Weekly Meal Plan 15

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Remember that online household management wizard I told you about a few weeks back? Well, I purchased it and it is amazing! I will go into detail about it in another post once I have my book completely assembled and in use full force.

At any rate, one of the sections of the book is dedicated to meal planning, grocery shopping ect… and there are many, many lists to choose from.

One of the list templates is a ‘Weekly Family Meal Planner’. You can plan Breakfast, Morning Snack, Lunch, Afternoon Snack and then Dinner for all seven days of the week. I know it may sound like running a daycare, but really, seeing it all spelled out really helps me with making my grocery list and capturing meal options that allow me to use up all the groceries I am buying. So, if I buy fresh spinach, like I have done a lot lately, I can easily identify many meal options for using up the spinach so it does not go to waste. If I am buying cheese, I can find a way to incorporate it into snacks, lunch and dinner.

More about that wizard at a later date.

Here is our meal plan for the week. Although I have identified the specific days each food will be eaten on the hand written meal plan, it is NOT a must that corny dogs are served for lunch on Monday. The idea is just to get through the week. If the corny dogs are served on Tuesday instead of Monday, no one is going to die. Really. It’s ok. It is just about planning for the appropriate number of days according to your needs and then using the food up. Switching things around is ok! The wrath of Meal Planning will not come and haunt you!

So, for that very reason I am only going to give you the actual meals and not commit to the day of the week they are served. 🙂 You can click on many of the food names to be directed to their online recipe.

Breakfast:
Nutritious Bars
Frozen Cinnamon French Toast Sticks (they are already sweet, so no need for syrup- get them at Walmart)
Honey Nut Cheerios or Frosted Mini Wheats
Toast and Nutella
Nutritious Bars again (the recipe makes a lot!)

Lunch:
Garrett and Anthony take their lunches to school. Same ol‘ same ‘ol…
Nutella and Peanut Butter Sandwich
BBQ Chips
Apple
Capri Sun
I try to throw in a sweet surprise- this week they will get a few Nutter Butters.

The twins and I will have:
corny dogs (well, I will eat something else this day… like leftovers or a salad)
bean and cheese nachos
ABC’s and 123’s (per Luke’s request)
Mac and Cheese
Hot Dog and chips

I also bought a veggie tray and a fruit tray. I put them on the table with lunch and they grab what they want. Put the lid back on it and put it back in the fridge and there you go… fresh veggies and fruit all week long. I understand I could make my own trays, but I am just too lazy!

Afternoon Snacks:
Pizza bites (mostly or Garrett and Anthony as they are starving after school)
Chips and Hot Sauce (obviously the twins will not eat the hot sauce)
Chips and Rotel
Celery and peanut butter
Cheese and crackers
And don’t forget those fruit and veggie trays

Dinners:
Crockpot Candy Chicken– served over rice with steamed broccoli and a fresh salad (like my mom makes).

Homemade Gourmet Brisket Sandwiches– served with baked beans (canned of course) and tator tots. The Brisket is from the Homemade Gourmet Meal Class. It is pre-assembled and in my freezer- I just need to toss it in the crockpot. Then shred it up once it is done and put it on hamburger buns.

Cheesy Chicken Penne Pasta with leftover salad.

Homemade Gourmet Garlic Drumsticks (pre-assembled in my freezer from my Homemade Gourmet Meal Class earlier in the month- ready to be thrown into the crockpot or oven) with Puerto Rican Rice, green been casserole and leftover salad.

Now, for salad details….

We were at my parent’s this weekend and had dinner. My mom makes really good salads. She makes a bunch and then stores it in ziplock bags to have on hand with dinner or to pack for lunch during the week.

She says the key to fresh long lasting salad is:
1) Do not buy the bagged stuff. It goes bad too quickly.
2) Buy iceberg lettuce and tear with your hands- NEVER put a knife to it- her words.
3) Use a salad spinner. This is the best way to get all the water off the lettuce.
4) When you store it, place it in a ziplock bag and ensure you get ALL the air out.
5) Things like cucumber, onions and tomatoes, keep them separate. They will cause your lettuce to get soggy in a flash.

** Salad spinners can be found really inexpensively at Walmart for less than $3! They are not made out of super heavy material, and may not last forever, but they are dishwasher safe and it’s a place to start…)

What does she put in her salad?
Iceberg lettuce
radishes
bell pepper
shredded carrots
celery
green onions or purple onion (store it in another container)
cucumbers (store it in another container)
I like to add some shredded cheese (store it in another container also)

There you have it. Try making a big salad this week and storing it in ziplock bags in the fridge for easy access throughout the week.

For more meal plan ideas, check out Org Junkie where more than 300 people share their meal plans every single week! Get inspired!

Oh, Hi Mom!