mushrooms
O onions (4)
O cabbage
WEEK 4
Stuffed shells
Pot pie
Mexican chicken salad
Twice baked potatoes
Southwest egg rolls
SHOPPING LIST:
O tortilla chips
O pasta shells
O mixed veggie can
O cream of chicken soup
O black beans
O frozen corn
O pie shell
O oil
O cumin and cayenne
O chicken breasts (many)
O ham/bacon
O ground sausage
O Mexican cheese blend
O parmesan
O ricotta cheese
O cheddar and mozzarella
O sour cream
O eggs
O ranch dressing
O salsa
O egg roll wrappers
O avocados
O potatoes
O romaine lettuce
O tomatoes
O green onions
O spinach
O cilantro
O lime
_____________________________________________
WEEK 5
Random pasta with sauce
Hamburgers
Pizza biscuits
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Stir fry of some sort
Enchiladas
SHOPPING LIST:
O bread
O hamburger buns
O tortillas
O tomato soup
O enchilada sauce
O olives
O pizza toppings (pep, ham, pineapple, etc)
O pasta
O sauce (for pasta and pizza)
O pasta meat (optional)
O stir fry meat (chicken, shrimp, steak, or sausage)
O hamburgers/ground beef
O chicken breast
O biscuit roll or pizza crust
O milk
O cream cheese
O cheddar, mozzarella
O sour cream
O pasta veggies
O hamburger toppings
O stir fry veggies
O green onions
And there you have it! A convenient plan to help you be healthier, save money, and be more organized while feeding your family! Now I've got to go check on the roast in my crock pot. It should be ready just in time for Nate to come home from work and for the boys to wake up from their naps. :)
