Meal Planning. I am far from an expert on this, but I like to eat and I like to plan, so, here's my take on things.
I always start with a plan. I know my goal is 5 meals, leftovers one night (sometimes more) and eat out one night (actually,we are trying to cut this out).
-Check inventory. What food do I already have or need to use up that I can make a meal or snack with?
I usually make a list of meals and or snacks that I already have and go from there. Obviously, this very much depends on the week, but I try to bake something ahead for breakfast and snack. I actually plan a snack so that we are a)using up food before it goes bad and b)feeding planned, healthier and appropriate snacks. I try hard not to be rushed at snack time because then I am more likely going to feed them junk or just unbalanced foods. My kids snack a lot. I will post some snacks I make with recipes later this week.
-Check sales. I limit myself, to just a couple of stores. I don't have the time or energy to go to 10 different stores once a week. If I stay in town, I check 2 grocery store ads (sometimes I price match at Walmart, but mostly, I go to the appointed store). If I happen to be going to Champaign or the sales are good enough, I check Meijer and plan a trip to Sam's. (List of things I buy there coming soon, too!) I write down all the sale stuff that I would normally buy, things my family eats (fresh fruits, veggies, etc.) And then, I plan the rest of the weeks meal according to what is on sale.
Now I have a list of meals and snacks. I usually just plan on making 1 or 2 snacks ahead and then they snack on fresh fruit and veggies, nuts, cheese, peanut butter and sometimes rice cakes. Then, I check my calendar for the week (Monday-extra kids, Wednesday-Small Group, Thursday-meeting, Friday-game night, etc) I have a white board and I tentatively plan which meals we do on what day according to our schedule for the week. Easy meals like crockpot or leftovers on really busy days, meals with more prep I plan on days I know I will be home most of the day. We do Flapjack Friday almost every week (pancakes, eggs, and whatever else we have that goes with it). That takes away the planning for that day and it's a fun little family thing we do. Even when we are having company, we try to do Flapjack Friday. :)I highly suggest a day like this because it's fun, consistent and easy! In the past we've done; Taco Tuesday, Taste-of-Home Tuesday (new recipe each week). Flapjack Friday has been around for a while though. It's cheap and fun and I really like to do my laundry and cleaning on Fridays, so it works for us.
We recently raised our budget to $50 per week, plus $10 per week for Sam's Club because I am babysitting.
Later today I will post an example of meals and snacks for the week. :)
I always start with a plan. I know my goal is 5 meals, leftovers one night (sometimes more) and eat out one night (actually,we are trying to cut this out).
-Check inventory. What food do I already have or need to use up that I can make a meal or snack with?
I usually make a list of meals and or snacks that I already have and go from there. Obviously, this very much depends on the week, but I try to bake something ahead for breakfast and snack. I actually plan a snack so that we are a)using up food before it goes bad and b)feeding planned, healthier and appropriate snacks. I try hard not to be rushed at snack time because then I am more likely going to feed them junk or just unbalanced foods. My kids snack a lot. I will post some snacks I make with recipes later this week.
-Check sales. I limit myself, to just a couple of stores. I don't have the time or energy to go to 10 different stores once a week. If I stay in town, I check 2 grocery store ads (sometimes I price match at Walmart, but mostly, I go to the appointed store). If I happen to be going to Champaign or the sales are good enough, I check Meijer and plan a trip to Sam's. (List of things I buy there coming soon, too!) I write down all the sale stuff that I would normally buy, things my family eats (fresh fruits, veggies, etc.) And then, I plan the rest of the weeks meal according to what is on sale.
Now I have a list of meals and snacks. I usually just plan on making 1 or 2 snacks ahead and then they snack on fresh fruit and veggies, nuts, cheese, peanut butter and sometimes rice cakes. Then, I check my calendar for the week (Monday-extra kids, Wednesday-Small Group, Thursday-meeting, Friday-game night, etc) I have a white board and I tentatively plan which meals we do on what day according to our schedule for the week. Easy meals like crockpot or leftovers on really busy days, meals with more prep I plan on days I know I will be home most of the day. We do Flapjack Friday almost every week (pancakes, eggs, and whatever else we have that goes with it). That takes away the planning for that day and it's a fun little family thing we do. Even when we are having company, we try to do Flapjack Friday. :)I highly suggest a day like this because it's fun, consistent and easy! In the past we've done; Taco Tuesday, Taste-of-Home Tuesday (new recipe each week). Flapjack Friday has been around for a while though. It's cheap and fun and I really like to do my laundry and cleaning on Fridays, so it works for us.
We recently raised our budget to $50 per week, plus $10 per week for Sam's Club because I am babysitting.
Later today I will post an example of meals and snacks for the week. :)