Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Meal Planner

Sunday I sat down and planned 10-14 days worth of meals for the coming couple of weeks. This process takes some time and work, but overall I like the outcome of such an endeavor. We not only get a good assortment of meal choices, but we also guard against going to the grocery being unproductive with our purchases. You know what I mean by that... isn't it the worst when you spend over $100 at the grocery and come home to realize that with everything you purchased, very little will make a meal for you and your family. Totally frustrating. So meal planning not only allows my hubby and I to stay on track with our budget (not eating out because we KNOW we have a meal available at home), but it also keeps me away from the dreaded grocery - - - I cannot stand that place! If I can make it where we do not have to go there again until the next pay day, I'll be golden.

Last night we tackled the ready made list of groceries to purchase that I created Sunday night with my meal planning. The hubby and I conquered each aisle together, grabbing the items demanded by the list. For a "To Do List" person like me, this was heavenly... a list to check off items as we put them in our cart.... wow, I am a dork!


Needless to say, we came away with a TON of food, but some yummy meals to look forward to. I originally plotted out the meals on a per day schedule, but I'll only follow this schedule tentatively. If we wake up one morning that chicken is scheduled for the meal that night, and beef sounds better, we'll switch it up accordingly, but AT LEAST I know I have these meals ready and waiting to be prepared. Let's see how I did.

Monday (last night - check): Poppy Seed Chicken, Garlic Bread, Green Beans, and Rice

Tuesday: Broiled Tilapia Parmesean, Italian vegetable medley, and 3 cheese garlic bread

Wednesday (Mr. McGoo night bc I have class): Brauts or Steaks - whichever he chooses

Thursday: Red Beans and Rice, and salad

Friday: Pork Roast, Green Beans, and Mashed Taters

Saturday Lunch: Cuban Sandwiches made from the left over pork roast

Saturday (Mr. McGoo night): Chili

Sunday Lunch: Breakfast food (pancakes, eggs, etc)

Sunday: Burgers and Fries

Monday: Italian Chicken, Biscuits, Pecan Vinaigrette Salad

Tuesday: Italian Chicken Pizza (using leftover meat from night before)

Wednesday (Mr. McGoo Night): Taco Soup

Thursday: Chicken Divan and Rice

Friday: Potato Soup

Saturday: Turkey Tostadas

Sunday: Tacos

Along with all these yummy meals, we purchased a larger variety of snack foods... most are good for you like celery, carrots, fruits, 100 calorie popcorn packs, etc, and of course some lunch and breakfast options for my main squeeze. As we're working out, we're trying to also eat multiple times a day to keep our metabolism up and running. Breakfast, snack. lunch, snack, dinner. So you can say the "pantry" and refrigerator are packed. Here's to hoping I do not have to go to the grocery again until March. he he!

Anyone have any other meal planning tips? My ears are open.

13 comments:

Chuck Smith said...

My only tip is that you invite friends with little babies over for dinner and Wii!!! Yum

Mrs. McGoo said...

We can definitely make that happen. :) Pick a night you like the dish... and we'll plan it! Braut night? We have plenty... and definitely Wii competition. ;)

asconway said...

Good idea. I do a week at a time, but maybe 2 weeks would keep me from having to go to the grocery so often.

Meredith Smith said...

that is AWESOME!! you da bomb! Will you make me a meal plan and feed my family. Did you get this off a website or just yo creative brain?

Mrs. McGoo said...

Thanks Ashley & Mer. Just had a "I'm doing it!" moment. Found the Meal Planner pic on goggle images - thought it was cute. The list of eats are picked by me... some of my regular recipes and then I looked through my recipe books to find a few other ones to add into the mix. Ran with it from there...

Frank Bryant said...

aTerri and I have a meal planner too. It looks like this:

Monday - Cheddar's
Tuesday - Danny's
Wednesday - Mi Ranchito's
Thursday - IHOP
Friday - Danny's
Saturday - Taco Bueno
Sunday - Lone Star

Mrs. McGoo said...

UFrank - you forgot to list "what night" it is at Danny's for each day... Taco Night Tuesday, etc :)

We do remember that you quoted us verbatim their weekly schedule last week!

Kelly said...

perfect! Now attach all your recipes, and we'll ALL be set ;)

Lisa Marie said...

For those interested...check out www.supercook.com. This is a great site for those nights that you think nothing in your kitchen can be combined to make anything. You can put in what you have left around the house and it will show you recipes on tons of sites that you can manage. You can create an account if you want and keep staple ingredients in there or save recipes you love. You can also emphasize certain ingredients. This is great if you have something that you need to use before it goes bad. Anywho... I love that site and thought I'd share!

Elian said...

mmmmm Cheddar's

Brittany Schwaigert said...

I do that too, when it's not crazy around here. I usually plan a week in advance. I like to make more than one meal at a time and freeze it for ease later--like tonight I made PW's Lasagna and froze half for another time!

Mrs. McGoo said...

Great idea Britt! Do you just freeze it uncooked in tupperware? Or how do you freeze half to make it keep? Thanks for the tip!

Mrs. B said...

CRACKING UP AT FRANK!!!

Good job Heather!!