Last week: While we stuck to our budget for food, we didn’t stick to the menu plan very well. Even with the days not picked out, I struggled with lack of energy this week. I found that come dinner time I was just not in the mood to cook anything…My other issue with getting dinner done was that I never can remember to pull the meat from the freezer. I am not a fan of defrosting in the microwave.
- Does anyone have some tips on how to overcome this hurdle?
- How do you insure you have dinner ready even on the days when you have no energy?
- Do you have any simple/easy go to dinner ideas you use when your energy level is zapped?
- What do you do to make yourself remember?
This week: My goal is just to continue to clean out our freezer. My hope is that when I do, I can start freezing some meals so that I don’t always have to be cooking. I am also hoping that as Squishy starts eating more of what we are eating that the not wanting to cook dinner feeling will go away.
Our 4 Meals:
Kim’s Pick
The Pasta Salad from last week’s menu
Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Organic Veggies
Boca “Meatless” Mexican Salad
Grocery List:
(This week I don’t need to buy soda!! Why? My Hubs got me a Soda Stream for my birthday!! – I love that thing!)
Veggies
Snacks
Parmesan Cheese
Fruit
THAT’S IT!!
Budget: $50 (I think we will be okay with that this week)
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Menu planning is difficult, but it's the only way for me. Otherwise, I feel lost around dinnertime. The night before, I always go over what I need for the next night so if I need to defrost anything, I can make sure that that gets done. After cooking dinner, the last thing I want to do is plan the next night, but it goes much easier if I do.
That will be a nice grocery trip! 😉
I need to try that Soda Stream! We spend so much $$$ on soda!
Hey there! Okay…couple of ideas…my go-to-in-a-hurry-or-don't-feel-like-cooking-meals: 1) Dinty Moore Beef Stew over Egg Noodles…inexpensive, filling & quick! 2) Chicken Quesadillas…using the Purdue Short-cuts-precooked-chicken.
Do you have a crock-pot? If so, there are so many recipes out there that are inexpensive & again, no fuss! I have one of Sandra Lee's Slow-Cooker cookbooks, and it's really a good one.
Also…Are you a fan of Rachael Ray from Food Network? She does 30-Minute Meals, I have several of her cookbooks! You can also get her recipe's from Food Network website.
Then I found this cookbook: Cooking Light: 5 Ingredients, 15 Minutes over at Amazon.
Plan a soup-and-sandwich night also! Make grilled cheese or tuna melts, BLT's or any kind and serve with tomato or chicken soup….oh, and my family LOVES breakfast for dinner too! Eggs, bacon and pancakes! : )
Whenever I know that I have to defrost something (meat, especially), I will put it in the fridge the night before. Then, when I get up in the morning to get the kids' milk, I see the meat and put it in the sink. Then it is ready to go when I'm ready to cook dinner!
What about trying something in the crock pot, or make a large batch of soup.
Thanks for the birthday wish! Thanks for the follow! I am totally following you back now! I hope you get a chance to check out my Birthday BASH of giveaways at Stash Mama
Yup, do the crock pot thing. Or make casserole type things in aluminum pans, freeze, and put frozen in the oven. You'll have to play with times, but it doesn't add too much more, and you can make several meals on the weekend to have ready done during the week.
I struggle with the "do I really HAVE to make dinner" blues all the time. I finally decided to include a "leftover" day in my menu plan to give me that break I needed throughout the week!
One thing I have recently tried to get me motivated is themed nights!! So far…so good and my family seems to like it! We have an italian night, a mexican night, pizza night…etc. It is definately keeping me from making the same few dishes over and over!!!
I also like to try making extra of something and planning my menu around those extras. For example…if I am making a roast in the crockpot, I will buy a larger roast and use the extra meat in another meal like tacos or a casserole.
Hopefully that helps a little. Love your blog! Visit me at http://www.mikeandamandascott.blogspot.com