Friday, January 28, 2011

Meal Planning

So as I stated in my grocery post I decided to "try" out meal planning for the month.  Dinner is seriously one of the most stressed out part of my day between Jason and I.  I know it sounds petty but it really is.  By the end of the day, he's starving, I'm tired and so over making choices that we were getting in the habit of ordering out all the time and spending way too much money.  Here are some of the challenges I face with dinner time motivation and meal choice:
  • Jason doesn't eat ALL day.  Literally the man will drink a cup of coffee at breakfast and will work through lunch.  He has started eating 2 yogurts during the day so that makes me feel better.  SO by the time he comes home from work he is truly starving.
  • Jason is the pickiest "I'll eat anything...oh, except for this, that, this..." eater ever!!!!!
  • Augie won't eat anything but noodles or cheese quesadilla's.
  • My kitchen; stand up take 3 steps forward-you have now walked the length of my kitchen, turn to the right take 1 step-you are now at my counter, turn around take 2 steps forward-you have now walked the width of my kitchen.  It's "charming", in real estate "charming" means little, small, not much space to work with.
  • I don't have a dishwasher,well I do, I am the dishwasher.
So with those hurdles I really needed to figure something out for dinnertime and not make it such a battle.  I have learned with Jason if I just make it he will eat it.  He may not like it but he at least gets one meal out of it.  Whereas if I ask him what he would like for dinner he shrugs his shoulders and says "I don't care" but then when I say well I could make Spaghetti? "Nah" Pork loin? turns his nose up Tacos?"um I'm not really feeling it" I think you get the picture.  So when I was prepping for my HUGE grocery shop I meal planned for the month.  This would take the stress off of me to have to come up with something every day plus I would never have to ask Jason his opinion. 

What I Did
  I came up with 17 meals for the month.  I chose 17 because I looked at it as about 4 meals a week, that would factor in left over night plus Chinese night. I didn't make a calendar, I just typed out all of my meals on a word document and put the recipe source by it.  This way I can just kind of pick and choose and not set myself up for failure with a calendar.  So I just cross them off as I make them.

Our Meals for the Month
  I know I am always looking for good easy recipes,if you would like me to share any of these with you just let me know!
 Huevos Rancheros (DD)
 Mac-n-Chz (FC)
Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie (FC)
 Tacos
 Chik-n-Noodle Soup
 Pork Loin with Apricot Brussel Sprouts
 Spaghetti (Philly Style)
 Salad
 Chili
 Chicken & Rice Soup (DD)
 Beef-n-Noodles
 Chicken Corn Chili (FC)
 Gnocchi
 French Dips
 Tuna Noodle Casserole (DD)
 Enchiladas (Tamatillo Sauce)
 2-3 Bean Soup
      The abbreviations after are new recipes I am trying from new sources. Everything else are things I have made enough to now claim as my own!

The Result
  The verdict is still out.  We are only in week one but so far so good!
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5 comments:

  1. The Lombardi FamilyJanuary 28, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    I always wanted to do this...I dont know if I would be able to do it for an entire month...but maybe a couple weeks. I like your idea of not putting in on a calendar, but instead crossing them off as you go. There are just days when you get invited to go somewhere, or the kids are not feeling well- so you don't have the meal that you planned for that day.

    I have been better at actually cooking dinner. Last night we went to dinner with Mikes mom and dad, but the 2 nights before I did cook. It is always hard to actually make the decision to cook for me- just bc we live by so many family members that I feel like I have to invite everyone over for dinner any time I cook- so instead of cooking for Mike, me and the girls...it turns into cooking for at least 15 people.

    Or I get a call from my sisters or grandma at 530 asking where we are, and why we aren't coming over.

    But- my goal= I will cook more!

    -melissa

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  2. The Lombardi FamilyJanuary 28, 2011 at 10:03 AM

    I have started to work out more. We used to belong to a gym.....ok let me back up. Last year I asked Mike if he wanted a join a gym- he said "Yes, I want to get back in shape. Let's join and I will go. I'll get up early and go in the morning" So I paid the $500 and joined. Mike LITERALLY did not go one time. I did go every now and then, and took the girls to the pool a couple times in the summer, but NOT worth the money at all.
    So this year I decided not to join, and just pay the $5 in the summer when I take the girls to the pool.

    For Christmas I got weights, mat, dvd player and work out videos. Such a mom thing I feel like- working out in the basement. But I am doing it! I have "worked out" more this last month by having all that stuff in my basement- than I ever did with my gym memebership.

    Plus- I love to run outside when it's nice out.

    I have that Jillian Michaels dvd- 20 min work outs- they are great! Hard work out, I sweat, feel good after...and best part- my kids play while I work out for 20 min. Not bad at all.

    Hope I can stay with it.

    -melissa

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  3. LizJanuary 28, 2011 at 1:15 PM

    Meal planning isn't that hard when you actually sit down and DO it! I'm interested to see how well the whole month planning goes for you. Not sure I could do that with our schedules being so up in the air. What do you do for fresh stuff? Do you allow yourself to go to the store once a week for that?

    There's so many different ways people meal plan...I love hearing all the ideas!

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  4. The Lombardi FamilyJanuary 28, 2011 at 5:53 PM

    Sorry, one more post...
    This is a good site for tuna- yum

    http://tunathewonderfish.com/cookbook/

    ReplyDelete
  5. KaraJanuary 28, 2011 at 7:12 PM

    This is a great idea, Christy! I do a lot of once a month cooking recipes to fill my freezer and then portion out single servings for lunches and dinners. It's great for a singleton.

    Anyway, I was looking for some new recipes that were fast and easy and came across A Year of Slow Cooking blog. The woman uses her crockpot every day. She doesn't always make dinner, could be desert, an appetizer, even drinks. But I was intrigued and have been pulling some of her ideas. Maybe there's something here you can use.
    http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

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