August 03, 2009

Menu Planning Monday

For several months now, I have seen "Menu Planning Monday" posts all over some of my favorite blogs. The concept seemed easy enough ... each week you layout the meals you are planning on making.

Summer has kept M and I quite busy and most of the meals we've eaten have either been prepared by someone else (pizza at my sister-in-law's, spaghetti with my father-in-law) or fly by the seat of our pants (whatever was left over in the fridge). Needless to say my eating has not been as healthy as I would have liked it to be. So in an effort to regain some control over my eating and retain a bit of my sanity, I convinced M that we should try Meal Planning Monday.

Last Thursday, I sought out yummy looking receipes from a few of my favorite blogs/websites, reviewed the meals with M, figured out what ingredients we had on hand, and then what ingredients we would need to by, and then complied my shopping list. On Friday, I left work a bit early and did all of my shopping. M and I planned on 4 suppers during the week, 1 supper of leftovers, and 1 supper out (date night). With all that being said, here's what we will be eating this week:

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew: I found this meal idea at Org Junkie .

Saucy Italian Pork Chops

Healthy Mexican Skillet

Low-Fat Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

M and I have not assigned a specific meal to each day, but rather will choose a meal based on what appeals to us at that time. Keep checking back for his/her reviews on each of the meals.

4 comments:

Kathie Brinkman said...

Kimberly, good for you! If you stick to this routine and only buy the things that you will need for that week you will find that you spend less on groceries. For additional savings you can start menu planning by looking in your freezer or pantry and seeing what ingrediants you already have on hand (that you already spent $ on) then plan menus around using those up. It's amazing how much extra stuff we buy just because we "like to have it on hand" but then we never use it. Blessings on your new endeavor.

Maria said...

We just started doing this two weeks ago, when I decided that I had to put a little more effort into dropping the last bit of baby weight, and to generally start cooking again, now that Mia is over 3 months old. I plan the menu out two weeks in advance, make one big shopping trip to buy only what I need for those two weeks, and stick to it. Just making that (fairly) simple change allowed Kevin and I to drop 8 lbs each over the course of two weeks! Woohoo!

Good luck to you guys!

Annie Jones said...

Finally made it to your blog!

I think meal planning is the single most important way to save money on groceries, not to mention it keeps you on track with eating healthier meals.

On my blog I assign meals to a day, but in reality, they often get switched around during the week according to our tastes and what might be happening that day. For us, it's good to be flexible.

BTW, I still need your mailing address for the Pay It Forward gifts. You can email me at imannies (at) gmail.com. :)

Maria said...

I'm trying the chicken casserole and the pork chops this coming week. Any tips or suggestions to these recipes after you try them, send my way! :)