I just finished our meal plan for the week. If you’ve never planned out your meals before, I highly suggest it. Not only does meal planning help you keep a better eye on your budget, I feel like it also relieves a bit of stress that comes along with the cardinal question “What are we having for dinner tonight?” When you have a plan, you can make sure you set things out to thaw the night before, chop your veggies or fruits in advance, or even prepare an entire meal in advance to make your life that much easier.
Monday: Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza w/ Red Onions, Mushrooms, & Jack Cheese
Cheese Pizza for the girls since they’re not as daring
Spinach Salad
Apple Slices (still working on a big bag from our favorite orchard)
Tuesday: Pancakes/Eggs
Fruit Smoothies
Fruit Salad
Wednesday: Grilled Chicken Salads
(Romaine, Carrots, Red/Yellow Pepper, Cucumber, Boiled Egg, Cheese)
Toast/Olive Oil
Homemade Hot Apple Sauce
Thursday: Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Sauce
Grilled Chicken
Side Salad
Garlic Bread
Friday: Taco Night
Ground Turkey, Black Beans, Avocado, Rice, Cheese, Lettuce
Salsa, Sour Cream, Whole Wheat Tortillas
Saturday: Leftovers/Lunch Meat Sandwiches, Cut Veggies, Cut Fruit, Sweet Potato Wedges
Sunday: Chili
Peanut Butter Sandwiches on Whole Wheat (drizzled with honey)
Carrot and Celery Sticks
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bars
So if you’ve never meal planned before, this is your week. You don’t have to type it out (mine is usually scribbled onto a notebook that hangs on my fridge so I can easily see it and remember what I need to do day to day) and you don’t have to plan the weekends. Just give Monday – Friday a whirl this week. Hope that our menu gives you a few ideas. I also highly recommend 5 Dollar Dinners, Rachael Ray’s Budget Meals, Crockpot 365, and All You’s Super Cheap Meals (and other recipes from that site) if you’re looking for affordable meal ideas and recipes.
www.queenoffree.net
I’m always impressed with your meal planning. I meal plan most of the time but have some weeks where I wing it. The one thing you do that I love is plan your sides. I’m not as good about that. Here’s my plan in case you’re interested:
Sunday – fajitas
Monday – BBQ sandwiches, tator tots, baked beans
Tuesday – egg casserole
Wednesday – leftovers
Thursday – veggie soup
Friday – pizza
Saturday – meatloaf, baked potatos
Sunday – leftovers
Thanks for sharing Lady Tight Pants :). I still wing it occasionally even with the plan or I change directions or switch out sides. But it still gives me a good idea of what I can make with what I already have. I love planning in the fall/winter more because I feel like warm foods are easier to meal plan with/get me more excited about eating and cooking. Not sure if that makes any sense or not but that’s the case.
Thanks for sharing Lady Tight Pants :). I still wing it occasionally even with the plan or I change directions or switch out sides. But it still gives me a good idea of what I can make with what I already have. I love planning in the fall/winter more because I feel like warm foods are easier to meal plan with/get me more excited about eating and cooking. Not sure if that makes any sense or not but that’s the case.