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
As the recession continues I am always looking for ideas on how to stretch our grocery budget while eating healthy REAL food. This is not an easy task…especially when a dozen hot dogs and a box of KD are cheaper than a tossed salad and some fresh locally made sausages. How does the average family do it?
Our family…me…has been on a personal mission for years to figure this out. We have so many food allergies and sensitivities in our household that meal planning is just that…a lot of planning. There are times that I want it to be easy but I know that the people I am feeding will suffer. So I keep on keeping on. As I learn more about food from documentaries like Food Inc I have become even more vigilant about what I am preparing for my family.
All of this planning and preparation in the kitchen takes time and energy. Can you feel my excitement about the conversation that happened at the coffee shop today.
While chatting and catching up about the upcoming week the Skipper said ” I feel like wontons”…now being the comedian I am I said” You don’t look like a wonton”…hehehe. I know you were totally expecting that. Yahoo the Skipper has a hankering to cook…which for me is real pleasure. It means that I don’t have to cook tonight and to be honest he is a great cook.
Thankfully we have some leftover pork from the awesome BBQ I did for Sunday’s supper. I love to try new recipes and I found the BBQ Pit Boys and this awesome recipe for BBQ Pork Loin Roast. I used a tasty naturally raised Pork Loin I picked up on Saturday from Kuinshoeve Meats in Rothesay NB. You can pick up locally raised pork and poultry products, Armadale Dairy products and specialties, such as head cheese and sausages….it is worth the trip if you live in the area.
As I am writing I can hear the whir of the mini chopper as the Skipper is getting the Pork Loin ready to make some yummy Wontons. We like ours boiled and we drizzle soy sauce over them…I am drooling already. Here is a great video I found to help you with your own Wontons. Check it out.
As a side note we will use the leftover pork roast, will omit the salt as the meat was salted for the BBQ on Sunday and we will boil them.
So for less than $14.00 for a small Pork Loin I had enough meat to feed the 4 of us on Sunday and tonight all 5 of us will be enjoying the delicious Wontons made with the Pork leftovers.
Economical, healthy and delicious…what could be better.
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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