I haven’t planned out my meals in a long time, which is why my food spending is about 3 times what I’d like my food budget to be.  I also end up throwing away a lot of food –  sinful amounts of produce, freezer burnt foods, even occasionally meat in the fridge I’ve bought and then don’t end up cooking for too long so it’s trash.  Menu planning also helps me eat much healthier, so it’s back to meal planning for me.  If I get stuck, I’ll take inspiration from one of the many posters over at Organizing Junkie, who hosts Menu Plan Monday.  For the next month it’s my goal to use up as much pantry and freezer items as possible.  We’ve got basically a quarter beef in the deep freeze and some wild salmon fished up by a friend, so I’m not spending as much as it seems 😉

For breakfasts we always have oatmeal, cold cereal, scrambled eggs, toast, freezer muffins, yogurt, cottage cheese and fruits to choose from.  This week we also have a mexican zucchini frittata, and some raisin bread.  Any dinner lefovers become lunch, but I’m trying very hard to NOT overcook and have leftovers unless I have specifically planned leftovers.  I also have a small budget specifically for lunches, taken from what hubby was spending eating out every day, to keep us stocked with lunch meats, cheeses, etc for bentos.  My lunches this week are taco soup (4x), chicken salad on greens (2x), and veggie ramen stir fry (1x).  Even when not specifically listed, I usually have a mixed greens salad and fruit available for dinner.

Monday: Mini Calzones, Green Salad with yellow Grape Tomatoes, Pineapple Oops, I forgot that today is the back to school PTA picnic and meeting.  We’ll be having pizza there

Tuesday: Roast Lemon Chicken and Roasted Root Vegetables (Sweet Potato, Carrot, Onion, Turnip), Cauliflower (planned leftovers for Thursday and Friday meals)

Wednesday: Salmon Cakes and Lemon-Garlic Aoili, Lentils, Asparagus

Thursday: Chicken Curry (I’m using shredded leftover chicken, not cubed breasts), Brown Rice, Zucchini & Summer Squash

Friday: Chicken and Corn Chowder, Whole Wheat Rolls, Tri-Melon Salad

Saturday: Sorta Salisbury Steak (I’m adding mushrooms to the gravy), Mashed Potato, Broccoli & Cauliflower

Sunday: Roasted Salmon with Chili-Lime Sauce, Barley, Green Beans

 

Update: Thursday and I am doing well and on track.  I’m under budget for the week (which is easily the first time in months).  I’ve made some adjustments (like when DH wasn’t going to be home for dinner, which I didn’t know until the day of – I wasn’t going to cook a whole meal for kidlet and myself) but I have adjusted only using things in the house already.  The chicken curry recipe will NOT be in regular rotation.  BLAND and tomato-y.  I picked an easy low ingredient recipe for convenience, and it shows in the flavor.  Ick.

 


Posted by in Brain Dump, Getting Organized, Menu Plan Monday