Friends, VBS nearly took us out. My meal plan was a big fat fail last week. The good news is that most of the food is still good (1 bag of spinach hit the compost bin) and can be used this week. Full disclosure: we ate out way too much and lived a harried existence for a week. I’m so unbelievably happy to be cooking an return to “normal” this Monday, it’s not funny. Just in case you had the incorrect perception that I am an ace when it comes to this household management stuff, do know that many days I fall ridiculously short. But each week, I come back and start over again and make a new plan.
If I don’t have a plan at all, I know I’ll fail when it comes to best using our resources, money, and time. I don’t always follow our meal plan to a T but there’s a relief in knowing that we have all of the items to make meals all week long that we need. That way, we use the groceries we have and stay out of the drive thru (obviously saving money!). Regular meal planning was one of the many keys to us paying off $127K in 4 years. Simply paying attention made huge waves in our finances.
Did you catch my segment on WTHR? It focused on tips & tricks for meal planning. Check those out for some of my best tips!
Don’t forget I have a newly designed Meal Planner to help you in your meal planning and grocery list endeavors. And you can always find it (along with other great resources) on the FREE Printables Tab on Queen of Free.
Without further ado, here’s what’s for dinner on the Royal Table this week:
Monday:
Marinaded Grilled Chicken
Grilled Asparagus
Gluten Free Macaroni and Cheese
Peach Crumble
Tuesday:
Taco Tuesday!
Ground Turkey
Black Beans
Chips & Salsa
Cheese, Spinach, Avocado
Wednesday:
Stir Fried Shrimp
with Zucchini, Mushrooms, Onion, & Peppers
Rice Noodles
Fresh Strawberries from the Garden
Thursday:
Community Group Pitch-In TBD
Friday:
Leftovers or Sandwiches
Fresh Fruit & Veggies
Saturday:
Brunch – Eggs, Grilled Sausage Patties, Strawberries, Roasted Red Potatoes (yep because I didn’t use it last week)
Dinner:
Out with Family
Sunday:
Lunch:
Burgers on the Grill
Green Beans
Chips
Apple Slices
Dinner:
Ham (I got a really good deal at ALDI & it’s been in my freezer)
Salad
Baked Potatoes
Fresh Fruit Salad
Dinner Out Planning meals was definitely one of the biggest keys for success in our paying off over $127K in debt. Often I swap days or side items to make our menu plan work but the main purpose is to make sure I have everything on hand I need for meals throughout the entire week. The less you go to the store, the more money you save! What are you having on your Royal Table this week?
Gain inspiration to pay off debt! Check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free on Kindle or Pre-Order Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After (due out November 2014).
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Michelle M says
VBS is not for the faint of heart!! Ours was in the morning, so by late afternoon I’d recovered enough to feed everyone.
Queen of Free says
Ours was from 5:45 pm to 8:15 each evening but we needed to be there by 5 to serve. Typically I blog from 3-4, fix dinner from 4-5 and my whole world turned upside down. Glad to be back on track this week!