Menu Plan

I have always planned all of my meals a week in advance, what i haven't always done until recently is have an exact meal plan. Having an exact meal plan has almost revolutionized the way i approach meals.

Here are a few things i have noticed happening since doing specific meal plans (and by specific, i mean having a certain meal assigned to lunch and dinner each day):

- I can never keep up with it. For example, i was supposed to have had quiche this past week for lunch, and i am yet to make it. Unexpected things come up or i decide last minute that i don't feel like having it.
- We go out to eat much less. B and i don't go out to eat much to begin with compared to many people, but on a normal week we'll go out for a hamburger or something simple about once or twice a week. But during this past month that i have been meal planning, it has become maybe once a week or zero times a week.
- Knowing what's ahead in the menu allows me to multitask in the kitchen. For example, this week i plan on making egg McMuffins, pizza AND the quiche i never made last week. Instead of getting the frying pan dirty three different times (and hence wash it on three different occasions) i will cook all of the bacon all at once AND the sausage for the pizza that i will use for all three different meals. One pan, three different meals, all at the same time.
- My fridge becomes much more crowded. Because i am multitasking in the kitchen, i have to store everything in the fridge. The good news is that it's all food that i know will be out of there in less than a week.

So here is this week's meal --

Friday
Lunch: PBJ with sliced watermelon
Dinner: Taco salad

Saturday:
Lunch: Egg McMuffins with fruit
Dinner: Homemade pizzas with Shannon :)

Sunday:
Lunch: out with family
Dinner: Egg McMuffins

Monday:
Lunch: quiche
Dinner: Veggie chicken soup with corn bread muffins

Tuesday:
Repeat Monday

Wednesday:
Lunch: Quiche
Dinner: Chicken, corn and black bean casserole.