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.

Dinner Bravery

My brother and mother will be happy to learn that I made Quinoa tonight as the side dish for dinner. I'm quite proud of the fact that it was delicious (I liked it even better than Ben's, but don't tell him!) and complimented the lemon-pepper baked tilapia to boot!

An even more awesome accomplishment? Hearing Bennett say, "I want some fish, mama!" and then eating it. I had to give up half of my serving because I hadn't figured he'd eat it and I didn't want to waste a filet by making one for him to leave cold on his plate. It was the easiest sacrifice of the day. Especially to hear him announce to Brian when he got home from work and sat down to eat, "Daddy! I tried fish tonight and I LIKED it!" Full of grins and truly proud of himself. (Brian ate his dinner in sixty seconds flat, so I feel safe in saying that this meal will be seen again.)

Bon Appetit! everyone!!!

Dinner Conversation

Tonight, I made yummy tilapia and salad for dinner. Bennett had previously told me that he didn't like fish: "I no like that, mama. It yucky." Okay, then. He had mac and cheese, strawberries and some plain hummus. When he was little, he used to eat hummus by the spoon full. I hadn't offered it in a while, so I thought I'd try again to see if he still liked it.

After he finished one serving of hummus and asked for a second, which he promptly polished off, I said to him, "I'm so glad you still like it, Bennett. It's an excellent source of protein!" He cocked his head at me (note that his face was smeared with the hummus, so it's very hard to take him seriously), grinned and said, "Silly mama, that no protein! Protein for shake!"

Smorgasbord

Tonight, Bennett and I met Brian at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Palenque, for dinner. Bean and I had just left a play date and Brian was coming home from work. Bennett and I got there a few minutes before Brian, which was fine. They have fresh chips and salsa - yum!

Oh my goodness, y'all. Bennett literally shoveled the salsa in to his mouth. He'd load up a chip and then bite off as much as he could, licking his fingers between bites. We have given up ordering or even offering him anything else when we go there. All he eats is salsa.

Tonight he had lemonade to drink and every now and then, he'd get this semi-panicked look on his face, stick out his tongue and say, "too spicy, mama!" I'd direct his attention to his cup and he'd slurp down some lemonade to put out the fire before diving back in - teeth first.

Brian arrived just before Bennett had emptied the chip basket, thank goodness. The first thing Bennett said to Brian? "I have yummy salsa, daddy. Have good day?" Upturned salsa-covered face, sweet smile, salsa-covered hand lovingly placed on clean white t-shirt. All we could do was giggle.