It's been months since I've posted a menu plan! Some aspects of creating our menu plan has been adjusted a bit to account for my current energy level for preparing meals and the upcoming arrival of our first child. For instance, our lunches and dinners used to be interchangeable. I now prefer much, much simpler options for lunches but still maintaining them to be as wholesome as possible. (If you have any suggestions, then that would be fantastic!!!). I've been leaning more towards soups, sandwiches/wraps, and leftovers. I'm also pretty much repeating the same breakfasts and snacks each week. One or two may be different, but for the most part it's the same options over and over. On the plus side, that area of our grocery budget can stay pretty steady.
Speaking of budget, I've challenged myself to get our grocery spending down by at least $20 per week without sacrificing our real foods preference. I believe that real foods are possible by simply practicing preparing the right types of meals. (Similarly, hospitality is feasible on a budget by practicing the same principle, even with large groups. I'll post in the future about the meals we serve for as many as twelve people without going outside our budget). I hope these weekly posts will help to demonstrate how we achieve the real food on a real budget (and I do mean real budget) in our home.
There is now a photo album on the RH Facebook page just for food photos. If you like to see a photo of a dish to judge whether you want to try it or not, then follow the link to view the album. (I tend to like recipes & cookbooks that include lots of photos). Let's be honest, some dishes are just too pretty to not take a picture! ;)
I've also started pinning lots of recipes we use onto a "Food" Pinterest board. Many of the recipes listed below can be found there as well.
Strategies
- Sunday mornings are usually a bit rushed for us, and some days we would leave without breakfast. We since begun making a greater effort for being prepared with quick grab-and-go breakfasts. For instance, a couple of weeks ago we made a big batch of whole wheat biscuits, eggs (then cut the same size as the biscuits), bacon and slices of cheddar cheese. We then assembled everything into sandwiches, wrapped in foil and froze them. Now, all we have to do is pull out a few biscuit sandwiches to warm in the oven while we get ready. So much better than drive-thru or nothing!
- We recently purchased a 1/4 of a cow from a nearby farm. If we use one package week, then our beef cost per week will be only $5. Not too bad for grass-fed beef!
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
- Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuits
- Breakfast quinoa (quinoa with diced pear, dried cranberries, drizzle of honey and sprinkle of cinnamon).
- Oatmeal with blueberries and diced pear
- Green smoothie (adding strawberries and peaches)
- Oatmeal with diced apple, sprinkle of cinnamon and chopped walnuts
- repeat Breakfast quinoa
Lunches
- Shephard's Pie (leftover from last week)
- Repeat bbq pork meal
- Cheddar and apple sandwiches (on homemade bread), kale chips
- BBQ portabello mushroom quesadillas (using homemade tortillas stocked in the freezer), corn on the cob (stocked in the freezer) / One of our favorite meals!
- Beef stew (leftovers)
- leftovers
Dinners
- Pulled pork bbq, baked beans, cole slaw (some of the pulled pork will go in the freezer for a fast meal in the future)
- Seared salmon, braised broccoli, and bulgur wheat
- Beef stew
- Garlic chicken, brussels sprouts, brown rice
- Eggplant parmesan pizza (using homemade pizza dough & baking in the oven instead of grilling)
- Butternut squash ravioli in an asian sauce (adding chopped bok choy to the sauce for an extra leafy green source)
Snacks
- yogurt with mixed berries (frozen)
- banana with peanut butter
- apple and cheddar cheese slices
- cottage cheese with diced peaches (frozen)
- popcorn
- celery sticks with peanut butter
- sweet potato fries
- hard-boiled egg and carrot sticks
*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!)
What's on your family's menu plan this week?
Linked up at:
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Visit the Reviving Homemaking Etsy Shop!
Follow Reviving Homemaking on Pinterest!
No comments:
Post a Comment