Happy Monday my friends! I hate when I eat a big meal on Sunday nights because it sure makes planning my menu plan for the next week that much harder. Do you ever find that? The last thing I want to do is look at pictures of more food 🙂
I want to thank everyone who commented and emailed me privately with solutions for my sciatica. I really really appreciate it and feel very loved! I’m feeling much better now with the help of some stretching exercises and a tennis ball 🙂 If you also suffer from this problem be sure to check out the comments on this post.
Stumbling Block:
How do I feed my family healthy meals without breaking the bank and with no time to coupon?
Before I started menu planning (which was only 6 years ago by the way) my family did not eat very healthy at all. I would go grocery shopping and just sort of saunter the isles making it up as I went along throwing a little of this into my cart and a little of that. Needless to say a lot of our meals were from the processed frozen food section and much of what I bought also went to waste. When I started menu planning I was shocked by how much my grocery bill went down, how much less food we were throwing away each week and how much healthier we were eating. I also couldn’t believe that I could prepare a healthy meal in the same amount of time it took to cook a frozen pizza. No joke. It all came down to carefully planning recipes for the week that fit with my recipe criteria and using those recipes to plan my weekly grocery list. Now I only buy for the week what we plan on eating. What a difference it makes!
To further assist me with answering this question, I am going to refer you to my blog friend (turned real life friend!) Angie from Echoes of Laughter to help me. Last week she wrote two awesome posts that you don’t want to miss. The first one is titled “5 Easy Steps to Menu Planning” and the second “10 Best Ways to Save Money on Groceries Without Couponing“.
PS: Today is the last day to enter to win this very cool digital scrapbooking software!
My Menu Plan for the Week:
Monday: Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps (I’ll use my Panini press)
Tuesday: Pasta Primavera (my kids will probably turn their noses up at all those veggies but oh well!)
Wednesday: Rosemary Garlic Chicken Thighs
Thursday: Leftover buffet
Friday: Dinner out, yay! I also will be making these Shortbread Heart Cookies for a church function.
Saturday: Shredded Beef au Jus
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.
The Happy Housewife says
I’ve found that my kids will eat veggies when mixed in with pasta. They don’t love them, but it makes them more tolerable. 🙂
Hopefully your children will learn to like them in pasta too!
Toni
April @ Angel's Homestead says
That Grilled Cheeseburger Wrap sure looks interesting, I might add it to my menu soon too. Glad to hear your feeling better this week Laura. Take care, thanks for hosting, and have a great week!
Amy @ Marvelous Mommy says
WOW at all the people linking up at the same time!! Thanks for hosting such a great linky!! Week 4 of P90X meals for me – http://www.marvelousmommy.com/2012/02/week-4-of-p90x-menu-plan-monday/
sarahlcc says
Thanks for this: it will help keep me accountable. I did the meal planning link up here a long time ago, but decided it was time to come back and stay back. It makes getting it done easier when there’s a lot of others who’ve ‘got your back’ so to speak.
Tiffany says
I know how you feel when you say you’re tired of looking at food! It wears me out sometimes too 😉
Crystal & Co says
Your menu looks yummy. Thanks for always hosting!
Elizabeth-Polka Dot Skies says
So glad you are feeling better!
The heart cookies sound good!
Trish @I_am_Succeeding says
I love finding marked down bargains!!
Angela says
Thanks for the recipes. Anxious to give the grilled cheeseburger wrap a try!
Queen of the House says
Oh num! Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps…what a great idea! 😀
Mindi says
Thanks for the suggestion of 5 tips for meal planning. Such a fun blog!
Gaby @ Tmuffin says
I used to coupon, and it was ridiculous. I would end up with all this unhealthy, processed food that I never ate. Now, I focus on healthy eating and meal planning, and I actually spend far less money than I did before. Meal planning is HUGE. Nothing goes to waste. Leftovers often go into the freezer and go on the meal plan for a following week. I can buy organic and STILL save money when I meal plan, because my town has a lot of great local resources.
One of my best suggestions for saving money is to shop local. Local food is often organic (but might not be certified), and it’s usually cheaper because the money goes to a small farm and the food doesn’t have to travel as far. You can also often buy directly from a farm, which is awesome. You get to bring the kids and see where your food comes from, and you save a ton of money.
Miranda says
I find it very hard to set up my menu plan when I’ve outdone myself the previous week. Thank goodness we have so many family favorites!
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
Yeah, I have a daughter who started picking vegetables out of food at age 4 and still is at it at age 15. Sigh. I’ve tried all the tips: she grew her own vegetables (loved it, wouldn’t eat them), she cooks with me (again, doesn’t get her to eat them), has to take a “thank you bite” (goodness, the gagging looks when that occurs!), and always putting a variety on the table. Ugh. Just praying now as she grows up she’ll take on more than the four vegetables she eats now. 🙂
Thank you for those fun links about menu planning and saving $!
Samantha Andersen says
I am intrigued by your first two menu items. I have added them to my list of things to try. Since I have been posting my Menu Plan Monday, I have been more organized about dinner. I have for the last 10 years stuck to a weekly meal plan and with our busy family we need it. This is the first time my hubby and I have planned more than one week at a time. Yesterday we planned out the remaining weeks for February. I think liking up with your MPM posting has helped us, eat creatively, more often at home, and with more thought to schedules and has made my little blog a happier place!
Thank you from the Andersen’s
Angie@Echoes of Laughter says
Hi Laura! Thank you so much for your kind words about my posts and your llinks to my blog! I so appreciate it! I really hope that you have a better week with your s. nerve…..that surely can be no fun! I am really looking forward to the weekend in March! And can you believe the mild weather we are still having? It’s like winter skipped us completely! Wishing you a marvelous Monday! Angie xo
Emily @ Random Recycling says
I spend my time doing a meal plan and using the store’s weekly sale circular. I also go to a mix of stores to get the best value for my grocery money.
Skinny Mom's Kitchen says
I find that menu planning along with freezer cooking saves me BIG time in the grocery department. I never use coupons and since I have been consistently using the two I have cut my grocery budget by about $300-$400 a month. Not to mention dropped like 40lbs 😉
I actually did a guest post on Money Saving Mom on this topic http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/01/5-more-tips-for-feeding-your-family-whole-foods-on-a-budget.html
Hope you find it helpful.
Tammy @ Skinny Mom’s Kitchen
Em says
I have made the cheeseburger wraps many times. I do not use worchesitre sauce in my meat. I only put meat and cheese on the wrap and then allow everyone to put toppings on afterwards.
I made a pizza variety also….shredded mozz cheese, pizza sauce and sliced pepperoni.
Misty says
I’ve never heard the term YOYO before but am going to start using it at our house for certain!
Rona says
I don’t use coupons. I look at the weekly special ads and go from their.
Have a yummy and wonderful week!
Rachael from KitchenCourses.com says
I have definitely found that I save a ton of money meal planning each week – and it’s less time consuming than figuring out, matching, and planning out coupons. Coupons can come in handy, but making a meal plan with fresh ingredients that we actually will eat saves quite a bit!
Lois says
Hi
I am having difficulty linking up – I get a message that says “you need to create a backlink.” I don’t know what that means. Can you help, please?
Thanks,
Lois
Laura says
Hi Lois, a backlink is simply adding a link to my site within your MPM post. It’s just a courtesy thing to let others know you are participating here. Hope that helps!
Caroline @Southern Mom Says says
I hit a block this week too with my menu planning!! So I scoured the web and came up with a few new recipes to try! I also plan to check out the store circulars to get a head start on next week. For this week’s plan I was trying to use up meat I had in the freezer! Your menu sounds delicious!
candace grubbs says
wow i just noticed you added one of my recipes to your meal plan list so awesome thank you!