Happy Belated Mother’s Day everyone. Hope you had a super fabulous day! The best part of mine was the foot massage from my middle son while we watched Celebrity Apprentice together. Love that kid! I was also blessed to have a mom’s day out on Saturday with 5 of my new girlfriends. We spent the whole day in the city shopping and nothing bonds woman like shopping 🙂 It was such a special day full of great laughs and I came home recharged and energized. A big thank you to my husband for giving me the best present ever…a day off!
So let’s talk menu planning shall we? I’d love to know how it’s going for you? Are you struggling? Loving every minute of it? Still not convinced? Bored of your recipes? Relieved? Stressed? Totally won over? If there is anything I can do to help or make it easier for you, please let me know that in the comments to. Menu planning should take the stress out of getting meals on the table, not add to it.
Resources
Here are a couple of good resources for you:
Top 5 Benefits of Menu Planning ~ @ Keeping the Kingdom First
Free Download – Customizable Stock-Up Price List ~ @ Money Saving Mom
For those following a gluten free/dairy free diet you might be interested in cooking up an entire month’s worth of meals in one day. The Once a Month Mom has added this new resource complete with instructions, grocery list, recipe cards and printable labels to her site. Check it out!
My Menu
Monday: Sizzling Beef & Vegetable Kabobs
Tuesday: Grilled Apple Chicken served with baked potatoes and veggies
Wednesday: Smart Pork-Pasta Toss (missed from last week)
Thursday: Leftover buffet
Friday: BBQ Chicken Pizza Soup
Saturday: Homemade Quick Pizza
Simple Supper Sunday
WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK?
Menu Plan Monday guidelines and banner selections are here.
FoodontheTable says
The grilled apple chicken looks so easy! Thanks for another great MPM.
The Happy Housewife says
I just clicked over to check out the BBQ chicken soup. Looks good. I’m always looking for ways to use up my whole chicked in a crock pot chicken.
Have a great week!
Toni
The Happy Housewife says
I just clicked over to check out the BBQ chicken soup. Looks good. I’m always looking for ways to use up my whole chicken in a crock pot chicken.
Have a great week!
Toni
Miz Helen says
Hi Laura,
Your menu for the week looks great. Thank you for hosting today and have a wonderful day!
Denise says
Laura, happy belated Mother’s Day to you, too, Lady. 🙂 The kabobs sound amazing and right up my alley.
For anyone low carbing or interesting in eating/living with Diabetes, my blog might help. I was diagnosed Type 2 eleven years ago but found out last week I’m actually Type 1, LADA presumably. I’d love to hear from others!
Lynn says
Your menu plan looks great. The bbq chicken pizza soup sound really good. I hope you have a great week.
Emily says
Thanks so much for hosting such a wonderful Menu Plan round up each week.
Your menu plan looks quite tasty, might have to borrow a few for our meal planning next week!
Best,
Emily from Nap Time Is My Time
dddiva says
Your mother’s day sounds wonderful, happy belated to you as well.
Thanks for another great looking menu- I get so inspired coming here. I’m trying to drop a few myself for my trip to Cancun, but the starving masses still need to eat. (6 days on eating plan, 6.8 lbs lost and no deprivation!)
I’m so glad I found your site and this link-up, if I didn’t at least try to make a plan I’d be constantly standing in front of the fridge in the afternoon wondering what to make.
Marishannon says
Humph! I never got my foot massage yesterday – but the husband did promise me I would get it tonight when he got home 🙂
Wendy @ Celiacs in the House says
The menu plan always get a little more difficult when the seasons change. Will it be soup weather or grill weather? I’m trying to build some flexibility into my plan and paying closer attention to the temperatures outside. I was excited to see the Once A Month Mom site is now doing gluten-free menus from Angela at Angela’s Kitchen who does a weekly Gluten-Free Menu Swap with us every week. Have a great week. How can you go wrong when you start it with a foot massage? 🙂
Tricia (Once A Month Mom) says
Thanks for telling others about the Gluten Free & Dairy Free menu! I truly hope it helps meet some mealtime needs!
Your menu plan looks great as usual.
Kierstenq says
Your menu looks great Laura! This is my second week of meal planning! Thank you so much for the incentive to get organized and plan ahead! I’m glad it is finally warming up so we can use the grill more. Have a great week!
Nicole says
I am having a hard time just thinking about starting to meal plan!
Rachel says
Thanks to you, Laura, I LOVE menu planning 🙂 You make it totally fun and have so many great resources…menu planning has really taken the stress out of grocery shopping and dinner making for our family! I also find that planning ahead helps us save $$$ on our grocery bill each month too, so I know hubby likes that! 😉
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
Shopping day with new friends? Sounds wonderful!
When you have grilled items on your menu, where do you grill- I’m assuming it’s still cold up there (since it’s still rainy and unseasonably cold here)- do you have an outdoor grill that’s covered or do you use a grill pan inside? Just curious as I see grilled things on your menus occasionally. 🙂
Thanks!
Laura says
It’s actually warming up here so I’m thankful to be able to start grilling again. Our barbeque is on our deck right off the dining room. It’s not covered but it rarely rains here.
April says
Thanks for hosting another great looking Menu Plan Monday Laura. Your Mother’s day sounded wonderful. It’s so nice to be waited on, isn’t it? 🙂 Have a great week!
mania says
Hi Laura,
I’m so happy to find your blog 🙂 I did my first monday menu plan , I hope I did it write, if there are things that I am missing or did not do correctly please let me know to fix it for the next time 🙂 have a great day & week , thanks for hosting
Mania
Laura says
Welcome Mania!
kewkew says
You’ve got some great meals planned this week. Sounds yummy. I love linking up and finding new recipes.
Blessings
Living the Balanced Life says
Looks like some great options this week! Hope you had an awesome Mother’s Day!
Bernice
Are you stuck in a rut?
Crystal & Co says
Those kabobs sound awesome!
Thanks for hosting.
Queen of the House says
Thanks for all of your helpful resources!
Have a great day! 🙂
Julia says
You always have such an appetizing menu for the week! Thanks for continuing to inspire us.
Adriel says
I love kabobs and I forget about them! Thanks for the reminder. =)
Marci@OvercomingBusy says
I don’t know what I would do without menu planning! My week goes soooo much smoother when I do. Thanks for the link up to keep me accountable 🙂
Storm says
Menu planning not only has made dinner time calmer, it saves us so much money – I don’t waste food very often anymore. I can’t imagine trying to run our household without menu planning, honestly!
We have kabobs on the menu this week too 🙂
Gretchen says
Those kabobs sound great – we will have to try those out.
Stephanie @ Confessions of a Trophy Wife says
I don’t know how people grocery shop or cook without a meal plan so I do have to make one every week, BUT I struggle every week! It’s one of the more annoying tasks that I have to handle. I need to simply my meal planning routine!
~~Rhonda says
Laura, thanks for the opportunity to post our menus each week. Without the deadline, I’d probably not get to it and then our dinner time would be a real shambles! With a menu plan, I save grocery money, planning time, frustration and hunger pangs! 🙂 I’ve been menu planning for ages now and it is a way of life. I can’t imagine not doing it. Though, as I said, without someone (someplace) to be accountable, it would be easier to fall out of the habit. Thanks again!! ~~Rhonda
jill conyers says
My first link up with MPM! I’ve been using weekly meal plans for years but have just started clean eating menus this month. Now, I’m off to browse other menus.
Skinny Mom's Kitchen says
I love menu planning! It has been key to losing weight for me. This week it took me a little longer to get it linked up because I put a lot of time in calculating the calories for each day. Phew! Lotta work but I think it will beneficial for me and my readers. Thanks for the resources I am off to check them out.
Lindsey says
Yum! Your menu sounds awesome! With food allergies, menu planning is just how we have to do things. Spontaneity is not really an option most of the time 🙂 I would be up a creek if I didn’t meal plan every week, have for years! I’m off to check out the kabobs, they sound yummy.
Jamie @ thrifty veggie mama says
I love menu planning!!! I can’t imagine not planning my menu every week. One less thing I have to think about!
Martha (MM) says
Happy belated Mother’s Day to you too! Sounds like it was a good one. I’m finally all linked up for MPM this week. Have a great week Laura 🙂
Smita says
Hi Laura
Cant link up my menu plan. It asks for the backlink. Even though i have linked it with this page. it is not linking up. here is link
http://simpleandorganizedliving.com/component/content/article/46-menu-plan-/149-menu-plan-9th-may.html
Keri says
Thank you for sharing the gluten-free menu link! I’m just starting down that road and could use a guide!
Happy belated Mother’s Day!
Nikki says
I have been trying to start menu planning since I have found your site over a year ago and I get everything organized but than I just dont make it it all goes to the waste side. Than I have the clutter around the house that I need to do something with so I am starting to make list for each thing I want to get organized which has taken presedence over any organization in menu planning or cleaning anything and everything in my house. I have even read your book just need to get motivated help help help.. I enjoy reading your blog and everything thank you.
Laura says
Hi Nikki, have you checked out 52 Weeks of Organizing yet? Click on the tab at the top of my site. There you’ll find a free printable checklist. Once you fill this out you can start to attack each of the steps. Make sure they are small projects to start so as not to overwhelm you. Hang in there!
Lori says
Do you have a good pizza sauce recipe?
Laura says
No sorry I don’t….but I will look around.
SleepyKnitter says
Hi! First-time visitor to your site, love it but am completely overwhelmed by it on so many levels. Too much information!!!! 🙂 Where in the world do I start? My biggest area of need is in cooking for my family, but over 300 submissions of Monday Menu plans? I don’t know where to start.
I’m a tired mama working a full-time job as a university instructor, putting my husband through his terminal degree, and mothering two adopted Special Needs (SN) children ages 2 and 4 with a third on the way who will be 8 when she arrives (adopting again). In parenting, cooking is absolutely my biggest challenge and frustration. I’m challenged by planning for the food, shopping for the food, storing the food, preparing the food, and cleaning up/storing the leftovers. On top of that, my children are typical “picky eaters” who graze all day — we’ve had a difficult time setting up a regular meal and snack schedule because of the grown-ups’ weird school schedules and because of the children’s weird therapy schedules (early intervention occupational, physical, and speech therapy). I want to prepare meals that are healthy, easy, quick, and inexpensive, and I don’t want to have to think much about them ahead of time — I have a very small brain rattling around in a big, almost empty skull, and the mere thought of all the incredible variety of decisions to be made in the long, engaged process of planning-shopping-storing-preparing-cleaning up of meals gives me a bone-weary headache.
What I envision helping us is a one-month menu that we just keep reusing month after month until I mentally “get with the program” of being this family’s main cook. I envision once-a-week shopping, or even once-a-month shopping, and certainly only once-a-month cooking or at least once-a-week cooking. For the children’s sake, we may possibly need a gluten free, dairy free diet one of these days, but we don’t know that for certain, and I’m not quite ready to jump in and try that — it sounds like more headache.
Does such a plan exist out there, just a simple one-month plan that can be used over and over again regardless of the season, and that involves healthy, easy, quick, inexpensive recipes? Am I just a dreamer?
Sighing but still hopeful,
SleepyKnitter