The Un-Cook Book Continued

I am heading out on retreat for the next few days...I wanted to send out the second part to my menu planning post before leaving.  I hope this is helpful.  So glad I have my menu set up so I can leave knowing the boys will eat well.  Because...Amanda and Zaira are coming with me!

Now...I know this might seem crazy but I have a two week menu plan and I have an annual meal plan.  These are two separate documents that I have open when I am planning.  This might sound insanely organized (or just insane!), but after the last couple of years having the same activities come up year after year at the same time...it just made sense to me!  Think about it:  Holidays never change...annual banquets are always around the same time...I just got tired of re-inventing the menu all the time!  Besides this also helps with those seasonal foods that taste so much better when they are fresh from the farmer's market instead of grown in a hot house somewhere!  This might not come to you right away but if you save your two week menus over a couple of years than it will become more obvious to you.  And I ALWAYS date my menus...that way I am not confused about what menu should be on the frig, which is where I place our menu once I have gone to the store.

The way my menu is printed out, I have a half page space to write down all the ingredients needed and then check the pantry for things I need to buy.  I write out this shopping list and take the full page with me to the store.  This helps me know if I need a head of lettuce or if I can buy a bagged salad...depending on in store sales...by looking back at the meals needed.

I almost NEVER use coupons...they are meant to get you to spend more money on products you probably do not need to buy.  I do try to write out the shopping list as if I were walking down the aisles of the store...all the produce is written in one area...canned goods in another area...etc.  I can be in and out of the store in less than 30 minutes if I am in a hurry.

I do go to warehouse centers (Sam's where we are now) for bulk items but you have to be careful about buying things to ensure you are indeed getting a good deal.  I avoid Wal-mart and other super stores as much as possible because it is just too tempting to buy other stuff.  There are only a few items that are a good deal anyway.  If I happen to be in Wal-mart for something in the non-food areas, then I stock up on those really good deals so I avoid going here for food items on a regular basis.

Now...once I am home...all food is placed in pantry by the children...everything has a special place so they can put things away...even the youngest helper can do this job.

The menu stays firm for the most part.  I once had someone asking me how I could decide two weeks in advance if I was going to WANT to eat a meal I had planned.  I laughed and said we do not get a choice...if it is on the menu we are eating it.  Well...I am not that much of a stickler but I do try to stick with the menu for the most part.  Besides after doing this for so long, I know what my family likes.  I might try a new recipe every once in a while but I am pretty much past reading the fad magazines and so  I know if our family likes something and will eat it.  I do not think I have ever not fixed a meal because we were not in the mood to eat it, but I suppose it could happen from time to time.

The other big question I have had is:  "What if your child does not like what you are fixing?"  Well...I guess I am a mean mom but I do not really care.  I mean...I care...I really do...BUT I am not going to fret over their desire to eat a meal.  If they are hungry they will at least eat enough to fill their belly.  I am not going to fix a special meal for a picky eater.  Over time, the picky eater usually eats some part of the meal and rarely complains at the dinner table.  I have learned that if you send them away for complaining about the meal tends to keep them from complaining the next time.  The way I look at it...I have some foods that I do not like to eat but I 'suffer' through the meal and eat what I can just as much as they do....it is a give and take kind of thing...not everyone is going to be sitting down to their favorite meal every night.  I do not have a problem with some one not liking a part of the meal...I just do not want to hear the complaints.

I am not sure if this helps with planning a meal.  I am sure there are more things that we do that I am not mentioning.  Feel free to ask questions about the meal planning or shopping that I have not mentioned or need to clarify.

Here is a sample menu:

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Breakfast	Bakery	Pancakes Or Waffles	Cereal	Yogurt/ Pineapple/ Toast	Sausage Biscuit/ Breakfast Tacos	Oatmeal	Eggs and Toast
Lunch	Cheese and Crackers	Tuna Chips	Hamburger or Hot dogs Chips	Mac ‘n’ Cheese	Meat Chips	PB & J Banana	Chili Pie or Tomato Soup Fruit
Dinner	January 20 Shoestring Ole Salad Trifle	Split Pea Soup Crackers	Leftovers	Spaghetti Salad Bread	Artichoke Chicken Green Beans	Tuna Noodle Veggies	Creamy Meat Patties and Potatoes Green Beans
Dinner	January 27 Stuffed Bread Cottage Ch Salad	Beans and Rice Cornbread	Leftovers	Breakfast Meal	Ham Dinner Sweet Pot. Rolls Veggies	Alfredo Fish Fillets Veggie	Meatloaf Potatoes Green Beans