Weekly Menu Planning
It seems like every time we go to make a meal these days, we are missing some crucial ingredient. I have totally dropped the ball on meal planning and making grocery lists. This has lead to more money spent, more time lost on running to the store for a couple items at a time, and less home cooked meals. We tend to run through the glorious Chik-fil-a drive through more than we should because of this menu planning slacker.
SO, tis time for us to get back to the menu drawing board! This week I am going to plan one full week of meals – which is a LOT of food for a hungry homeschooling family of five. Some weeks I feel like we eat ALL of the time!
We often eat two breakfasts or lunches and have become quite fond of our “linner” meal (you know, the one between lunch and dinner?)
So here are our dinning plans for the week. I hope it gives you some new ideas, or helps breathe life back into your lack of planning ahead. 😉
Dinner:
M – Salmon and Veggies. I have more time to cook on Mondays, and this is a healthy family favorite.
T – Mexican Quinoa. Tuesday is our co-op day, which is exhausting. I can dump this into the crock-pot when we get home, and it will be ready in 4 hours!
W – Salsa Chicken. Our Wednesdays are jam-packed with Bible study and church activities – so this open and dump into the crock-pot meal, is perfect.
Th – Taco Thursday. My family has been wanting tacos all.day.every.day so it is time to limit it to ONE day, plus leftovers maybe 😉
F- GF Pizza and Salad. We love having a pizza and movie night one day each week. My kiddoes never complain about what’s for dinner on pizza night.
S – Chicken Stir Fry. This is a super easy meal to make on the stove. My hubby is off on Saturdays, so I am sure he will be delighted to do the cooking.
Sun – Sesame Chicken. Chinese is a family favorite, and this recipe is so easy that it will make a lovely Sunday family meal.
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Lunch: We will eat either salads (with boiled eggs, turkey, or chicken), left-overs from dinner, or PB and J sandwiches (these are usually reserved for co-op day, or the kiddoes get burned out.) We love to mix up different nut butters with different jams or jellies. Our current favorites are cashew butter or almond butter with blueberry, strawberry, or apricot fruit spread. Mmmmm. Om nom nooomm.
Breakfast: I save this one for last because it is one of my least favorite to cook for. I wish I could make breakfast fall from the sky like manna from heaven each morning, because I wake up starved and do not want to wait on something to cook. Thank the Lord our local Chick-fil-a has offered free breakfast two days per week since the beginning of the year (I know right. They are one of the most wonderful places on planet Earth 😉 ) Without further ado, here is my tentative breakfast meal plan:
M – Cereal or left over pancakes. My kids eat breakfast with our baby sitter this morning, so these are two easy options for her to feed them.
T – FREE CHICK-FIL-A. Mama doesn’t have to mess with breakfast cooking or clean-up. (Is this real life right now!?)
W – We will be eating dry cereal out of baggies. I let my kids choose any low sugar, gluten free option they want for our busy mornings. We go to CBS (Community Bible Study) on Wednesday mornings. When I wake my kids up early, they usually aren’t hungry for awhile, so we bring out breakfast with us. Super simple to pack the night before too!
Th – Hold onto your hats – FREE Chick-fil-a take 2!! Whoo hoo! 😉 We will probably end up eating scrambled eggs with veggies for second breakfast or brunch. I have more time to cook this morning, so we need to get some protein in. My kids all love scrambled eggs, especially if I shred some cheese on top. Our veggies of choice with eggs are spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and bell peppers. Yum!
F – We will probably repeat yesterdays eggs and pair it with some oatmeal. We love to cook our oatmeal in almond milk, and to add walnuts and dark chocolate chips to it. Ommm nomm nooom.
S – Pancakes and Turkey Sausage. We usually reserve this morning for family pancake breakfast. We stockpile GF Pumpkin pancake mix from Trader Joe’s 
Sun – This one I leave up to Daddy. Sometimes he cooks something, other times we eat cereal. We usually reserve the sugary bad for you cereal for today. The kids love chocolate flavored rice cereal. We follow the 80/20 rule when it comes to food. We try to eat very healthy things that are unprocessed and provide our bodies with lots of nutrients 80% of the time. The other 20% we allow for treats and sugary things. We want our children to learn to make healthy choices, but sometimes treats are the BEST motivation for learning.
For snacks we keep fresh fruit and veggies, nuts, tortilla chips, and popcorn around. We like to snack, and having healthy options in the house helps a ton!
I hope seeing our menu plan for the week has given you ideas and the encouragement to plan out your meals (and avoid the drive through, unless it’s free of course 😉 ).
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