Category: Menu Plans

Bi-Weekly Meal Plan – April 24, 2017

Posted on by Sarah Marshall
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Meal Plan Monday

Meal planning for two weeks at a time has proven to be really effective for us. I’ve found it really beneficial to be prepared and ingredients on hand for double the number the meals. It allows me more flexibility which has been vital in the past few weeks where I’ve gotten sick (strep is the worst!!), kids have gotten sick, and Keith’s spring sports/work schedule can be changed at the drop of a hat.

It took me a little while to get in a groove of the two week meal plan. Now that I have, I feel that our grocery budget has been reduced. We’ve have some anamolies, such as spring break in March, that keeps me from declaring with certainty that this method is saving us money on groceries. But at this point, it seems quite possible.

Our breakfasts and lunches have become very routine so planning for them has become quite simple. We’ve found some new dinner recipes that are a hit with everyone and hope to share some recipes here on the blog real soon. Brooke has plans over both weekends & Keith will be gone the second so I left the weekends open because Leah & I are pretty easy to please and I’m sure there will be leftovers to throw into the mix.

Meal Plan for April 24 – May 7, 2017

Breakfast

Eggs & Toast
Smoothies
Yogurt & Granola
Breakfast Bars

Lunch

Leftovers
Salmon & Veggies
Sandwiches
Salads
Homemade “Lunchables” (Brooke’s lunches)

Dinner

Cheeseburger Pie
Oven Tacos
Garlic Parmesan Pork Chops
Baked Penne with Sausage & Peppers
Burgers
Creamy Italian Chicken
Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Stacks
Easy Taco Salad
Mexican Pizzas
Weeknight Creamy Sausage Pasta

Below is a screenshot of my Plan To Eat planner to give you an overview of how I have meals planned each day. As always, nothing is set in stone.
BW Meal Plan 2017.04.24-05.07

Have you tried meal planning for longer than a one-week period? What did you like or not like?

Weekly Meal Plan & Goals – Getting Back to “Normal”

Weekly Meal Plan & Goals – Getting Back to “Normal”

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

Weekly Meal Plan & Goals

The new year is here. Okay…it’s been here awhile. Life around here has been such a whirlwind that one day we slept through the ball dropping and all of a sudden the first month of the year is 3 weeks in. Can anyone else relate? Keith and I are logging more hours at work, Brooke is busy with Girl Scouts (it’s Cookie Season!!) and swim class, kids Worship team at church and of course, school.

All the more reason to have a plan ahead of time. If I had to come up with dinner ideas at 5:30 when the girls & I walk in the door, we’d have cereal every night. Taking a few moments to make a plan on what we’ll eat takes the pressure off. Better yet is when I can take an hour or two over the weekend and prep anything I can.

For example, my chili recipe is quick and easy enough for weeknight dinner if you start from scratch. But if you take some time to throw it together ahead of time, you really can’t beat grabbing it out of the fridge, plopping it into a pan and just heating it up. If you’re feeling ambitious, mix up a box of Jiffy cornbread. Sit down with the kiddos and look at school papers or ask about their day with those extra few minutes. Lose the business suit and change into those yoga pants!! Take advantage of those extra minutes you’ve given yourself!

Meal Plan

Breakfast

Waffles – made a double batch over the weekend to heat up throughout the week
Eggs – scrambled, with toast in a bowl, in the hole…we change it up everyday

Lunch

Tuna Salad Sandwiches/Wraps – made a double batch of this over the weekend based on this recipe
Salads
Leftovers

Dinner

Ready-to-Eat Seasoned Pork Loin
Hamburger Steaks with Gravy
Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
Grilled Cheese Night
Goulash
Cheeseburger Stuffed Peppers

Prep-Ahead Plan

Mix and shape hamburger steaks
Make gravy
Slice onions & peppers
Make goulash
Mix meat mixture for stuffed peppers

This menu plan is linked to Org Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday link up.

Goals

I’m going to keep my goals light this week. Work is very overwhelming for both Keith and I right so surviving each day is my first priority. I don’t want to set myself up for failure by committing to too many things.

Send 2 Thinking of You cards – I want to make connecting with family & friends more of a priority this year

1 (more) blog post & 1 video published – I have so many topics & ideas in my head and I just need to allow myself to take for me and get them out there!!

Join in with my church’s Bible/study devotional book – We were in Tampa for the Outback Bowl on the first day of this reading plan and so I got behind from the first day. I felt like it was too late to catch up but after service yesterday I’m just going to jump in where they are. It’s better than nothing!!

We are still tiptoeing into normal life after the holidays. I know January is more than half over but I’m subscribing to a “Better Late Then Never” mentality.

Simple Meal Planning - Plan to Eat

Weekly Meal Plan & Goals – November 23, 2015

Weekly Meal Plan & Goals – November 23, 2015

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

The countdown to Turkey Day is on. And like many others in America, I’m focused on my Thanksgiving menu. But from what I understand, I still need to feed my family the rest of the days this week too. However, I’m giving myself plenty of grace and keeping it simple.

Although two weeks ago, I came up with a great solution for feeding the girls and I in the short window before an extra-curricular activity, I’m planning to hit up the drive thru. We spent Saturday at Dollywood and Sunday we were all really spent and so doing lots of food prep just wasn’t a priority.

Sometimes you have to sacrifice other things to maintain your sanity. Let’s just hope it don’t regret it in a day or two!!!

Speaking of saving sanity, having a service like Plan To Eat is a great way to stay sane during “normal” weeks and when its time to plan for holiday meals. I slide the dishes I want to make into the planner and the ingredients automatically show up on my shopping list. And if you’re blessed enough to have a hubby who helps with the grocery shopping like me, its super easy to export your shopping list, copy & paste into an email and send it along. It’s even categorized for more efficient trips down the aisles.

You can get a free 30-day trial and be sure to check out the Black Friday Sale when yearly subscriptions are 50% off. That makes is $19.50 for the WHOLE YEAR!! The part I like best is that the sale is for new AND CURRENT subscribers!

Weekly Meal Plan & Goals

Meal Plan

Breakfast

Eggs in some form on school/work days
Biscuits & Gravy
Pancakes/Waffles

Lunch

Broccoli/Cheddar Soup
Salad
Thanksgiving Dinner Leftovers

Dinner

Drive-thru
Meatballs & Noodles
3-Cheese Macaroni & Cheese
Thanksgiving Dinner!!!
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
Stadium Fare at the Vols Football Game

This menu plan is linked to Org Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday link up.

Weekly Goals

Mail a “Thinking of You” note to a friend – I bought the cards but haven’t mailed them
Bible study 5 of 7 mornings – I kept up with my Bible reading plans. A WIN!!!
Lunches packed at night – I’m going to scratch this from my goals for right now. I might try it again in the future but right now, packing lunches in the morning isn’t a huge deal. I would still need to put the final touches on them in the morning so it feels like it would be double work to an extent.
2 blog posts & 1 YouTube video posted – Technically yes, but since one of the blog posts was also the YouTube video I’m not going to count it. So one blog & one video
Schedule social media posts every night – I started strong at the beginning of the week again and trailed off at the end :o(
Walk at least 20 minutes 3 of 5 workdays and at least 1 weekend day – I don’t think I did this once – eep!! I’m still working on setting aside time on my calendar each day
One Fit2be session each day (at least 10 minutes) – I haven’t figured out the best place to put this on my schedule

I’m going to keep these same goals for next week minus the lunch packing.

Simple Meal Planning - Plan to Eat