Wednesday, March 4, 2009

What is this all about?

My friend Kristin showed me her 6-week meal plan that she had seen on Better Budgeting.

I decided I needed to fly with it and get my meals in order. I always go bonkers about 4 p.m. trying to decide what to make for dinner or getting it ready. Delaying the inevitable just doesn't work.

So here's my goal:

Step 1: 6-week meal plan with organized grocery list and orderly recipes on blog. See links on right for blank or completed meal plan sheets for download.

Step 2: Organize my morning so I'll make time for dinner prep before I get too tired.

Step 3: Empty dishwasher in the morn. I'm notorious for leaving it until 4 p.m. when I decide to start supper. I can't stand to cook in a messy kitchen so first I'll spend the time to do all the dishes and THEN start on dinner. No - bueno! So - dishes first and all-day so when it's dinnertime, I can focus on dinner.

I know my meal-plan and goals may need some tweeking. And I don't expect to be perfect... baby steps apply here!

Info on 6-week Meal Plan:

A few friends asked to see my meal plan. I hesitate sharing it only because I'm so not a gourmet. Now, my sisters and mom and cousins and aunts are gourmet... so I use their recipes and just try and pretend like I can cook.

Truth is that the cooking gene skipped me. But I'm not letting that stop me from trying. I'm still trying to master baking rolls and breads. I can do easy meals.

But I honestly don't have enough energy to conquer recipes that take all-day long or have a list of 20 ingredients. I don't enjoy my own cooking enough. I enjoy when other's make those recipes, but I'm too tired to enjoy when I'm standing for hours slaving in a hot kitchen.

Blah-Blah. Anyhoo... so, the point is that most of the recipes I chose for our meal-plan are simple. As I was going through the family cookbook (which I hope to reorganize and share digitally one of these days), I saw so many tasty recipes that I didn't include on my mealplan, so I'm adding an ALTERNATIVES section which will give me ideas when I just don't feel like something that week. That section, I'll keep adding to.

I entered the recipes for my own sake. They are listed by Week as well as labeled by category.

Regarding grocery list:  I decided not to include all the items I regularly have in my food storage like rice, noodles, frozen chicken tenderloins, ground beef (unless I need it fresh for the recipe), etc.  But the things I knew I would need to take stock on in my pantry, I included so I wouldn't be without an ingredient.

Regarding sidedishes:  I generally have canned/frozen veggies and fruits which we have each night for side dishes, so I didn't plan my sides/desserts/baked goods very well.  The main dish is what I need help on generally, and it's easy enough to snag the sides depending on what fresh fruit/veggies are in season.

Ummm yeah - and don't judge how healthy I am by my meals.  I realize there are many carbs.  But we try and compensate with lots of veggies, protein, and fruits. We're just lucky to eat around here these days!

Anyhoo... shout out any questions and I'll refer you to the proper chefs to answer them. :)

Also, if you want to share your meals or meal plan, feel free to email them to me at happyfam {at} gmail {dot} com.

6 comments:

Amanda said...

Heather - I can't believe how awesome you are! So many of those recipes look like exactly the kind of thing my family would like. I will definitely be checking this blog often. Thanks for sharing all the great recipes and meal plans.

Alison said...

Heath, you are amazing! Thank you so much for your hard work to share with all of us. I love hard copies so I'm printing these all so I can have a copy in my recipe binder. A million thanks! We'll all bless your name during the dinner hour from this day forward! :)

Hope all is going well at your house... Glad to hear Amy is improving slowly but surely. She is in my prayers.

Loves!

angela said...

Heather--how in the world do you find the time to do all that you do. I barely keep afloat. But you inspire me with the desire to do a lot of these things (like organize all these recipes), and that's where it starts. It's going to make me a better person someday =).

Tobler Bunch said...

I am glad we share amutual friend. Cheri is very dear to my heart. She is an amazing woman. I just love her. I am glad you found my "for fun" blog and read up on Dark Chocolate. Hope we stay in touch! You are very talented. I would love to seriously learn graphic designing and create blog layouts. Anyhow, keep in touch. Visit my blog often.

Ryan and Angela said...

This is a great idea! I love it! I am going to give the 6 week meal plan a try with my family! I find myself doing the same things you do... 4:00, what should I make for dinner, dishwasher still needing to be unloaded, and usually a trip to the grocery store for dinner that night! Thanks for the great ideas!

Julie said...

Heather- I didn't know you even had this blog. I clicked on it today out of curiosity. So cool. I intend to visit often. You are most amazing. Your cuz- Julie