Menu Plan: Spring (May 26 - June 1)

Strategies

• We found a great little farm that offers milk, cheeses, beef, and some pork. We were pleasantly surprised to find the prices of grass-fed meats & dairy products to be less than (or for some, comparable) offered conventionally in the grocery. We took a little drive this past weekend and stocked several meats in our freezer. We're certainly enjoying the availability of local meats & produce within only a short distance of our current hometown!
• This week, we decided to use the extra time afforded by the holiday to cook the extra turkey we purchased on sale back during the fall. Turkey is a great economical meat option. We can probably get up to six meals from the one bird, depending on the meals. In addition, turkey is just too tasty to only have it one time a year! 
• Since we've worked from within our freezer and pantry stock these past few weeks, we figured this week would be good to get some extras and try out some new ingredients and dishes. I also picked up some mini cucumbers to make into homemade pickles. I love pickles, but I don't love the added colorings and other unnecessary junk contained in purchased pickles. So, I'm going to make my own! 

• Tip: write your grocery list and the date in a little notebook each week/month. This way you can easily see how much and how frequently you purchase items. You can then use that information to determine the value of purchasing in bulk for your family's needs. If you don't use the entirety of a bulk purchase before it goes bad, then it would have been wiser to buy the smaller quantity even though it would have been at a higher unit price. Below is a copy of our list for this week:
  

OUR MENU PLAN FOR THIS WEEK:

*Note: I include links to the recipes if they are available online. Some recipes are from cookbooks we have at home, and while I can't share the recipe I can direct you to the source. Other dishes or meals are created by myself or my husband, and we can do our best to explain how to recreate it. If you'd like additional information on any of the meals or our menu planning, then please feel free to contact me. :) 

Breakfasts

- oatmeal with diced apple, walnuts, and flaxseed meal

- granola cereal, banana

- oatmeal with dried cherries, almonds, and flaxseed meal

- whole wheat biscuit/toast with peanut butter and drizzle of honey 

(repeat all to keep it simple!)

Lunches

- Strawberry & spinach salad (spinach, strawberries, homemade feta cheese (blue cheese if feta isn't ready yet), raisins, pecans and/or almonds with a homemade vinaigrette dressing)

- Tortellini with Tomato-Basil Sauce

- Turkey salad wrap (using homemade tortillas) or panini-style sandwich (if I make bread in time)

- Veggie spring rolls (using this recipe as inspiration)

- Grilled Veggies & Polenta

Dinners

- Turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans

- Fish tacos with mango salsa (Hubby's recipe that I cannot seem to master. haha)

- Leftover turkey, homemade mac n' cheese, swiss chard (we've never had swiss chard, and so decided to give it a go!)

- Bean & rice burritos (great economical meal option!)

- Breakfast for dinner: hubby's favorite --> eggs, sausage, biscuits, fresh apple juice (we'll make sausage biscuits from any leftovers and wrap them up to store in the freezer. Then, we'll have a quick breakfast to grab and go whenever we need!)

Snacks

- homemade crackers with peanut butter

- cottage cheese and diced cantaloupe (fruit stored in the freezer)

- apple and cheese slices

- almonds

- yogurt with dried apricots

- homemade granola or other bar

Weekly Menu Planning Sheet

*Note: Reviving Homemaking is not affiliated with any of the sites or companies included in the links, and was not asked to include or recommend them or their recipes in this post. (I simply like what they have to offer!)

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