In honor of this whole marriage thing, I decided that I will finally start planning out our weekly meals. To begin with, I'm not focusing on healthy foods. Right now, my goal is to create a dinner menu for the week and then to shop for just those items (with a few breakfast items and essentials thrown in). Once I get into the habit of this whole planning deal, I hope to start adjusting our diet to some more healthy meals. I don't want to get overwhelmed and give up right away.
The primary goal of this little planning mission is to save us some money. We currently have a nice bunch of asparagus wilting in the fridge that my husband purchased the week of our wedding. I'm not sure when he thought I was going to prepare this, but lets just say it didn't happen. That is just one example of the many food items we purchase that goes to waste. So, without further ado, I present to you my first menu plan...
Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
Date night dinner | Chili with Cornbread Sausage Stars/Football Snacks | Chili (leftover) Cheese Hotdogs with French fries | Grilled Chicken, rice, vegetable | Pork Chops, Asparagus & Parmesan Noodles | Taco Salad | Mac and cheese with leftover taco meat |
Grocery List
2 lb Ground Beef
Macaroni Noodles
Kidney Beans
1 (15 oz) Tomato Sauce
1 large can crushed tomatoes
Onions
1 package cornbread mix
1 lb pork sausage
1 bottle ranch dressing
1 pkg wonton wrappers
1 ½ c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 ½ c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 2.25 oz can diced black olives
1 small red pepper
Hot dogs
Hot dog buns
French fries
Chicken
Can vegetable/corn on the cob?
Pork chops
Asparagus
Parmesan Noodles (box)
Lettuce
Salsa
Cheese
Taco Seasoning
Tortilla chips
Mac & Cheese
Here are a few of my concerns...What if I don't feel like eating hot dogs that night? What if I forget something on the list? What if the chili tastes awful? (Those poor hot dogs will just have to be covered in just cheese the next night) Oh and will the aspargus make it in the fridge from Saturday through Wednesday? Maybe I'll need to swap days around a bit. This whole wife thing is a lot of work.
I also should mention that I believe this is the best way for us to save some money on our grocery bill. Believe me, I've tried to come up with other alternatives since this whole planning is a bit boring. The thing is, we shop at primarily two stores for our groceries-Walmart and the Dalton Market. We don't get a paper (mainly since they won't deliver to our house) so we don't have coupons to get the discount. The Dalton Market is overpriced (since it's supported by the 332 citizens of the town and whoever actually stops there to "check out the old store" on their way through town).
So ladies, any tips on planning out a menu for the week?
"This whole wife thing is a lot of work." :) Love it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd say you're on the right track. This is probably just me, but it took me a few years to get the planning/shopping/saving money thing down, PLUS making sure we eat meals that J actually likes. Oh, you mean it has to TASTE GOOD even though it's cheap?! I feel like I keep honing and honing and honing--what works, what doesn't; what definitely not to buy at the rip-off store; what to indulge in at Walmart when the sweet tooth kicks in. Having a cash grocery budget really helps, even though at the end of the month I'm usually counting out pocket change to get the milk. Hey, if that's what keeps us solvent... :) You will do and are doing great!