If you’re a regular reader of our meal plans you know two things:
- We don’t really meal plan for a month at a time. We meal plan weekly.
- We cook and eat the same things over and over. Or so it seems to our teenage daughter.
But, honestly, she’s right. We do eat the same 20 or so meals – and 20 may be generous – all the time. Brad and I do the meal planning on Sundays (or Mondays) and the kids pick a night to cook based on how it works with their schedules. Both of our kids cook a dinner and clean up – start to finish. They don’t get to pick the meal they’re cooking – just the night. We tried it the other way and it didn’t work.
When our daughter looked at the meal plan on the refrigerator recently, she complained that we always make the same things – and that she always makes the same things. She decided to try some new recipes on her nights to make dinner but made sure we knew ahead of time what was needed for the recipes so there wasn’t any last minute running to the store (which drives her mother absolutely nuts!). Was this a parenting genius move? I’m not sure, but we’ve been enjoying her being annoyed with our dinner menus!
Monthly Meal Plan
Meal planning saves our family money, resources, and time. By eating at home, we’re able to avoid unhealthy, processed foods. If we have a plan, we eat healthier at home – skipping fast food restaurants.
Weekly meal plan from Monday, September 30, 2013 to Sunday, October 6, 2013
Monday: chicken noodle soup and green salad
Tuesday: oven roasted chicken breasts with broccoli
Wednesday: buffalo shrimp with brown rice and peas
Thursday: egg in a basket (recipe to come soon) and fruit smoothies
Friday: oven roasted chicken and potatoes (my son made dinner this night)
Saturday: leftover chicken mixed with pinto beans and brown rice
Sunday: whole wheat pasta with meatballs, tomato sauce and green salad (my daughter made dinner this night)
Weekly meal plan from Monday, October 7, 2013 to Sunday, October 13 , 2013
Monday: shrimp, brown rice and green salad oven roasted cabbage and quinoa (my son made dinner this night)
Tuesday: Mexican pulled pork, pinto beans, brown rice and fresh salsa
Wednesday: (leftovers) Mexican pulled pork, pinto beans, brown rice and fresh salsa
Thursday: pasta, arugula and pork – Asian flavors!
Friday: make your own pizza – homemade dough and lots of toppings – each person makes their own mini pizza
Saturday: Dinner at our friend’s house – we brought crust-less pumpkin pie
Sunday: Mexican vermicelli with tomatoes and veggies (my daughter made dinner this night)
Weekly meal plan from Monday, October 14, 2013 to Sunday, October 20 , 2013
Monday: I can’t find this meal plan sheet and somehow lost it walking from the kitchen, removing it from the refrigerator, and going to my computer! It’s more of the same stuff…
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday: chicken pot pies (my daughter made dinner this night)
Weekly meal plan from Monday, October 21, 2013 to Sunday, October 27 , 2013
Monday: tomato soup (the last of the garden tomatoes – roasted!) and grilled cheese sandwiches
Tuesday: salmon burgers with special sauce and greens
Wednesday: pork chops, risotto and green salad (my son made dinner this night)
Thursday: vegetarian chili in slow-cooker and cornbread
Friday: (leftover) vegetarian chili in slow-cooker and cornbread
Saturday: whole wheat pasta with garlic sauce and green peas
Sunday: oven roasted chicken with brown rice, mushrooms, onions and green salad (my daughter made dinner this night)
Weekly meal plan from Monday, October 28, 2013 to Sunday, November 3 , 2013
Monday: (leftover) chicken curry salad with spinach salad
Tuesday: whole wheat pasta with garlic sauce and myzithra cheese and green salad
Wednesday: egg, sausage (homemade-recipe to come soon), cheese, and muffin breakfast sandwiches and green salad (these are the homemade version of billboard ads featuring fast food breakfast sandwiches)
Thursday: vegetarian chili and cornbread
Friday: whole wheat pasta with clams and green peas
Saturday: pan seared salmon, brown rice and green salad (my daughter made dinner this night)
Sunday: meat loaf, oven roasted potatoes with onions and green salad (my son made dinner this night)
What’s for dinner at your house? Are you a meal planner?
Go Gingham related links:
11 reasons to meal plan every week – save money, save time and reduce food waste
How our freezer gets used – what I keep in our freezer and how I utilize the space
Grocery shopping soon? Plastic grocery bag alternatives
Grocery shopping from the bulk bins and food storage containers
Go Gingham 
Ummm, so I was looking for the pot pie recipe and didn’t find it … hint, hint …
I like how you have your kids cook a meal! Right now my 10-year-old son makes Saturday morning pancakes (from scratch) and as both children get older, I would like them to be more involved in the kitchen. Thanks for listing what didn’t work for your family–that’s helpful to know.
I plan meals … loosely … or I make it up as I go with ingredients I have on hand. Like you, I do NOT like making extra trips to the grocery store. It’s a waste of time and I’m more likely to overspend. I try to not duplicate a meal within a 2 week time frame, but I also have a rotation of favorites.
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Kris, good method! And, that’s how our kids began cooking their weekly dinners – by making lunches on Saturdays. It’s such a treat to have a delicious meal cooked by your kids – and not have to clean up!
My daughter used “America’s Test Kitchen” recipe for the chicken pot pies but adapted it. I’ll have to have her make it again. She even borrowed the bowls from our neighbors because those aren’t our pretty bowls. 🙂
Thanks, Kris!
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We started meal planning on your recommendation and it has helped lower out grocery bills, save on extra trips to the grocery store and ensure that we use leftovers – rather than finding them a week later in the fridge. I can always count on finding a great recipe on your blog. Waiting in the pot pie and egg in a basket recipes.
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Margaret, I love it! Way to go. Really good to hear – and yes, I’m working on getting those recipes on the blog.
Thanks for sharing the meal planning goodness! 🙂
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I am really big on cooking once and serving twice. Our family consists of two adults and two spoiled rescue terriers, and it is difficult to make a meal for just two people.
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Karen, I’m a big fan of that myself! We’re having roasted root vegetables for dinner tonight and we had them last night, too. An extra big batch one night mean less to prepare the next.
I can imagine your terriers and quite well behaved!
🙂
Thanks, Karen!
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