Menu Planning Made Easy
September 10, 2009
Menu Planning Made Easy
The question most often asked by family members is “What’s for dinner?” What I discovered was that I rarely knew myself. Their question would force a rapid mind search for what was in the fridge, the pantry, and that I could cook quickly. I hated the stress!
I decided to do something about it.
A family meeting was called to order. With a paper and pen I asked everyone in the house what food items they liked to have. I made a list of everything they said. I wanted to try to accommodate everyone so even Bryan’s request for Peanut, Butter, and Jelly Sandwiches was written on the list.
After creating the list, I then sat down to make my menus. I thought about things like, if I make roast beef in the crockpot on Monday, then on Wednesday we can have French Dip Sandwiches. I tried to make at least one item each week that would then carry over into another day. Also, I would make up a lot of our meats ahead of time. I might have a post on that, or it’s in my book, I’m Going to be the Greatest Mom Ever…Even if it Kills Me! (You can buy it on Amazon for 125.00!)
After creating the menus I printed them out and put them in page protectors in a 3-ring binder. In the space that says “shopping list” I would create a list and slide it into the binder sleeve.
I usually shopped for the non-perishables for 3 weeks at a time. This made going to the store not such a chore. The perishable items ONLY (whispers —- and the items I managed to forget on mega shopping day) were picked up during the week. Our family would go through about 10 gallons of milk a week, so we did have to stop at the store frequently. We made our own freshly ground whole wheat bread. (Insert some kind of ooh….ahhh)
The following are the actual menus that I used for years! As the kids got older they would be in charge of meals. That meant they would tell me ahead of time what they wanted to prepare and give me the shopping list for those items. I left some blank days to cover srevotfel (repurposing leftovers), an occasional pizza night, or just to give a little flexibility. It was easy to simply swap a menu item for another night too.
Gosh my wheels are spinning about a way to create this with a magnetic board…. but that’s for another time. 
If you have any questions or want an explanation, simply leave a comment.
If you can’t see the menus above, simply click on the link 6 Week Menu
Comments
4 Responses to “Menu Planning Made Easy”
Got something to say?
Be my Fan?
Schoolhouse Expo
Ok, just wanted to tell you Im very excited. Im now going to look in more detail at your menus. Thank you. This is good Titus 2 stuff!!
Niiiiice!!! This looks doable, so I think I’ll be moving towards working out my meal plans sooner than I thought I would. Also, I love your menu ideas. I especially appreciate that most of your breakfast and lunch options are vegetarian. Way to go on reducing excess meat consumption!
Please do tell what is horse mash?
Thank you!
Horsemash is an easy granola made on the stove in a frying pan. To make it, put 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup honey in a pan. Once it begins to bubble add old fashioned oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, raisins, craisins, dried fruit, etc. (whatever you want really as long as you include the oats). Sprinkle with brown sugar. Serve warm. I actually don’t really know if it’s 1/4 cup or not, I just pour until it looks about right.