CALLING all meal planner!!!

[becca011906]

Ok i've see this done on another board i use to visit and it's a great way to get new idea of meals and dinners for your family b/c if you are like me you get sick of eating/cooking the same old meals over and over!!! So today was my shoping day for the month of April i spend about $110 and have my meal plan for the whole month dinners only b/c lunch is always leftovers, sandwiches, cereal, ect. and breakfast is always cereal... so here is for this coming week::::

Sunday: Ham slices, cheese potatos, green beans, peaches

Monday: Chicken tacos w/ all the fixings and bean dip

Tuesday: Vegtalbe/ Beef soup w/ biscuts and fruit and dip

Wendsday: Waffles w/ left over ham slices baked apples

Thursday: Chicken and noodles casserole w/ mashed potatos and salad

Friday: Tuna salad w/ mac n cheese, steamed vegies

Saturday: left overs or ceral


So come on lets see what your having!!!

[isosmom]

Okay, here's what I've got for next week.
I tend to switch the days around depending on what's going on.
Monday - Polenta with Tomato Sauce
Tuesday - Sauteed spinach and mushrooms and asparagus and zucchini saute
Wednesday - Potato Soup in the crock pot and Tofu Sloppy Joes
Thursday - Red Curry with Brown Rice
Friday - Meatless Hash
Saturday and Sunday I work late, so dh does dinner for dc.

[Mylie]

Here is mine....

We also do leftovers or sandwiches with chips or baby carrots with hm dip for lunches and mostly cereal for breakfast with the exceptions of weekends...I make pancakes and homefries or French toast ect....


We eat pretty good considering we are on a realllllly tight budget and we don't eat artificial food colors,preservatives or flavors.....Here is what we are having this week....



I plan my meals Friday to Friday because that is when I get paid....


Friday....Baked Chicken Leg/thigh combos seasoned with Mortons Natures season salt....Baked Potatoes and cream corn.

Saturday...Grilled cheese sandwiches and Hm French Fries..

Sun...Hm Chicken and Dumplings made with leftover chicken and the broth from Fridays meal....

Monday....Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes and corn.

Tuesday....Pasta with butter and black Pepper...grated parmesean on top...

Wednesday....Hm macaroni and cheese casserolle and Peas.

Thursday.....Idahoan Omlettes....

Friday....Clean out the Fridge and eat a leftover buffet...



Now I have to go shopping now that I've made out my menu....Love Mylie xx

[hlkm2e]

This sounds like fun. Here is our menu for the week. I do my days by theme, to help keep myself organized.

Monday - pasta - spaghetti with asparagus (on sale for 99cents), red peppers, and mushrooms in a cream sauce. Greek salad on the side

Tuesday - rice - stir fry with broccoli, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and carrots. Green salad

Wednesday - soup - white chili with great northern beans and green chilies

Thursday - sandwiches - grilled cheese and tomato soup, greek village salad

Friday - fish - grilled fish and french fries, salad

Weekends are usually leftovers and pizza

We eat muffins I bake in bulk for breakfast and sometimes oatmeal. My dh takes leftovers for lunch, I usually have leftovers, also, DD eats usually chicken or a sandwich for lunch.

[Thia]

Breakfast: bagels or cereal
Lunch: leftovers, hot pockets, soup
Dinner: I will make a big salad tonight which will see us through a few meals at least.
*Monday-jumbalia (leftover from yesterday)
*Tuesday-dh will grill steak or pork chops. Rice or potatoes & salad
*Wednesday-tuna casserole
*Thursday-tuna casserole again
*Friday-English muffin pizzas

Thankfully we don't mind eating leftovers and will make a big pot of something to last a couple of days. I usually plan Friday, that is why I have nothing for the weekend yet.

[TwinMom]

I just started consistently planning meals about 8 weeks ago--what a difference it has made! While I was pregnant we ate out, ordered pizza, or ate Amy's frozen meals almost every night (I was very sick and couldn't cook). Now we are eating homemade meals every dinner and have only eaten out three times since I started planning meals!

I try to do themes for dinners, so that each week we'll have a soup night, an ethnic night, a casserole night, etc. I also usually just plan out 5 or 6 meals and then decide each morning which one I'll cook that day, depending on what our schedule looks like. Eventually I will have a month's worth of dishes which I can make each month, kinda like how the Saving Dinner cookbook works.

This week's meals (everything I make is vegan):

1. red beans & rice, garlicky roasted broccoli, apple slices
2. seitan potpie, salad, some kind of fresh fruit
3. tacos, baked apples
4. refried bean quesadillas w/ enchilada sauce, pear slices, steamed corn
5. black bean soup w/ brown rice, sweet potato fries, some kind of fresh fruit

Lunches are leftovers or Amy's frozen meals. Breakfast is cereal or oatmeal or, if we have any, homemade frozen pancakes.

[UUMom]

I don't usually fully plan each meal in advance. But my rough ideas for this week are-- (we don't do desserts beyond fruit)

Whole wheat penne pasta with spinach, red leaf salad w/avo sourdough bread.

Roast chicken with sweet potatoes, w/ asparagus (it's the season. i was able to get organic asparagus, which in these parts is hard to come by), & salad, bread.

Sautee aduki bean & grilled sesame tofu, kimchee, bread. If I see some nice fish at the market, I might add that as well.

Ground Turkey- I like the pot pie idea. I don't have seitan right now, but i so have some turkey. Salad, veggies in pot pie- prob carrots, red potato, corn

Something veggie mexican. I have brown rice, kidney beans, whole wheat tortillas, and i was able to get a bit of raw organic cheese this week. I also got some beautiful cilantro & avocadoes at Whole Foods the other day. Maybe I will make this tonight while the cilantro is still fresh & gorgeous. Salad.

Minestrone veggie soup (I try to make soup or stew once a week--good for weekend leftovers), salad, bread. Perhaps a squash and black bean stew. Not sure. I have a couple of squashes left.

I have some red and green cabbage, so I need to think about what to do with that. I'll prob put the cabbage in the soup or stew. Maybe just shred the red cabbage for our salads.

Hmmm, that all looks good. I don't even have to think this week now. Thanks!

ETA- Oh, you want breakfast & lunch, too. yikes. This morning my oldest dd made pancakes. Leftovers, oatmeal, almond butter & whole wheat toast, eggs, smoothies, boxed shredded oats, leftovers are all things we eat in the morning. Lunch is pretty much the same. Sometimes grilled cheese if i can get good cheese, sometimes tuna, noodles or annie's shells. Nut butters on bread. etc

[Melis]

Hello Great thread idea! I do my menu planning on Thursday afternoon and shop that evening. The menus are for Saturday through Friday.

BREAKFAST
Saturday: HM Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins w/ Yogurt & Fruit Smoothies
Sunday: Pancakes and Sausage
Weekdays: Yogurt, Banana and O's or Whole Wheat Toast or Oatmeal w/ Fresh Fruit and Nuts.

LUNCH
Saturday Lunch: We are going to be on the run so it will be a picnic smorgasboard of Cheese & Crackers, Veggies Sticks, Applesauce and Newman O's
Sunday Lunch: Grilled Cheese w/ Tomato, Monterey Jack and Turkey Bacon
Lunch (weekdays): Leftovers, Salads, Grilled Cheese, HM Pizza, Eggs, PBJ - I
wing it - depending on what's leftover for DH to take to work and then I like to give my 4 yo his choice for lunch (within reason).

DINNER
Saturday: DINING OUT FOR MOTHER'S DAY (early treat)
Sunday: Grilled BBQ Chicken, Baked Beans and Corn-on-the-Cob
Monday: Homemade Pizza and Salad
Tuesday: Cheeseburgers (on the grill), Oven Fries and Veggie Stix
Wednesday: Scrambled Eggs w/ Cheese, Sausage and Whole Wheat Toast
Thursday: Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast and Pasta Salad
Friday: Homemade Pizza and Salad

[Rebecca]

I just finished a 6 wk dinner rotation. We're halfway through the list and have been happy with the choices so far (well, no complaints yet ). There are some meals that the kids won't eat, so they get leftovers from the previous meals, but DH and I like a bit more variety, and we offer them a little to try. Lunches are usually leftovers, pb&j, mac&cheese with veggies, etc. Breakfast is always some assortment of cereal/oatmeal or yogurt/fruit.

Week 1
Mon: Homemade pizza, salad
Tues: Pasta or ravioli (with leftover sauce from pizza), leftover salad, fresh bread
Wed: Beef and Broccoli with Brown rice (cook extra rice for 2 dinners)
Thurs: Roast Chicken, potatoes, carrots, green beans
Fri: Grilled or baked fish, potato wedges, mixed veggies
Sat: Chicken fried rice (left over chicken from thurs and rice from weds), stir fry veggies
Sun: Leftovers/take-out or something random

Week 2
Mon: Tacos, refried beans with cheese (cook extra meat)
Tues: Chicken and vegetable curry (use the last of the roast chicken), brown rice (cook extra for 2 meals)
Wed: Baked Ham, mac & cheese, mixed veggies, squash
Thurs: Chili (use leftover taco meat), cornbread
Fri: Potato pancakes with sour cream and applesauce, leftover fried ham
Sat: Baked Haddock, rice pilaf (with tuesday's rice), seasonal veg or broccoli
Sun: Leftovers/take-out or something random

Week 3

Monday: Kielbasa, sauerkraut, red potatoes, corn
Tues: Spaghetti with meatballs (extra to freeze), broccoli
Wed: Beef Stroganoff, peas and carrots
Thurs: Roast chicken, sweet potatoes with apples, corn, fresh bread
Fri: Chicken and dumplings (or chicken pot pie), salad, bread
Sat: Shrimp and hot italian sausage jambalya (cook extra rice)
Sun: Leftovers/take-out or something random

Week 4

Monday: Baked stuffed pork chops, green bean casserole, mashed sweet potatoes
Tues: Chicken burritos or fajitas, spanish rice (use leftover chicken and rice)
Wed:Seafood Newberg over leftover rice, broccoli
Thurs: Vegetable and herb quiche, salad, fresh bread
Fri: BBQ chicken quarters, egg noodles, grilled summer squash and zucchini
Sat: Beans and Hotdogs, Brown Bread
Sun: Leftovers/take-out or something random

Week 5
Monday: Baked ham, scalloped potatoes, roasted butternut or acorn squash
Tues: Pasta Primavera (alfredo sauce) with veggies
Wed: Ham (leftover), eggs, toast, fruit slices
Thurs: Fried chicken, leftover scalloped potatoes, carrot sticks, corn
Fri: Lamb meatballs in tomato sauce (cook extra to freeze), rice (cook lots), spinach
Sat: Manicotti, broccoli, fresh bread
Sun: Leftovers/take-out or something random

Week 6

Monday: Cheese Quesadillas, Spanish rice
Tues: Chicken Paprikash, egg noodles, broccoli
Wed: French Toast, bacon, fruit
Thurs: Grilled flank steak, baked potatoes (cook extra), mixed veggies
Fri: Chicken Nuggets with loaded potato skins, raw veggie sticks with dip
Sat: Stuffed peppers (make extra to freeze), fresh bread
Sun: Leftovers/take-out or something random

[leomom]

Hi! Can I join? I have been doing a really bad job of putting dinner on the table lately... :

Hopefully this will help me!

Here's what I am planning for the week:

Monday (too late, I grabbed premade enchiladas from the grocery...) :
Tuesday Crockpot chicken, veggies, and rice
Wednesday Always date night with dh so we eat out
Thursday Baked Parmesan Fish
Friday Roasted chicken breasts with veggies
Saturday Dinner with ILs
Sunday Leftovers

[TchrGrrl]

I always do better both budget and healthwise when I have a weekly menu plan. I usually make the plan Sunday afternoon and DH does the grocery shopping from my list Sunday night

We generally have cereal or eggs and toast for weekyday breakfasts (or I pull out homemade frozen waffles/pancakes/muffins for my toddler) and on the weekends I will make pancakes, muffins, waffles, etc. (and make extra to freeze). Lunches for DH are a sandwich at work, for DS1 and I it is usually leftovers, sandwiches or quesadillas.

This week's plan:
M - whole wheat pasta with spicy arrbaritta sauce, broccoli
T - brown rice, chicken and veggie stir fry w/ Soy Vay sauce
W - hamburger patties, sweet potato and white potato oven fries, chopped veggie salad
Th - brown rice, black beans, corn, salsa, avocado, peppers
F - london broil, baked potatoes, roasted broccoli
S - dinner at my parents'
S - ?

[EFmom]

Monday turkey lasagne (made on Sunday)
Tuesday ham, cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato in pita pockets
Wednesday leftover turkey lasagne
Thursday sloppy joes (huge pot, will freeze enough for 2 future meals)
Friday : dh is taking me out to dinner for my birthday
Saturday : inlaws are taking us out to dinner for my birthday
Sunday : friends are having us over for my birthday

: Please note, my birthday is normally not a major deal. There are extenuating circumstances this year.

[becca011906]

WOW i'm glad to see this tread bumped back up again! I will be doing my monthy meal planning and groshery list making tomorrow so i'll post after that my goal for June is to only spend $100 at the store b/c of our property tax bill due this months so i'll post what i come up with later!

[becca011906]

Ok here's my list of 25 meals they are kinda borring, but they will do for our budget this month!

1. Broiled chicken legs, thighs, broiled potatos, frozen sweet corn
2. Tacos, tomatos, lettuce, chips, shells, ect.
3. Sausage and mushroom pizza, salad
4. chicken pot pie, some kinda dessert
5. tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
6. chicken parmesane w/ noodles, green beans
7. Fried shrimp, baked beans, corn, twiced baked potatos
8. chicken echelltas(sp), lettuce, sour cream, dessert
9. meatballs, sause, salad, mashed potatos
10. Chicken-rice-corn casserole
11. Spaghetti, meatballs, salad, fruit
12. meatloaf, green beans, cheese potatos
13. chicken nuggets, corn, fried potatos
14. Pork chops, sweet potatos, green beans
15. Tuna casserole, garlic toast, desert
16. ham casserole w/ mac n cheese
17. chicken n' noodles, mashed potatos, corn
18. Minstrone soup, biscuts
19. eggs, baccon, toast, potatos
20. corn dogs, green beans, ?
21. lasanga, salad, bread
22. Pancakes, sausage, fruit salad
23. tuna sandwiches, dressing, green beans, corn
24. chicken, brocalli, rice casserole
25. Itallian beef, chips, fresh vegs

And this is all i need from the store when i go shoping tomorrow (shoud be dead every wear around here b/c of the Indy 500), I need to buy:

Sams's club:
tide
Dog Food
ziploc bad (i freeze lots)

Aldies:
green beans
head of lettuce
baking soad (CD's)
vinagar (CD's and cleaning)
sour cream
cottage cheese
taco shells
taco seasoning
tomatos
apples
casserole noodles
rice chicken broth
gram crakers
potatos


So as you can see i have a lot of this stuff on hand, and i get WIC so that helps a lot w/ basic stuff, i have bread, corn, greenbeans, and all my meats frozen from the past few months. I'm also cooking all these meals in my toaster oven, microwave, or crock pot b/c my oven and stove require me paying for my gas tank to be filled and i'm not doing that till august!!!

[Attila the Honey]

I do this a bit different - I think of 3 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 5 dinners, and some snacks/desserts/things that are always available. I make enough breakfasts and lunches to carry over at least another meal. I always have leftovers from dinner too, which are used as lunches or dinners for another night. if for some reason we are low on leftovers, there's always stuff to make tomato soup and pbjs.

Breakfasts:

blueberry buckwheat pancakes (freeze leftovers)
yogurt and fruit (frozen blueberries from picking last year and strawberries from a farm stand)
baked oatmeal (one 9x12" pan of this feeds the 3 of us for 4 days, it is eggs, oats, milk and honey)

Lunches:

egg salad on homemade bread with tomato soup


Dinners:

-Curried eggs on toast with peas
-bbq tofu with beans and rice
-lentil burgers on homemade rolls with the usual fixin's (and leftover beans for the side dish)
-spaghetti and homemade sauce with a green veg. OR a pasta/tomato sauce/bean dish
- piroshkis (mashed potato, onion, and tofu with seasonings stuffed in a yeast dough) with roasted asparagus

Snacks/always availables:

- oatmeal cookies or pb cookies
- celery and pb
- pbnj
- toast and jam
- apples and bananas
- popcorn (or can be made into cracker jacks)
- organic cheerios (I found them on sale for $1.39 a box and bought 12 boxes a few months ago)
- homemade yogurt

The asparagus was a small splurge, it's that time of year to eat it fresh! We are eating more eggs and milk foods this week than usual because we went and picked up goat's milk and 10 doz fresh organic eggs. ($16, and are the only groceries we bought this week apart from asparagus.)

[Benji'sMom]

I bought this for the week, but it'll probably last more than a week:

Homemade pizza & salad
Red beans & rice
Tuna Cassarole w/ salad
Homemade chicken pot pie
Shrimp etoufee w/ a veggie side (can't remember what I bought)
Pork Chop cassarole w/ salad
Speghetti

Breakfast is always eggs or waffles.

[MyLittleWonders]

Okay, this is what I've done/am doing this week ... and I also printed out a blank calendar to record each week's menu choices to see what we eat often, what we don't eat much of, etc so that I can work on a month's menu at a time. (Oh, and we are carnivores, but just poultry, fish, and beef. )

Monday: Corn Dog Casserole (kosher dogs ... muy good!)
Tuesday: Chicken soup/stew with corn muffins
Wednesday: "Savory" Chicken (cooked with shallots and garlic - yum!) with rice and veggies
Thursday: Chicken and Sour Cream Enchilada's with corn
Friday: Fish Fillets with Rice and Stir Fry veggies
Saturday: Frozen Lasagna (ran out of ideas and bought a Marie Calendars lasagna : )

What's really exciting to me is that each meal has had enough left-overs for dh to take lunch to work, saving us $4/day!

Oh, and to Attila the Honey - thanks for posting about Baked Oatmeal ... I made some and we LOVE it!!! I need to make a full pan of it tomorrow.

[Attila the Honey]

Originally Posted by MyLittleWonders

Oh, and to Attila the Honey - thanks for posting about Baked Oatmeal ... I made some and we LOVE it!!! I need to make a full pan of it tomorrow.

You are so welcome! It's great with fruit added to it, also!

How did everyone do this week? Did you stick to your plans? I am shocked that we did, despite the busy, hectic, crazy week we had. The old me would have been so quick to say, "Ah, we will just grab something out..." but instead I was handing everyone a lentil burger to eat in the car on the way to meet the realtor on Wednesday. :LOL

[~Megan~]

I'm trying to do mine every 2 weeks because that's how often dh gets paid.

Sat: chicken, bacon, black bean burritos/ hamburger steak
Sun: tuna sandwiches/ ravoli
Mon: Baked chicken
Tue: Spaghetti
Wed: Grilled cheese
Thur: roast and veggies
Fri: chicken quesadilla
Sat: sandwiches/mushroom chicken
Sun: stiryfry and yakisoba (noodles)
Mon: meatloaf
Tue: black beans and rice
Thus: spaghetti
Fri:?

I don't list side dishes because that will depend on what is on sale or what I can get at the veggie stands. Most all meals are accompanied by a salad though.

[Catherine Bennet]

Wow!

You ladies are AWESOME! I do OAMC but I am HORRRIBLE about making a list and doing it. As a result I do not have veges at meals sometimes. Ooops. That is okay I think since I do raw fruit for breakfast and raw veges for lunch right???? :LOL