Meal Planning Monday: May 23-29, 2011

It's another busy week for our family (though hopefully the forecast of rain will help to slow things down a bit), so as usual, I'm keeping things simple!  How are you doing in your meal planning for the week?  If you haven't begun, hopefully this will help a bit.

I've taken out the days of the week, because I always mixed them up anyway!  I always have good intentions to follow the plan to the letter, right down to which day, but since it rarely happens like that, I've removed the days. 

Don't stress - keep things as simple for yourself as possible.  Take a look at the meal plan every night so you can grab something out of the freezer and allow it time to defrost before you might need it.  By planning ahead just a bit, you'll find your meals are so much easier to assemble quickly.

Vegetarian
Fajita Pizza with veggies and dip
This is such an easy recipe - perfect for the weekend with a movie or as leftovers to take for a picnic at the park!

• Buy crust (or if you have time, make your own).
• Sautee a bunch of onions and peppers (we favor yellow, orange, and red).
• Add in a package of fajita sauce. You'll want it drier than the package will call for, so it doesn't make the crust soggy!
• Spread salsa on the crust instead of traditional pizza sauce.
• Top with onions and pepper mixture.
• Top with cheese of your choice.
• Bake and enjoy!

Photo Credit

Beef

Steak, baked potatoes, ceasar salad

Lean how to cook a perfect steak here.

Vegetarian

Chili Rellenos Casserole with tossed salad

Chicken
Parmesan Chicken, carrots, salad with vinaigrette

Vegetarian
Creamy Orzo with salad

Pork
Grilled Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, coleslaw

Baking
Nonna's Lemon Ricotta Biscuits

Let us know what you're having this week!

 

Meal Planning Monday: Apr 18-24, 2011

I love planning meals.  Honest.  Sure, it's a bit time consuming, but let me tell you, it's worth it!   It goes without saying that it eases the pressure of it being 4:30 on a weeknight when the kids are starving and hubby will be home in 45 minutes.  It eases the grocery bill, and I think most importantly for our family, it saves on wasted food.  On grocery day, our fridge is e.m.p.t.y.  And I mean empty - I'm going grocery shopping today, and we have 3 eggs, condiments, half a head of lettuce, and 4 brown bananas.  Because I've planned our meals and snacks for the week, I'm not at all worried about breakfast today.  It drives me completely up the wall to throw away food when so many kids around the world don't eat every day - but meal planning ensures that we throw away very little - which saves me stress, time, and money.

Monday (Vegetarian)
Breakfast - Fruit Smoothie with protein powder, almond milk, fruit, and oatmeal thrown in.
Dinner - Cheesy Crock Cauliflower Soup (Saving Dinner the Low-Carb Way)

Tuesday (Beef)
Breakfast - Steel Cut Oats with the trimmings
Dinner - Beef Stew with Mushrooms

Wednesday (Vegetarian)
Breakfast - Cereal, Milk, Fruit
Dinner - Eggplant Parmesan with salad and garlic breadsticks (and please don't be disillussioned - I will not be serving it up to look like the photo below!!)   :P


Photo Credit

Thursday (Chicken)
Breakfast - Cheesy Egg Breakfast Sandwich, fruit
Dinner - Turkey Picadillo, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots (Saving Dinner the Low-Carb Way)

Friday (Vegetarian)
Breakfast - Steel Cut Oats with berries and maple syrup
Dinner - Vegan Cabbage Rolls - this is a big stray from our normal, so we'll see how it goes over!

Saturday (Pork)
Breakfast - Cinnamon Baked French Toast
Dinner - Pizza on homemade crust

Snacks this week will include:

• cottage cheese and berries
• apple and nuts
• veggies with hummus
• Simple Shake with almond milk, protein powder and cocoa powder
• orange and protein bar 

Photo Credit

I'll be baking Jacked-Up Banana Bread.

Meal Planning Monday: Apr 11- 17

It's the week between pay checks and money is tight, so I'm planning frugal meals for the week. This is always a challenge in trying to stay within budget and still provide nourishing, tasty food for the family.

Monday(Vegetarian)
Breakfast - Mango Spice Muffins (from Eating Clean magazine  Apr/May 2011)
Dinner - Vegetable Lasagna Roll-Ups, Salad, Garlic Toast

Photo Credit

Tuesday (Beef)
Breakfast - Cereal, Milk, Fruit
Dinner - Korean BBQ Beef, Rice, Fruit (we currently have a lovely South Korean student staying with us - I wonder how this will fare with her...)

Wednesday (Vegetarian)
Breakfast - Fruit, granola, yogurt
Dinner - Bean Burritos

Thursday (Chicken)
Breakfast - Cereal, milk, fruit
Dinner - Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers, veggies with dip



Photo Credit



Friday (Vegetarian)

Breakfast - Make Ahead Muffins made with chocolate chips, coconut, chia seeds, and sunflower seeds, as requested by my kids.

Dinner - Torta Rustica with spinach salad

Saturday (Pork)
Breakfast - Egg and Cheese Sandwiches, fruit
Dinner - Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Glaze, potatoes, carrots

Snacks this week will include:

• celery with cheese
• grapes and muffin
• granola bar and carrot sticks
• fruit salad with yogurt
• hard boiled eggs and crackers

I'll be baking Make Ahead Muffins.