Happy Monday everyone and happy Family Day to those of you reading and relaxing on today’s stat holiday in Canada. Not all provinces participate in Family Day and as a new Albertan this is definitely a great perk of living in this province for sure! I love just chilling with the family. Also I just found out today is President’s Day in the US. Is that a stat holiday for you?
I was reading one of my favorite parenting magazines the other day, Canadian Family, and wanted to share with you an excerpt from Leslie Beck, a well-known Canadian registered dietician, nutrition expert and author of Leslie Beck’s Healthy Kitchen: 250 Quick and Delicious Recipes Plus Essential Kitchen Tips. In the magazine article, Leslie talked about the many benefits of menu planning including how it allows you to be organized, prevents last minute dashes to the store, allows you to account for the nights you need to put a quick meal on the table, and designating what you’re going to eat prevents you from making on-the-fly poor choices for your family, such as convenience foods. “Knowing what you’re going to eat takes the stress out of having to figure it out at the end of a hectic day.” She also assures us that what seems like such an overwhelming chore really isn’t. The more often you plan your family’s meals, the easier it gets. “The reality is, the busier you are, the more important meal planning becomes.”
Leslie Beck’s Top Three Menu Planning Tips for Families:
1. Get Input: “Engage your family in the process. When everyone has a say about which meals they’d like to eat, they’re more likely to be open to eating other people’s selections. Post your weekly meal plan in a visible spot (e.g., fridge door) to prevent complaints by reminding everyone what’s been agreed upon for dinner.”
2. Plan For Leftovers: “As you plan your meals, think about how you can cook once and get two or more meals out of it. For instance, you might plan to make a large roast chicken one night and save the leftovers for wraps the next night when you need dinner in a hurry. Batch-cook soups, casseroles, pasta sauce or chili on the weekend and freeze to serve on a busy weeknight.”
3. Make a Grocery List: “Once you have your meals planned out, write out a list. It means you’ll buy only what you need. Grocery shopping once a week also saves time and money.”
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We celebrated a fabulous Valentine’s Day with the kids. We had a delicious No Bake Cheesecake for dessert and while this wasn’t necessarily my favorite no bake cheesecake recipe (it didn’t set as much as I like) it was still yummy.
And of course jello jigglers are always a hit but I always forget how much I dislike getting them out of the pan. What is the trick to that anyway?
This below was my valentine’s gift from my son…he made me a big bowl of popcorn with ketchup spices for flavoring. Yum, I love popcorn!!
My Menu Plan:
Monday: Whole Wheat Baked Macaroni and Cheese served with turkey sausages and corn
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken served with rice and broccoli
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Sunday Pot Roast (on a Wednesday, I’m such a rebel!)
Thursday: Hockey Night in Canada ~ attending the Philadelphia Flyers vs Edmonton Oilers game, whoot!
Friday: Leftover buffet
Saturday: Pizza Sandwiches
Sunday: YOYO (you’re on your own!)
WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK?
Menu Plan Guidelines, banner selections and recipe helpers are here.
More family favorite recipes here.
Miz Helen says
Hi Laura,
Your Slow Cooker Pot Roast sounds like it needs to be on my food plan. Thanks for hosting and have a fabulous week!
Miz Helen
City Share says
Thanks for hosting Meal Plan Monday. This week I’m sharing some simple gravy recipes – a great way to jazz up any simple meal (in addition to our meal plan). Enjoy family day! I love that idea for holiday. Today it is Presidents’ Day in the US, but my husband has to work…
Tiffany says
Happy family day! What a cool holiday to celebrate.
Amy @ Finer Things says
I’ve got your jello answer! They come out easily for me when I set the whole pan in a bit of hot water for about 15-20 seconds. No more, or they’ll start to melt. 🙂
Pary Moppins says
Howdy! The trick to getting the jigglers (or any Jell-O concoction) out of a mold is to first grease it with mayonnaise. Works like a charm and won’t taste of mayo.
Semi Domesticated Mama says
Thanks so much for hosting. I’ve been linking up for a few weeks now and I’ve found some amazing new recipes to try from the other links. Have a great week!
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
Great reasons for menu-planning, Laura – it’s so true! It used to seem hard, but now it usually takes just a few minutes (unless I’m tryin’ to get all fancy) and we get variety and use up what we have. Love it!
That Garlic-Honey chicken sounds great – though I think I’d lessen the amount of honey- have you ever done that? Honey is sweeter than sugar and there’s also sugar in the ketchup, so it sounds like cutting it down to 1/4 c. would be do-able…
Laura says
Yes I totally agree, I think I’ll cut down on the honey too.
Wendy @ Celiacs in the House says
There’s a slow cooker roast on my menu this week and I may have to be a rebel and serve it mid-week, too. The mustard and horseradish gravy in the recipe I’m trying might be too hard to wait for til the weekend.
Liz says
Because of your blog and my desire to waste less food, I started menu planning. I have to say it’s life changing not thinking about what’s for dinner every night and I only go to the store once a week. Amazing!
I make a layered jello that would not turn out at all if it stuck. The best remedy I’ve found it a very light spritz of cooking spray. I even use it when making “Knox blocks” in my 9×13 glass pan. So easy to get the Jello out.
Thank you for your wonderful ideas!
stephanie says
I’m really trying to use the slow cooker more often. I’m also a rebel and using ours today. So many fabulous and tasty options, not to mention easy for a weekday!
Just Trying To Save Money says
Thanks for the linky!!
Trying To Be Super Mom says
Thank you for doing this; I find TONS of great new recipes to try every week and it helps keep me accountable for feeding my family according to our budget!
Stephanie
http://tobesuper.blogspot.com
@trytobesuper
Sidetracked Sarah says
Thanks for hosting. I shared my freezer to crockpot meal plan for a week. It works wonders when I’m overwhelmed and life is super busy! I have a 7 month old and he’s been a handful that needs to be held A LOT, so I decided what better way than to make dinner time easier.
Faithfully Trusting says
Hello;
I’m attempting to link up for the first time…however I’m having issues that can only be explained as “me”. lol
All that being said here is the link to my menu plan and thank you for hosting this!
http://faithfullytrusting.blogspot.com/2012/02/menu-plan-monday-week-of-febuary-20-25.html
Steph (The Cheapskate Cook) says
Thanks for sharing the menu planning excerpt. Planning for leftovers has been really important. Sometimes up to half the meals we eat in a week are leftovers, so I’m learning to dress up the leftvoers into new meals
April (3 Kids, 2 Furries and Yarm) says
Linking up for the first time! Hopefully this will help with the daily question of “what’s for supper”!
Queen of the House says
Thanks for the linky, as usual! I should be more purposeful in planning for leftovers, but sometimes the boys are so hungry, even if I plan to save some…they eat it all! LOL! 🙂 Have a great week!
Susie My SoCal Life says
I found this by way of Rachels Reviews and Giveaways… I’ll be honest…it kills my hubby that I don’t menu plan so I am going to try this and join in! thank you!
S. Davis says
What is a “stat holiday”? Post Offices are closed & it used to be a bank & business holiday in the U.S., but everyone isn’t closed anymore – “too much $ would be lost” I’m sure is the reasoning behind it.
School was out here & hubby was home, so that was nice for us!
Laura says
A stat holiday is a statutory holiday. Days off for the main holidays.
Suzanne says
We’ve been doing freezer crockpot meals in our house and they are amazing. I love finding new recipes and idea’s.
Here’s a bunch of weekly meals: http://lazysuzyhomemaker.com/cooking/freezer-to-crockpot/weekly-recipes/8-freezer-crock-pot-meals/
Thanks again.