I guarantee you that if I wasn’t joining Menu Plan Monday over at I’m an Organizing Junkie, I wouldn’t have planned a menu this week.
So thank you, Laura, from the bottom of my foodie heart. You helped start this week on a good note by inspiring me to at least make sure we have enough food to survive without another grocery shopping trip.
Which is exactly why I plan a menu.
The last time I joined Menu Plan Monday, I pointed out that I only jot down 5 dinner ideas for a week. I do this because for me, menu planning doesn’t mean carving my meals in stone. Instead, it’s a guideline so I know whether I absolutely need to grocery shop in order to prevent our starvation (okay, a little extreme…).
(whole grain millet muffins)
Since our little family only has 2 1/2 eaters (Ray doesn’t quite count as a whole eater at this point…), our dinners are still pretty flexible and laid back. No one is coming to the family table at 6 PM expecting a full-blown meal. Instead, our plates will be perched on the comforter of our bed anytime between 7 PM and 9 PM. Chris will break out his laptop, and we’ll eat dinner while we watch a movie. Or maybe 5 episodes in a row of our current online TV show (nothing by halves, right?). These days are fun and simple, and our menu will reflect that. Maybe someday we’ll have a family table that actually gets used regularly.
Nevertheless, we still need to have a plan. Living on a budget means deciding what your expenses are going to be before you have them, and we all know last minute takeout costs – even for a small family – can break even the most generous food budgets.
So listen up all you singles and no-kids-yet families. It’s not too early to make a plan to save money in this area… even if it’s more of a guideline 
.
(Last week’s grocery trip – originally $50, I paid $37)
Alright, stepping down from my soapbox, I present to you our menu:
(If you follow me on Twitter you’ll notice the fruit of last weekend’s berry-picking excursion cropping up all over this meal plan.)
BREAKFAST
- Bagels & cream cheese
- Eggs & toast
- Blueberries & homemade plain yogurt
- Blueberry smoothies
- Soaked oatmeal porridge with (guess!) blueberries
LUNCH
- Sandwiches (turkey, lettuce, and mustard, OR peanut butter and raisin)
- Salad (variety of vegetables, homemade dressing)
- Lentils & rice (recipe to come – eventually!)
- Leftovers
DINNER
- Chicken parmesan (with whole grain garlic bread & salad)
- Taco salad (lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, salsa, chicken, shredded cheese, peppers)
- Savory tomato bruschetta
- Chicken teriyaki (with salad and homemade pita bread)
- Something with millet and chicken maybe?
SNACKS
- Blueberries (surprise), blackberries, bananas
- Pretzels
- Homemade whole grain snickerdoodle cookies
- Crispy crunchy roasted chickpeas
- Whole grain millet muffins
Ray’s menu (only 1-2 solid meals per day)
- Bananas
- Carrots
- Chicken/Chicken broth
If you haven’t in the past, I challenge you to go ahead and try making your own menu guideline for this week. You can read my personal step-by-step process here. And don’t forget to find more menu-planning inspiration over at I’m an Organizing Junkie today!
Enjoy,
Steph
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