Meal Planning
I'm trying to establish a weekly meal plan that will save money and time, but will be decently healthy. Here's what I have this far:
Dinners:
I want to alternate dishes within these broad categories. For example, Stir-fry can use whatever vegetables are most in season, or on sale, etc. Our favorite kind of fish is salmon, but I've been wanting to experiment with some different kinds. If there is no fish on sale, I may need to go for some type of meat that is.
Lunches will be mostly salads and sandwiches, and maybe some leftovers. In my efforts not to overwhelm Hubby with all health foods all the time, I will probably include a few of his favorite snacky items with his lunches from time to time:o)
Breakfasts will alternate between fruit smoothies with protein powder, and fiber-packed foods, like oatmeal or whole-grain toast.
I will plan on one dessert a week, probably on the weekend. Since it is just two people right now, I usually half the recipe of whatever I make, unless we are having company.
Dinners:
- M: Fish (or some other type of meat, if on sale)
- T: Veggie Stir-fry with a little chicken
- W: Soup
- T: Pasta (spaghetti, fettucine dish, homemade mac and cheese, noodle casserole, etc.)
- Weekends: Leftovers, as well as one or two different dishes inspired by the weekly sale items and our cravings:o)
I want to alternate dishes within these broad categories. For example, Stir-fry can use whatever vegetables are most in season, or on sale, etc. Our favorite kind of fish is salmon, but I've been wanting to experiment with some different kinds. If there is no fish on sale, I may need to go for some type of meat that is.
Lunches will be mostly salads and sandwiches, and maybe some leftovers. In my efforts not to overwhelm Hubby with all health foods all the time, I will probably include a few of his favorite snacky items with his lunches from time to time:o)
Breakfasts will alternate between fruit smoothies with protein powder, and fiber-packed foods, like oatmeal or whole-grain toast.
I will plan on one dessert a week, probably on the weekend. Since it is just two people right now, I usually half the recipe of whatever I make, unless we are having company.
posted by Erin | 9:49 PM
5 Comments:
Thanks for posting this! I am working on the same thing right now and you have given me some more ideas to work with.
I really like your idea of baking bread once a week and then freezing some for the end of the week! I think I may be trying this. I have a bread machine, but I don't use it nearly as much as I should. :) It makes great pizza dough, though!
I have done the bread thing before, just not on a regular basis yet:op But my mom always used to make homemade bread. We've found that it works really well to slice the bread before you freeze it...then you can just pull out pieces as you need them.
It works just fine to put frozen slices directly into the toaster (though it might have to toast a bit longer than normal!), or for regular use, I heat my slices in the oven wrapped in foil to avoid making them hard in the microwave.
(Mmmm...home-made pizza dough sounds yummy:o)
I have been researching meal planning a lot lately. Although I am not married, I still live at home and am in charge of the cooking duties. I really love the idea of "freezer meals", where you have one big day of cooking the first of the month and freeze the food to eat for the next 29 days. Anything to cut down on the amount of time I spend at the grocery store is a good thing!
Ps: I love your name (it's mine, too!) :)
Moments of Clarity,
It's nice to meet another Erin:o)
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