Can you believe that it is Time for Janet Barclay’s Blog Carnival already…I feel like I lost a whole month? The topic is quite timely this month with music festival, dance recitals and the winding down of activities I feel busier than ever. The topic is “Organizing Tips For Busy Moms” and I feel like one busy mom right now.
Here is my personal favorite for keeping this BUSY mom sane and on top of an important task….Meal Planning
From corporate boardrooms to casual gatherings the Meal Plan is always a hot topic. A casual mention of a weekly meal routine and I have everyone’s attention. The kitchen really is the heart of the home and when this room rocks it sets the stage for success for the whole day.
You will find success in the kitchen with a few very easy meal planning techniques that work well for our family and can work in yours too.
Meal planning for the busy family needs to meet these minimum standards…
To save valuable time you need quick dinner ideas.
To save money and add convenience to you need to have easy dinner ideas.
To provide energy and vitality you need to have healthy dinner ideas.
Organizing is all about planning.
Here are 3 steps to ensure meal planning success.
Family Meeting Time-Get the family together and ask what each person’s favorite weekly meal choices would be. Make sure the choices meet the meal planning standards! Create a master list of all the choices for breakfast, lunches, dinner and even snacks…this is also helpful for those school lunches. This list can be added to as new meal items are tried, tested and given a thumbs up.
Master Meal List- With the list of possible menu items in hand it is time to pull the weekly meal menu together. This can be as simple as a calendar with the healthy, quick easy meal items written in the spaces or you can go virtual with a handy meal planning tool like the one mentioned in this blog post. Post the menu in a spot where everyone can see it and you may be surprised when you head to the kitchen one morning to find that someone has already started the meal…really…kids and significant others do want to participate…let go…you can do it!
Grocery Shopping- With a week of meal ideas in hand it is now time to grab the weekly flyers and map out the plan of attack. By paying attention to weekly specials and deals you can stretch your grocery dollars…keeping money in your pocket.
Organizing Today in the Kitchen can save Time, Money and add Convenience to your life.
Have fun…test new recipes…let the kids get involved…make meals a family event.
Here is a video I did years ago…please disregard my suggestion of adding Hot dogs to the meal planning…unless they are vegan….oh what I have learned
In this video you will learn the 3 easy steps to a more organized kitchen. By eliminating clutter and putting everything in its place you will have time for more important things in life…. like family and friends.
The first crisis of the day usually happens in this busy room…are you prepared!
This room has so many purposes…. its a Mudroom, recycling depot, homework center, restaurant….
Be Prepared for the task as hand, have supplies on hand.
Sort items asking these important questions. Do I love this item? Do I need this item?
Do you ever wonder what your favourite childhood TV stars are doing now?
Are you ready for this…Dawn Wells aka Mary Ann of Gilligans Island is sharing some frugal potatoe peeling tips with us via this video….I thought it was a joke but no…I have friends that have confirmed that they have saved a huge amount of potatotes that would have otherwise been thrown away with the peel…..I would have to say that Dawn is clearly the winner of the “Frugal Tip of the week”. I am not sure if this is a time saving tip but you would certainly save some money by not wasting the potatoe in the peel…imagine doing this when you have a whole pot full!
As a side note I love the tongs…anyone know where I can pick a set of these up?
Today I am walking down memory lane. It is hard to believe that this video was co-produced 5 years ago with a great group of guys from my home town. The 6 months I spent with Hit Media!; Glenn Ingersoll, Andrew Tidby and Greg Hemmings were amazing. They have since ventured out on their own and those days are just a distant memory.
This information packed segment on “Conquering the Clutter on the Kitchen Countertops” was as fun to make as it is informative to watch. Line up those laundry baskets and get ready to sort, purge and re-organize.
If you want to see more Elaine Shannon videos head over to my YOUTUBE channel. Yes…I have my own channel
I have to say that with a busy family that is running off to an activity almost every night our biggest stress… or I should say my biggest stress is around grocery shopping, meal planning and getting healthy nutritious food on the table every night. That may seem like a big commitment but I have a plan, sometimes we hit it and sometimes we don’t… however, if you fail to plan you plan to fail.
When the 3 Muskateers were younger this whole part of my life was easier, we weren’t on the go so much and the kids were actually home at mealtime. Now with a teen and pre-teen and one who thinks he is 30 something I have my work cut out for me.
As someone who loves routine and structure I am always looking for tools to help me save time, money and reduce stress. Here is my latest find… a new Meal Planning Tool… oh and the story of how I found it… I love telling stories.
This Tuesday while on twitter and participating in gno (girls night out) I had the pleasure of meeting Dawn from @mealplanningmom. She DM’d me and said ” Treat yourself to a free week of recipes @menufortheweek.com”. I quickly made my way to her website http://www.menufortheweek.com/ to find a solution to the meal issues in my home. I have always worked from a menu so this concept is not new for us but really… I am so bored with our menu’s. Variety is the spice of life and I am looking for variety. Dawn is also sharing time saving money saving secrets. She boasts that the meal plan for a family of 4 will cost on average $12 per meal… I am excited about that alone!
Family Meal Time
My plan for next week is to follow the free meal plan provided and see how that works with our budget, dietary needs (we have a peanut allergy and a dairy allergy.
I hope you all find this site useful and I would love for you to report back on your findings.
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