Converting this Blog...

Sorry to say, my ambition with this blog was greater than my ability to complete it. Instead, I am going to use it to track Elena and Liam's meals every day. Elena is on a restrictive eating plan. You can read why here.

So...Breakfast April 30th:
Liam: Two turkey breakfast sausages, half an apple cut up and rice milk
Elena: 1 pear and 2 spoonfuls of peanut butter.

A Meal Plan from a Friend

Last night - Friday

BLTs w/ tortilla chips (for the girls turkey and bacon on a plate w/ grape tomatoes and chips since they rarely will eat bread) — lazy dinner not exactly the healthiest but omg peppered bacon freakin’ rocks. You should try it!

Saturday

Baked chicken, potatoes and some sort of veggie (I got some mixed squash frozen at Walmart yesterday that sounds kind of yummy I might make for myself. Billy won’t touch that and the girls may or may not)

Sunday

Pizza w/ peppers, onion, mushrooms and just pepperoni for picky ass Billy (I need to remember to make my crust in the breadmaker!) This is the day of my scrapbooking party. Hope it all goes well I actually have a few people coming. Got my prints and supplies yesterday so I’m Ready Freddy.

Monday

Taco Salads

Tuesday

Homemade chicken pot pie (store bought crust though)

Wednesday

Crockpot beef veggie soup

Thursday

Hotdogs, mac & cheese and a veggie of some sort (a meal kids actually eat *sigh*)

I might move some of this around depending on my mood. I don’t like to be boxed in but the options are all there. I still have to go to store for a few things I forgot though. I had a list but also had Cate. Enough said.

And totally random, I love that the organic stuff at Walmart isn’t astronomical like it is at Kroger. I actually got quite a few things that were organic just because the price difference was so minimal.

I Love this Idea...

Amelia's moms said...
I know there are tons of super-organized folks around the world, but many more who are not so organized. My hunch is it may be a bit overwhelming to start on an assignment like the one above for a 5-day recipe and grocery plan. What if you ask people to submit one recipe and grocery list and you can compile into weekly plans? Just an idea :)

So, anyone who only wants to send in a day or two, be my guest and I will compile it into a weekly plan! Thanks Amelia's Mom!

Our First Weekly Plan!

Thanks to Lisa for sending this one in!!!


I make my grocery list for each week by writing out every ingredient for the meal. I cross off what I already have and buy the rest. That way I don't forget anything nor do I buy stuff I already have. It's the way cookbook author Sandi Richards (Cookingfortherushed.com) does it. And I don't write out every ingredient every week...I put the meal for the day into iCal and write the ingredients in the notes section. When planning meals for the next week, I just drag and drop the meals to the next week and the ingredients list follows.

These are some of my I-have-no-time-to-cook-this-week meals!

Sunday
Homemade Pizza
2 pizza shells (or wraps or pita)
pizza sauce
pepperoni
green pepper
onion
mushroom
olives
mozzarella cheese

Monday
Lean burgers in whole wheat pita with fries and gravy and carrot sticks
Lean burgers (I buy the box of 8 but of course you could just make some!)
whole wheat pita
sliced cheese
burger toppings
frozen low fat fries
canned gravy
carrot sticks

Tuesday
Roast chicken with mashed potatoes/corn
Already roasted chicken from deli
potatoes, butter, milk
frozen corn (or on the cob when in season)

Wednesday
Split pea soup with egg salad sandwiches
chicken broth
ham steak
onion/celery/carrot
dried peas
dried lentils
soup seasonings
whole wheat bread
eggs
mayo

Thursday
Scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon and pancakes
eggs
Canadian bacon
pancake mix
butter, syrup
fruit cocktail (canned)

I try to have some kind of dessert in there too. Rice Krispie treats, pudding, popsicles, applesauce, etc.

Hope this it what you're looking for!

Visual Menu Planner

I created a layout in Excel. If you would like a copy, please email me at kgill@raftersgroup.com and I will send it over.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends...

So, a friend of mine has asked me if I would help her out with grocery shopping and menu planning on a weekly basis. I told her I would give it a try. I decided to create a blog as a format in which to publish this information because it's quite possible it will be of interest to more than just her.

I also thought..."Gee, there are an awful lot of people out there with picky eating kids doing this same type of menu planning themselves every week! Maybe I can get people to email me their recipe plans and grocery lists and I can publish them." Hmmmmm....just a thought. But, let's see if it works!

The rules for the Weekly Eater challenge are:
1) Send in a menu plan for five days - I figure Sunday-Thursday need a solid plan, and you don't want to over buy and waste items
2) Send in a corresponding grocery list covering all items needed for the weekly plan
3) When possible, have picky eater alternates. For example: if it's fish with a pasta side, can the kids have just the pasta?

I will then take all submissions and post them with an appropriate title. If I get too many submissions, I will pick the top ten to post each week. This will then become a reference for families everywhere! Let's have fun with it!