Whatever happened to the meal planning adventure?

So I was taking the online meal planning course.... downloaded it and following the lesson plan. I was trying really hard, and I was motivated. But... I couldn't take it anymore.

This poor, poor girl, the one who created the whole thing.... I think she is living in another world. I just sort of laughed to myself when she said to ask your husband what he likes to eat, and menu plan with those dishes. I figured, eh, I'll do that, and I'll include some dishes for him, but I'm also going to include some dishes for me. Then, it got worse. Once we got into the couponing part, I couldn't keep reading.

First of all, she instructed everyone to (and I am paraphrasing here) ask your husband before you start to devote time to couponing. Make sure that he wants you to be spending your time this way, make sure what you are doing honors him... Maybe he doesn't want you to lower your food budget, maybe he wants you to spend your time in other ways...

So, what I've learned is that this woman really does live in another universe. She actually lives in Kansas, and well, maybe this is normal for Kansas, but it is not normal in my realm of the world. That night, I tried to keep a straight face, and I "asked Ryan if he would like me to spend my time couponing"... I was laughing before I finished talking, and I explained to him what I had been reading. He was as appalled as I was!

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my husband and I want to make him happy, and honor him always... but this does not mean that I am treating him like the almighty god of our household. I have a life, and an opinion of my own. We actually have a marriage where we feel we are each other's equals. I feel sorry for this poor woman who lives her life this way. But, she seems happy, so to each his own, I suppose.

Anyway, I am taking away a bit of meal planning skills, but I think I'm going to learn my couponing skills elsewhere...

Assignment 2 in my meal planning adventure

Okay, assignment two in my meal planning and grocery shopping course is to write out a one week menu plan and grocery list, including snacks.. This is not the same as the last lesson, which was just a list of good meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

This meal plan is specifically designed for a one week period, enabling me to use ingredients on multiple days, incorporating leftovers into the plan, and balancing the amounts of different types of foods we eat.

Note that my breakfasts are a little fancier than cereal and milk, mostly because my gluten free cereal is really expensive, I am not supposed to have cow dairy, and Lucas isn't eating cold cereal yet. Ryan eats regular cereal almost every day so his breakfasts may be a bit different than listed here. Also, I am going to be making Ryan's lunches so I tried to note those in here as well. I will need to allow extra fruit, veggies, chips, cheese, and dip in the shopping list to add to his lunches.

I tried to balance protein and carbs as best as possible and include plenty of fresh veggies and fruits in the meal plan. Lucas is still a beginner eater so there are a few things that won't work for him, like celery and carrots, whole nuts, etc. He also needs two snacks a day in addition to his three meals and whole milk so that is all included.

I'm going to have to wait at least 3 more weeks before trying out this plan, since I am in my first trimester and never know what I am going to be able to eat, and mostly can't stand the sight of food or thought of cooking. In the meantime I am working on these lessons, and I am very happy with this meal plan. It was so much fun I think I'll try to make up a few more weeks worth to have ready.

Here is it!

Monday
Breakfast: Yogurt and banana with nuts
Lunch: Tuna lettuce wraps with apples and corn chips
Dinner: Slow cooker pork with jalapeno, grn pepper, onion with corn tortillas
Snacks: Cheese/crackers, fruit leather and nuts
(Start dinner at lunch time, make extra tuna for Ryan's lunch tomorrow)

Tuesday
Breakfast: Soft boiled eggs, toast, and fruit (also hard boil eggs for egg salad tomorrow)
Lunch: Leftover pork and tortillas from yesterday
Dinner: Eggplant Parmesan with green salad
Snacks: Sliced cucumber with home made hummus, apple slices with peanut butter
(hard boil extra eggs at breakfast for tomorrow's egg salad, cook extra eggplant slices and make sandwich for Ryan's lunch tomorrow)

Wednesday
Breakfast: Rice pudding
Lunch: Eggplant/Mozzarella sandwiches, grape tomato salad
Dinner: Egg Salad Sandwiches and tomato soup
Snacks: cheese and crackers, fruit leather with nuts
(Make extra egg salad sandwich for Ryan's lunch tomorrow)

Thursday
Breakfast: Leftover Rice pudding
Lunch: Leftover eggplant Parmesan and salad
Dinner: Seasoned Beef Tacos with cheese, tomato, lettuce, avocado, and salsa
Snacks: leftover tomato salad, yogurt with fruit
(Don't have to make Ryan lunch for tomorrow, eat out on fridays)

Friday
Breakfast: Cereal with fruit
Lunch: Leftover tacos
Dinner: Home made pizza with peperoni and leftover veggies, green salad
Snacks: cucumber and hummus, apple slices with peanut butter
(make pizza crust ahead of time and store in fridge or freezer)

Saturday
Breakfast: blueberry pancakes and yogurt with sliced almonds
Lunch: Leftover pizza, veggies, and salad
Dinner: Grilled fish with steamed broccoli and rice
Snacks: fruit leather and nuts, cheese and tomato quesadilla

Sunday
Breakfast: Toast with peanut butter and honey, apple slices
Lunch: Eat out for lunch today
Dinner: Minestrone soup with home made bread
Snacks: Celery and Carrots with ranch dip, corn chips with home made bean dip



And here is the grocery list.... many of these things I won't have to buy because I always have them stockpiled in the pantry. I am also trying to keep to a grocery budget (includes toiletries, cleaning products, etc) of one hundred dollars a week. Once I try out this menu plan (about a month from now) I will post my spending for these groceries and see if it will work in my budget for the future.

Meat/Fish
Pork shoulder
Ground Beef
Fish (something on sale)

Deli/Dairy
Pepperoni
Mozzarella Cheese (regular for ryan and lucas, and buffalo or goat for me)
Parm/Romano Cheese
Dozen Eggs
Cheddar Cheese
Plain goat milk yogurt
Milk (whole and nonfat)

Produce
Lettuce for wraps and 2 bags of salad mix
Tomatoes (one large slicing tomato and box of grape tomatoes)
Cucumbers
Green peppers
Jalapeno
Avocado
Carrots
Celery
Onions
Broccoli
Spinnach
Apples
Eggplant
Bananas
Berries (get these frozen if cheaper)

Canned
Jar of salsa
Peanut butter
2 cans white beans, 2 garbonzo beans, 1 can kidney beans
Diced tomatoes
Chicken Broth
Tomato puree
Tomato soup

Other
Rice
Corn chips
Bread (regular and gf)
Ranch dressing
Honey
Bread Mix
Pancake Mix
Pizza crust mix
Fruit Leather
Nuts
Tuna
gf crackers
Corn tortillas
Taco sized flour tortillas (for Ryan)


Thanks for reading!