Meal Planning

I was inspired the other day when I read a blog post by a high school friend. She was sharing her menu planning for the week and asking for inspiration, as she felt she was in a bit of a rut. I realized I was kind of in a similar rut. Although we as a family have adventurous tastebuds, I find that it's very easy to get comfortable making the same foods each week. I begin to lack motivation to make new items, but also, get so very bored with the same old same old, that we start to have sandwiches A LOT.

As I responded to this friend about her meal rut, I was reminded that back before Bennett was born, I had found myself in a similar rut and created a fun way to get out of it. One day at work, I simply started a running list of all the main dishes that Brian and I like to eat, with the caveat that it's something I know how to cook/prepare. I think we were also in a money saving point in our lives as well, so I was also trying to avoid the going out, which also becomes easier when I'm not planning our meals ahead of time. 

I wrote down a similar list this time. I found that it was quite a bit longer than before. 

 Since the creation of that list, I've added even more things to the list of "Food We Like". So, the possibilities are endless, right? 

The next step was to create a monthly Menu Calendar. So sophisticated, y'all. I wrote it in the same notebook with a pen. Before, when I was working, I took time on my lunch break to make a calendar on the computer and be fancy with the entries. This time, we're working for speed.

So, there you have it: Five and a half weeks of meals. You'll note that there are only three meals planned as "OUT", those are the nights that Brian and I get to have a Date Night because Oma has Bennett on Thursday afternoons. In an effort to cut down on spending, we'll cook every other date night week, even if it is just sandwiches! Also, the repeat of "Pasta" every Sunday is because Brian takes pasta to work for lunch. I make a huge pot each Sunday evening and we divvy up what's left. 

On the far right column, I made a list of special groceries I'll need to purchase each week based on that week's dinner items. I've also imported these plans onto my Google Calendar with a reminder in place, in case I need to take meat out of the freezer. 

Another thing to note is that I have since made some changes to this calendar, based on social events I'd forgotten about, etc. Also, some of the plans will be modified for me as I'm trying to cut down on my carbs, and will be beefed up for Brian who is trying to gain weight to support his weight training. 

For fun, I'll try to write a post about one meal a week with photos. I wish I'd taken a pic of tonight's dinner. We all had "egg sandwiches", but they were three variations on a theme. Bennett had an "egg in a basket" with a fancy gingerbread boy hole, Brian had two egg, bacon and ketchup sandwiches on traditional english muffins and I had an egg and bacon wrap with 1/4 of an avocado sliced up inside a whole wheat tortilla. If you can believe it, the tortilla had nearly 10 g of carbohydrates LESS than the english muffin. It was also a very lovely meal with the yellow, brown and bright green. I got lucky and picked perfectly ripe avocados at the grocery store today.