Meal Planning 101

Welcome to my first of an ongoing meal planning series for Mom’s and Dad’s!  As a very busy Mom who is taking care of two children, running a business, and going to school, I find it very difficult to not have a plan in place when it comes to meals during the week.  Before I started meal planning, my husband would pick up take out on the way home from work or I’d cook frozen junk that really took no effort at all.  Both of these are extremely unhealthy and not creative.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t cook gourmet meals every day.  I make things that are not only healthy, but quick and easy as well, because let’s face it, who has the time! 

So, twice a month I’ll be sharing with you my lovely and faithful readers our menu and give you some tips on what works for me.  I do my big grocery shopping trips twice per month and then weekly I get my essentials, milk, fresh fruit, veggies, etc.  I plan according to what is on sale and I also clip coupons.  This is a bit time consuming on my Sunday nights, but I have saved a significant amount of money. 

Without further ado, here’s my menu for the next two weeks!

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Mother’s Day Dinner at Aunt Sue’s House	Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli with rice	English Muffin Pizzas with Italian Chicken Sausage	Stuffed Peppers	Chicken Parmesan with Salad	Tater Tot Casserole	Teriyaki Steak on the Grill with Veggies and Baked Potatoes
Crockpot Bolognese with Salad	Chicken Enchiladas	Meatloaf Muffins with Rice and Veggies	Crockpot Chicken Philly Grinders and French Fries	Tacos with Mexican Rice	Grilled Honey lime chicken with Mexican 3 Bean Salad	Grilled Pork Chops with Sweet Potato and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Note:  I post my menu on the front of the fridge so I know what I need to thaw out first thing in the morning.  This way, I don’t even need to think about it!  I also keep a magnetic notepad on the front of the fridge as well so if I run out of something my husband or I will make a note of it.  This makes life very easy when it comes time to plan my grocery shopping trip. 

I’m also going to be sharing with everyone some of the recipes I make for our dinners.  Now, keep in mind, I’m feeding an extremely picky five year old!  Need I say more?  I cook very easy, very kid friendly meals that work for my family.  I try very hard to instill what my Mom taught me which is to have a meat, veggie and a starch at every meal.  Do I do this every night?  Nope.  I’m human!  I do try my best though. 

Tonight I’m making English muffin pizzas with salad.  I’ll be sharing the recipe tomorrow so please stop back!

Have a great day!

~Nikki