Meal planning is a great way to stay organized, save yourself some frustration/time and even money!
It's taken me a long time to figure out which is the best way to meal plan for me. I think that meal planning is something that is really personal - there is no one size fits all. I usually do a combination of weekly and monthly planning. I love monthly planning but don't always get it done. Monthly meal planning is where you can really save money. You can do one grocery trip for non-perishables. Less trips to the grocery store = less trips to pick up the randoms not on your list that you don't really need.
I usually only do supper but hopefully adding in breakfast and lunch is something I will work on in the near future.
With our new baby due in a few weeks, I am officially dairy free. I haven't drank milk or eaten ice cream (I have cheated a few times) since becoming pregnant, then slowly moved to switching out butter and just recently have stopped cheese. Hidden dairy hasn't been too much of a concern for me yet but I'm cutting it out as of last week. I was also able to have soy with Lauren so while I don't like to include TOO much soy in our diet, I do use it to fill in where I have to take dairy out. So, all my menu's will be dairy free but may not be as strict as some need them to be. I currently have a list of recipes lined up for the whole month ahead but will be posting weekly.
The best site for menu planning is
I'm An Organizing Junkie. She has people link up to her site so you can find LOTS of valuable menus and recipes here. Check her out and welcome if you come over from her site!
Monday: Spaghetti, garlic bread (with Earth Balance buttery spread)
I make this
spaghetti sauce doubled and free extra portions. This recipe makes two portions for two of us + toddler. We don't care for a ton of sauce though.
Tuesday:
Chicken Cacciatore, Rice (New recipe)
Wednesday: Meatloaf, Corn
Thursday: Leftover buffet - Adam has EMT class
Friday: Fish, Broccoli
Saturday: Burritos (some version of black bean or refried bean, rice and ground beef with El Pato sauce) - Making lots of extra's to freeze. I will make some with cheese and some w/o cheese. Usually the seasoning/sauce + toppings add enough flavor I actually don't miss the cheese. Ok, I miss it but it still tastes good w/o.
Sunday: Lauren's birthday lunch! I'm sure there will leftover food for supper.
Check out 100s of other menus at
Orgjunkie.com
