Missed posting regularly... Sorry!
I have been good, though, about meal planning. In fact, we haven't gone out to eat for an unplanned meal since then! And we seem to have plenty of leftovers, too. I have several new recipes I want to try & even froze a couple of meals in advance for future meals! Alright, huh? I'd love to do the Once A Month Cooking, but my sweet friend Melissa encouraged me to just make a meal or two at a time to start with. So, I made a double batch of chicken enchiladas; we ate one then froze the other. Yesterday, I chopped chicken, onion, carrots, broccoli, & sweet potatoes then I added Italian dressing, threw it all in a freezer bag, & into the freezer it went!
Little Bit's room will be painted this weekend in preparation for the mural my amazing friend Anna will be creating next week. Tuesday & Wednesday are the special days! Then, we will add some ledges for books, a framed baby picture, a cubby shelf for toys/books, & the hutch on top of his dresser. I'm pretty excited about getting his room all set up. Then, we can move onto his bathroom & our bedroom! Seems like it is all starting to be real! :)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
A Meal Plan... Hopefully
With Christmas coming up & past medical bills coming out of our short term savings account, I'm feeling the pressure to save more money. As much as we can. And since I know meal planning can help & have had it on my to do list for, well, months... I'm determined to do it.
Here's some considerations for MY family. Hope this helps encourage you or give you some ideas!
1.) We only buy greenwise or organic meats when we shop. (For some reason, we still eat the non-organic meats from the restaurant?) To reduce cost & receive a greater variation, we are purchasing 1/8th of a cow from a local, organic farmer. This means approximately 50-55lbs of beef will be coming our way tomorrow. Which leads to the second point, as I need more freezer space...
2.) Nick's company gave us a turkey last holiday season. I am going out on a limb here & guessing it'll still be okay as it's been frozen. I moved it to the fridge Monday afternoon to begin the thawing process. This is a 13+lb bird, so we have way more than we'll eat in one meal. So, I've researched a couple of freezer recipes & also some of my favorites (pot pie, for example) for leftovers. Nick also loves turkey sammiches, so his lunch next week is taken care of there.
3.) I get great deals on cereal, but for some reason Nick doesn't want to eat cereal every day for, umm, three years. (And ends up grabbing something from Publix or McD or Burger King which can be more expensive!) And my child likes to eat breakfast, too. Usually little one gets fruit, granola or cereal, & almond milk for breakfast. I'm becoming daring & stepping out. I decided I can either wake up & prepare breakfast for Nick before he heads to work or I can prepare something for the fridge or freezer that he can grab & go. I get stressed thinking that money is coming out of the bank account every other day, so this will help. (I think I am also going to add $20 into the budget every two weeks or so for Nick to have quick grab money just in case.)
4.) We have a teensy stockpile of pasta, sauces, dried/canned beans, & pasta. I'm using as much as I can from our pantry to plan the future meals in accordance with sale prices.
I've found some ideas for breakfast casseroles & egg muffins (like mini-quiches or mini-frittatas) that will freeze well. I can also make Nick some with peppers & mushrooms, others with spinach & cheese for all of us, or mix it up each week. This will provide a hot, non-cereal, breakfast for Nick on the go.
I am using the turkey for at least two meals made with leftover pieces of turkey PLUS Nick's lunches next week. I am using the pasta + spaghetti sauce for macaroni + meat sauce for little one. He will eat this three times a day if I let him. I plan to add in diced/sauteed zucchini with the beef for the pasta. (This means we'll use less beef & get more veggies in our diet. Also, zucchini even not on sale costs less per pound that beef!)
I also plan to make doubles of meals I create in the next week. It's not huge as far as "Once A Month Cooking" goes, but an extra two or three meals will go a long way when I am not feeling up to cooking. It will be less tempting to go out to eat, too! And eat more calories & spend more (unbudgeted) money.
Did I mention I want to lose approximately 25lbs, too? Yeah, so lots of water glasses to consumee everyday. Cutting out the soda to save money & calories.
Here goes...
October 5: dinner at church, $8 for all three of us
October 6: dinner- roast turkey, mashed taters, veggies
October 7: dinner- leftovers (don't wanna through out any food)
October 8: dinner- grilled steak, corn on the cob, salad, & mac&chz
October 9: dinner- turkey chili (crockpot), extra for freezer
October 10: dinner- turkey pot pie + salad, extra for freezer
October 11: dinner- chicken enchiladas w/ chips, extra for freezer
October 12: dinner at church, $8 for all three of us
October 13: dinner- pot roast (crock pot) w/ rice + veggies
October 14: dinner- triple cheese veggie pizza
Breakfast will consist of cereals, granola, fruit, or egg muffins.
Lunches will be leftovers from the previous nights!
I am hoping we will not be throwing ANY food away & use it up before it spoils.
My brother also gave us several pounds of home grown jalapenos & sweet potatoes, so I'm hoping to find some freezer meals to use them up. If not, we'll dice & freeze them for later use anyways! :)
I will update tomorrow with how much I'll have to spend to prepare these after my trip to Publix! Wish me luck! Any excess over our food cash envelope will go in our Christmas jar!
Here's some considerations for MY family. Hope this helps encourage you or give you some ideas!
1.) We only buy greenwise or organic meats when we shop. (For some reason, we still eat the non-organic meats from the restaurant?) To reduce cost & receive a greater variation, we are purchasing 1/8th of a cow from a local, organic farmer. This means approximately 50-55lbs of beef will be coming our way tomorrow. Which leads to the second point, as I need more freezer space...
2.) Nick's company gave us a turkey last holiday season. I am going out on a limb here & guessing it'll still be okay as it's been frozen. I moved it to the fridge Monday afternoon to begin the thawing process. This is a 13+lb bird, so we have way more than we'll eat in one meal. So, I've researched a couple of freezer recipes & also some of my favorites (pot pie, for example) for leftovers. Nick also loves turkey sammiches, so his lunch next week is taken care of there.
3.) I get great deals on cereal, but for some reason Nick doesn't want to eat cereal every day for, umm, three years. (And ends up grabbing something from Publix or McD or Burger King which can be more expensive!) And my child likes to eat breakfast, too. Usually little one gets fruit, granola or cereal, & almond milk for breakfast. I'm becoming daring & stepping out. I decided I can either wake up & prepare breakfast for Nick before he heads to work or I can prepare something for the fridge or freezer that he can grab & go. I get stressed thinking that money is coming out of the bank account every other day, so this will help. (I think I am also going to add $20 into the budget every two weeks or so for Nick to have quick grab money just in case.)
4.) We have a teensy stockpile of pasta, sauces, dried/canned beans, & pasta. I'm using as much as I can from our pantry to plan the future meals in accordance with sale prices.
I've found some ideas for breakfast casseroles & egg muffins (like mini-quiches or mini-frittatas) that will freeze well. I can also make Nick some with peppers & mushrooms, others with spinach & cheese for all of us, or mix it up each week. This will provide a hot, non-cereal, breakfast for Nick on the go.
I am using the turkey for at least two meals made with leftover pieces of turkey PLUS Nick's lunches next week. I am using the pasta + spaghetti sauce for macaroni + meat sauce for little one. He will eat this three times a day if I let him. I plan to add in diced/sauteed zucchini with the beef for the pasta. (This means we'll use less beef & get more veggies in our diet. Also, zucchini even not on sale costs less per pound that beef!)
I also plan to make doubles of meals I create in the next week. It's not huge as far as "Once A Month Cooking" goes, but an extra two or three meals will go a long way when I am not feeling up to cooking. It will be less tempting to go out to eat, too! And eat more calories & spend more (unbudgeted) money.
Did I mention I want to lose approximately 25lbs, too? Yeah, so lots of water glasses to consumee everyday. Cutting out the soda to save money & calories.
Here goes...
October 5: dinner at church, $8 for all three of us
October 6: dinner- roast turkey, mashed taters, veggies
October 7: dinner- leftovers (don't wanna through out any food)
October 8: dinner- grilled steak, corn on the cob, salad, & mac&chz
October 9: dinner- turkey chili (crockpot), extra for freezer
October 10: dinner- turkey pot pie + salad, extra for freezer
October 11: dinner- chicken enchiladas w/ chips, extra for freezer
October 12: dinner at church, $8 for all three of us
October 13: dinner- pot roast (crock pot) w/ rice + veggies
October 14: dinner- triple cheese veggie pizza
Breakfast will consist of cereals, granola, fruit, or egg muffins.
Lunches will be leftovers from the previous nights!
I am hoping we will not be throwing ANY food away & use it up before it spoils.
My brother also gave us several pounds of home grown jalapenos & sweet potatoes, so I'm hoping to find some freezer meals to use them up. If not, we'll dice & freeze them for later use anyways! :)
I will update tomorrow with how much I'll have to spend to prepare these after my trip to Publix! Wish me luck! Any excess over our food cash envelope will go in our Christmas jar!
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