8 Meal Planning Tips!
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
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Sarah - 37 weeks pregnant
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Hi Sarah, Solo and kids! I am going through a very difficult time in my life, and I want to Thank You for your videos that ALWAYS cheer me up. Love to all of you. So excited about the arrival of Baby #11! 🙏🙂❤💙💜💚💛👣
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I'm definitely one who enjoys doing laundry over cooking! After 51 years of marriage, I'm so done with cooking! The thing is, my husband still likes to eat. 😉 So, he does offer to help with the cooking and I SO appreciate that. I know it would help if I would do some meal planning so I'm going to give it a try and plan out one week of meals. Thanks for inspiring me! ❤
What is it about husbands needing to eat? Fortunately, mine is easy but now I have a friend staying with me so that’s three mouths to feed! 😳
After 54 years old marriage I still cook. I do get tired of cooking but enjoy taking care of my family of 4. Rest will come one day too soon.
I'm the same way after cooking for family since I was 15, and am now 67. I just don't enjoy it anymore. That being said, making a menu and shopping from that is totally the way to go. It's a real time-saver because you don't have to figure food out every day.
i've been cooking over 50 years its my passion. 43 yrs. of marriage
I still enjoy cooking, most of the time. 35 years married, 9 kids, then he left 4 years ago. Kids still need to eat lol, but sometimes figuring out dinner is the last thing I want to do! Meal planning is definitely the way to go! Takes the pressure off!
I adopted your system of writing down all the meals and snacks for the week or month a couple of years ago and it has been sooooooo helpful! With homeschooling and farm life, it has freed up so much time for me! I also love that I don’t have kids constantly asking “what is for food” because they’ve learned to go and look at the meal chalk board👍🏻 Thank you so much!
What's for food? Cool....that's different never heard it put that way before. Where are you from may I ask😊
I don’t so much meal plan as meal prep. And what I’ve been doing lately since I’ve gotten over a prolonged illness and people have brought me food and groceries I just look in the freezer take something out and just cook it all up. I don’t really follow recipes so sometimes the stuff turns out OK sometimes it doesn’t
My step mom made the same thing on each day! Like sat tenderloin,sun roast,mon hamburgers,lunch was always sandwitches,brkfast toast or ceral! We went out 4 birthdays!
We had roast and mashed potatoes every Sunday I cannot stand to look at mashed potatoes no matter who cooks them
My mom rotated about 10 meals. I was sick of them and have never made them once I was an adult.
Mine did to! Lol she was a working mom and I guess it was easier that way. As a result I have never done that and always love trying new things....
I've been meal planning for about 20 years. I actually initially started it because my autistic son always asked me what was for dinner every single night. So I just started writing it down and hanging it up in the kitchen so he could just read it. Then I was having some financial difficulties and I realized how meal planning could help me with our food budget. Strangely I had a former co worker tell me that just getting take out would be more cost effective. We were at lunch with several other co workers and before I said anything several people came to my defense on how my way of meal planning and doing the cooking was more cost effective, not to mention healthier. As my kids got older I would prep a meal and put it in the refrigerator in the baking dish. Then I would have my kids turn on the oven and put the dish(es) in the oven while I was on my way home from work. It enabled us to have things like roasted chicken on a week night, then I would take leftovers to work for my lunch. I have to make a to do list for everyday and make sure to write down anything I have to thaw in the fridge at least 1-2 days before I'm making it. And I always plan for leftover nights.
I have a son with autism too. He tries to eat everything in the house as soon as I bring it in.
I have meal planned for 30 years because I found that if I had the week’s menu set I could then generate an accurate shopping list. It is inconceivable to me how people can go into a grocery store and just wander through the aisles picking up random things. The few times that I did that I came home with $200 worth of food and not the complete ingredients to make a single meal; I’d forgotten at least one major component to each meal that I thought of!
Lmao 🤣 me too
I usually look at the sale ad and plan meals around that. Sometimes I have a meal plan written down and sometimes I have a general idea of meals. I don’t make recipes with a bunch of ingredients and tend to keep staple pantry items on hand.
I do a weekly meal plan for what we’re having and have like you said a chicken day, a mince day, an egg day etc etc but I’m really liking your idea of having a different type of food for each day so Italian, Chinese, Indian etc I think I might put that into place this week thank you! My son is 17 and he loves making chilli. We’ve recently bought an instant pot so he’s been thrilled to learn to sauté then slow cook and when that’s done he uses the pressure cooker part to cook the rice, all served up with lovely fresh vegetables cooked in our steamer. His college tutor was beyond impressed when he told her his new skills. So now Monday nights are chilli nights 👌🏻 thank you for all your ideas that you share and im really excited to share your journey with the new baby when he/she comes along. Lots of love to you all xxx
I absolutely loathe meal planning. It is very mentally taxing on my ADHD brain. Instead I do a rotation system. For 12 weeks straight, we do a 3 week rotating meal plan. We switch out the menu 4 times a year. The extra 4 weeks I do a holiday menu for the 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. With this system I literally only have to meal plan 8 times a year!
Ppl
That is awesome Lisa!! I'm so glad you shared this is my style so thankyou.
I am the type that needs lots of variety. This level of repetition would make me cry. If we have the same thing in less than 2 months, I feel like, “We JUST had this!!” Lol. Funny how different people can approach it so differently. ❤️ Glad you’ve found something that works well for you!
Thank you for posting, I needed your pep talk for meal planning,I've been off the meal planning wagon for about 4 months and needed some encouragement. Thank you
I am enjoying reading all the comments from people who remember their mother's cooking.
What I remember was my mother never cooked. My mother went to the grocery store either.
My Dad cooked a little. So who cooked? I learned at a very young age to cook. I always was jealous of kids who their mom would cook the same thing on a given day of the week. My mother just didn't enjoy cooking. So she didn't.
Sarah, I make a big pot of Solos sekumawiki with ground turkey and add chickpeas. It freezes beautifully. One pot...6 meals. Hope you're doing great and being safe!
omg...sooooo good!!
I’ve been meal planning for at least 20 years :) I sit down with a notebook every Sunday night and make 3 lists - what I need to use up before it goes bad, the meal plan incorporating those items, and a shopping list if I need additional ingredients. Sunday night is always “Breakfast for Dinner” and throughout the week I do one beef meal, 1 pork, 1 vegetarian, 2 fish/seafood and 2 chicken. We do Chinese takeout about once a month, but otherwise rarely eat out. Leftovers are lunches. I do make our yogurt and all bread and baking products. I also grow and can our vegetables! Luckily, I love to cook :)
I was watching this while frying up chapatis for lunch and my husband overheard a fair bit and said, we're doing exactly what she's saying. That's great. Hahahaha. We still don't know how much we are saving but I'm happy with small steps.
Sometimes I buy just 3 meals ingredients, and write those meals on a board. Then, I can pick whatever day for whatever dish. I leave 2 dinners open for left overs or pizza. Weekends we are usually not home. So, easy. 3 meals in the grocery store, plus bread milk etc. Easy!
That is what I do too. I “cook” twice a week (longer more involved recipes) and try to have 1-2 easier items. We have leftovers, or plenty of things for sandwiches, cereal etc if we need something else.
I only plan Monday thru Thursday because weekends are too spontaneous around our house! But I always cook a little too much of those meals so there is always enough leftovers to spread out for another day too. Usually works out
Sam's club Rotisserie chicken has helped me a lot! I'll buy 1, break it down and make salads for myself, Alfredo, Buffalo sandwiches, nachos, burrito bowls, pretty anything I want. Cuts my cooking time in half!
Jamerrill has quite a few recipes I like to use to help me stock up on that's easy to just pull out of the freezer and pop in the oven.
Hi Sara, I am not a cook and you are inspiring me to meal plan and we are eating so much healthier. Thank you! You are a blessing to share your beautiful family with us. Freezer jam is super easy if you want to try it. We make it with young children at VBS and call it Joy Jam!💕
I love the kitchen! Even tho it’s just me and my husband some nights I spend 2 hours fixing meals🤷🏼♀️ I’m not much for crockpots or air fryers, I do have an insta-pot but I prefer the stove top pressure cooker! I’m an old fashioned Iron skillet stove top meal maker! I do try to plan a weekly menu and try to keep lots of staples in the house! Hats off to you and those who do it monthly! Thanks for sharing!
I made homemade banana bread last night for the first time because of you saying “we had bananas getting too ripe so we made banana bread!” ... I took it on and turned out amazing. And now I have breakfast and snack ready for the whole week :) made a big tray! Also I feel encouraged to make other homemade breads now :) yay
All I got done today was 1 lasagna for dinner and one for the freezer for later. I love double cooking and then when I don’t have a plan something good is in our freezer. So so amazing
Want leftovers I make a double recipe. Never underestimate doubling up. Can be frozen for the next week dinner. Good soups I double. Soups are the best for lunches.
When my 4 kids were younger - I had a system to help me plan meals - as constantly thinking of meals killed my brain!!! Sunday was Soup, Monday - Mexican, Tuesday One Pot (Casserole, Sheet Pan Dinner etc...). Wednesday - Leftovers! , Thursday - Italian, Friday - Pizza, Saturday - New Recipe/Dad Cooks/Kids Cook... For me, it helped to have a category to think about when planning...
Now - we are down to one kid at home...and the meal planning is defunct! ha! Basically - we cook once and eat the same thing all week!
I am that person who loves to create and cook in my kitchen. I rarely make the same thing twice. I need to meal plan, because I love think about food, but not that much. I use a wall calendar. Sometimes the calendar says tacos or chicken and rice. The creation could be fish tacos, tostadas, bowls or quesadillas etc. I meal prep the simple things. Meat ahead, salads, or extra beans, rice or veggies. We don’t care for fully made meals in the freezer. But I can whip up a lot of meals quickly. 💕💕💕
Thanks for the encouragement! Menu planning has helped relieved the mental load of knowing what’s for dinner that night and I can prep early
Right!?! I planned the month of August and it really helped with back to school - I’m a teacher. Didn’t get around to it September but have planned for October because it was so less taxing on my brain to not have to think about supper!
I hate kitchen time but it is getting better for me over time. When my kids were young, I did all my cooking on Sunday for the whole week and put the meals in the freezer. We had a LOT of casseroles. Made my life so much easier. I shopped on Saturday after work for the week's perishables and only once a month for the non-perishable foods.. The night before each meal, we pulled a meal from the freezer. We only ate out on their birthday.
I love cooking and don’t meal plan. I do keep a well stocked freezer and pantry of items I regularly use. As I use an item, I restock it. That way I keep my eye on sale items. I also stock all the perishables that I would use in about 10 days. Then I plan a day by what is available.. but good advice in the video.
Exactly how I do it. I’m blessed to have a full pantry and freezer. To me it’s cheaper because I only replace what’s used and if I couldn’t get to the store I would have lots of choices.
I just love how your family helps and pulls together!!
@@majoroldladyakamom6948 what do you expect children to do? Everyone has responsibilities in this family, and that's the way it should be. All of my kids are expected to help with all of the household chores as well as watching siblings sometimes. There is no problem with children having responsibilities in the family.
Preparing meals ahead works for any size family! Now that I am just cooking for two (empty nesters) it is easy to eat junk or eat out but it really helps stay on budget and free up some time to have meals planned and prepared for the week!
I find that having certain side dishes for certain meals is helpful.
I actually learned to appreciate cooking more over the past couple of years. I don't have a lot of time for food prep because of my schedule. I try to fit in a little. I also really don't have extra space. We only budget for one week however we do buy in bulk so I buy food that we can last for more than one meal.
I’ve been meal planning for about 14 years now, ever since I moved out of my parent’s and established my own home. I hate the grocery store so going daily as I decide what to eat isn’t happening. I don’t love cooking. It isn’t my passion but I have been enjoying it more since I found what’s for dinner videos on UA-cam. These tips are great and I use every one of them to keep my house and kids organized. Great video!
Yes! I meal plan. I’ve done it in one way or another as a homeschool mom and full time working mom.
I enjoy planning. There is a comfort in life knowing you have plans. But I’ve always remembered to keep an open mind about my plans and change things if needed. I try to not be too rigid.
Now my kids are adults, but one of my sons and his family live with us while they rebuild after a fire in their home.
I plan meals for the month and shop monthly, with a fresh food pick up mid month, like you do.
I save money and lessen anxiety.
The kitchen is my happy place. I hate food waste and love to challenge myself to make the most delicious meals from what I have before grocery shopping. I employ the cook once, freeze another/eat twice approach. I also like to component meal prep where I always have a fridge full of chopped vegetables, brown rice, beans.
great content!
i love cooking but my season of life has meal times needing to be short cooking times. For a decade I have been doing once a month planning/shopping but this month I broke down and bought the lovely Jamerill Stewart's crockpotpack because my brain was burnt out and dinner time is witching hour so the combo of premade plan & grocery list PLUS not having to wrestle twin one yr olds at 430pm to cook it is lifesaving in this season!
I definitely normally do repeat themed days and Thursday is always blueplate special (clean out the fridge/leftovers)
I have Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and arthritis. Feeding people is such a stress. I am trying to get back to meal planning.
Living on a dime has the same issues, maybe her channel will help.
Sarah, have you tried 2 ingredient bread, pizza dough recipes ?
I make a Fruit Spread not jams or jellies.Just cut fruit into small pieces add a tiny bit of water to the bottom of the bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Check it and stir if the fruit is still firm try microwaving it for a minute longer. It comes out as a spread no sugar needed great on Toast, Bagels, Oatmeal, I ce Cream yum. Wonderful to have the kids cooking !
Yall are my favorite favorite family! I absolutely love all your videos!
Meal planning has been the one thing that I felt I could control in this uncontrollable life. I've been meal planning for 15+ years. I started with once a week and moved to monthly, then a few months at a time. For the last several years I've made my goal to meal plan for the whole year. It has been so helpful! I encourage anyone to try it!
Ever since I started watching your videos I started weekly meal planning which fits our current budget best, and it is a total game changer!!! I always know what I have to make, and my husband can look at our list and pick what he wants to cook as well!
Lol perfect timing. I’ve been planning at least two weeks ahead and buying everything for those two weeks at once. Just gotta stay committed!!
I do a deconstructed meal plan. I have an idea of what I’ll be eating because of the ingredients I always purchase. I never sit down and write out exactly what meals will be eaten each day. I make a list and shop once a week. I often have multiple options with what I have on hand. I always have starches like winter squash, potatoes, grains, legumes as well as veggies and fruit. Batch prepping and cooking are life savers in my world. Often I will pre shred heads of cabbage and carrots for stir fry and adding to salads. I will batch cook soups and chili’s. I will eat the soups and chili’s for two days max and freeze the rest. I will also batch cook potatoes for the week. I like to steam the Yukons and bake the sweet potatoes. Sometimes I sauté or roast enough veggies for two days. That is all I can manage in this season of life. Edited to add: I like doing the laundry and cooking is fine with me. I keep the cooking simple and I the Instant Pot really helps.
I’m a ‘love cooking person’ but as a mum of four (now grown up) I relate to what you said. I think you do very well. Your children are all happy and healthy. It doesn’t get better! I now live alone but still enjoy making meal batches. Cooking just for one is hard as by the time I put a little of everything in the pot, there’s enough for four, at least. I often make Solo’s Ndengu and Ugali, which I really enjoy, but I’d never heard of them until I saw your family eating them. Your family is really one for a mum to be proud of. Xxxxxxx
We are not in a place currently where we can buy a months worth of groceries at a time. However, planning for the month and shopping for the next week or two has been life Changing! We moved a few months ago and I stopped doing monthly planning and we have spent so much more than when I do a monthly plan.
I also started using your method of each day is a different type of protein or type of meal (I.e crockpot meal) and it has made the planning process so much easier!
We have 8 kids still at home and I try to meal plan for at least 2 weeks. I keep it flexible though in case something comes up and we can’t make the exact recipe I had planned
My day off is Monday so I cook all the meals for the week on Monday’s it makes my life so much easier
When we were remodeling our kitchen, we got into the habit of bbq-ing the meat for the week. Then all I needed to add was simple side dishes that I could prepare in one bowl, like salad kits. Rice and potatoes are easy to make in the microwave. That made our life so much more manageable.
I usually cook for two days. It buys me some extra time.
I LOVE menu planning. I usually do 4-6 weeks at a time but shop weekly (home delivery to avoid shops). At work our daily discussions are around what's for dinner and they laugh at me because I have planned out weeks in advance but I laugh at them when they have no idea what they are making for dinner that night and have to stop at the shop every day.
Funny that I'm watching this video after being in 2 stores this week. I got money back at both and for once, didn't do any shopping at all. What makes it funny is this is the first time I ever walked out of a store with more money than I walked in with. 🤣❤
Good to see you again Sarah.. I kind of hoped for your sake you would take off till after the baby came. You look wonderful. As a mom of 11, I can see how exhausted you are. Take the time you need and everyone will understand. Praying for your peace and health in these last days. We live in Mali West Africa and I sure do miss those places like Sam's club and Costco. You guys do a great job!!! Love watching your show.
great advice! real advice. even i do some meal prep from time to time, and glad i did!
Good tips.
I enjoy meal planning and have done it consistently for almost 5 years now. Meal prepping and eating it is my problem(. I could look at a fridge full of food and can't figure out what to eat or not want any of it. Often, I'll cook and I'm the only one just having a huge salad or yogurt for dinner, or not eating at all. I love cooking, but if someone could cook for me at lest once per week, then I'm good.
My only problem is deciding what everyone wants to eat every night!! I do all the shopping & cooking, dishes & laundry 🧺
At 81 meal planning for hubby is essential....I have my list beside me and write down any ingredients I might need for those meals. Order home delivery as much as possible impulse buying isn't a temptation that way.
I’ve been doing grocery pick up for about 4 years now and it saves so much money for our family.
I tried this: Crock pot. 2 big bags frozen potatoes. 2 onions chopped. 2 cans cream of mushroom soup. 16 oz cream cheese. 1 quart chicken broth. Season as you like. Cook on low for 8 hours. Stir a few times. Serve with rolls and butter. Amazing and delicious.
Thanks for the great video , have a blessed day
Who are we kidding, even those of us that love to cook find that life gets in the way.
Definitely laundry over cooking for me..I tolerate cooking because people have to eat! Meal planning helps a lot so I don't waste energy casting about for ideas every night. I get in from work and whatever it says on the plan, I start making, I don't think about whether we feel like it etc, I just get it done. I buy pre-cut onions/veggies to speed the process up as hungry teens will fill up on other stuff while waiting for dinner otherwise.
I keep in my freezer precooked ground beef and chicken. When I found ground beef on sale I will buy as much as I can afford that week and I do th he same with chicken. I bring whichever I bought that week home and I cook it all at once. I usually brown ground beef with onions, salt and pepper. I freeze the beef in meal size portions in quart size freezer bags. I then have about 20 meals that I can make with ground beef that only takes 15 or 20 minutes. I do the same with chicken. I cook it in my pressure cooker and shred it. With having the beef and chicken in the freezer when I have a rough day I know in the back of my mind that I do not need to get take out because I can make tacos In 10 minutes. Or i can cook a pot of chicken and noodles in less than 15 minutes. I meal plan for 6 nights a week. Every Thursday is leftover night to clean out the refrigerator before the weekend. If I do not have any leftovers I always have the ingredients on hand to make breakfast for dinner. I also always have what I call my Emergency Meal in my refrigerator. I keep a package of smoked sausage in my meat drawer. If I forget to thaw something for dinner I can ways utilize the smoked sausage and fix a one pot meal with green beans or cabbage, potatoes and the smoked sausage.
So, love y'all. I wasn't expecting a video since you're tired. It's appreciated. Hi Hope❣
I love cooking its my passion 😋
I’ve never meal planned until COVID hit a day college student was home. I found I a.ways got a lot of I don’t care what we eat which was frustrating. So, I started meal planning and posted a weekly meal schedule on the refrigerator. What a difference it made. Now it’s just my husband and I and I still meal p,an every week. We have saved on our grocery bill and makes a big difference in my cooking time.
My go to is spaghetti. Or some kind of pasta with spaghetti sauce,quick and easy
Married for 43 years and we would not have eaten without a meal plan! Our budget is only $250 so I buy all the deals all month and plan from what we have in the pantry.
I love cooking but I add chopped onion carrot and zucchini to go in my mince. It makes it go further aswell as adding extra vegetables.
Thanks Sarah for this advice! Right now I'm in the middle of a move. And im definitely going to start planning when we get to our new house. Right now its a lot of take out because we don't have our new stove yet. 🤣
Hands down this was my favourite OTOM vlog!! I had to watch twice to take notes 📝 😊 I have 4 children and work out of the home and am always trying to reduce the amount of time I spend planning/prepping/cooking meals. Now all I need is a detailed explanation of how you delegate chores in your house 😊 thanks Sarah ! Blessings. P.S sushi bowls is our new fav pre-planned meal!
I shop once a week now, due to food storage and not having a lot of space. I have been doing meal prepping quite a bit, i like to have one to two meals available each week. I like easy and simple meals. Taco bowl sounds good.
Our kids are grown and out of the house and I find meal planning has been something I just don't do any much. When the kids lived at home I felt they needed a good dinner just in case they didn't each much earlier in the day. I now feel that we are both adults and if I don't have a meal ready there is always something to eat without take out of going out.
Sarah, I would love to see a tour of your refrigerator! All of this meal planning is awesome, and we try similar things in our large (not as large as yours) family; however, having enough room in the refrigerator to store it all is an issue. How do you do it?!
I wondered this too but I know Americans tend to have enormous fridges! In the UK our fridges tend to be a lot smaller.
I believeshe has freezer (2?) And 2nd frig in garage
Like your enjoyment of being in the kitchen cooking...I lack enjoyment in meal planning 😉👍🏻
My husband gets after me to meal plan and cook for leftovers especially since we don't eat out unless we are away from home obviously...I'm going to try for at least a week at a time for now😁
I meal planned for a whole week and realized how much it helps. Ask hubby for help with ideas, no ideas and we ha ate out alot. He said he's going to help.
I recently starting weekly meal planning because of vlogs like yours, The WADS, She’s in her Apron, etc… It has been a HUGE relief on my stress level and my bank account. Next I’m going to try and tackle freezer meals. Thanks for the inspiration!!
I have meal prepped for 36 years and don't know how to do it any other way now. I start with the proteins then figure out what I want to go with it. I buy fresh fruit and veggies and other staples. I start planning my next month about 2 weeks into the month we are in so that I can calculate what may be left from the month before. Sometimes I have more sometimes I have a little less, but it always works out to feed us for the entire month.
I need to try to make meal planning less stressful. It would help especially since we are supposed to have a bad winter.
I'm curious about what products you use to clean your home. I didn't notice any in your grocery videos. Any suggestions? Cleansers can be expensive.
Never thought about it before, but I’ve never noticed any cleaning products or laundry detergent etc in her hauls! Now I’m super curious! Maybe I just miss it
Vinegar! I have made the change from store bought cleaners round cleaning vinegar about a year ago and it is cheap and works so well
I’ve tried it before and we gained a lot of weight. I’m not sure why. I was also prepping the meals. I do need to try again tho. Thank you for the ideas. Happy to see you. I’m going to look up your granola and try to make it. I like the kitchen. We are now a family of 3 and I can’t seem to get anyone to eat. I’m just cooking for myself these days.
Just a thought on the weight gain related to meal planning and meal preparation, l think it's because you planned and purchased for those meals, come time to make them you felt you had to eat it since that was on the plan and you didn't want to waste the food you bought. It has something to do with intuitive eating, if you didn't want spaghetti but felt like a chicken salad you made and ate the spaghetti. Hope that makes sense and yes it can lead to over eating👍
@@brilliantbutblue that could be. This was the kind that was mostly casseroles so they were completely prepared and then frozen. Now tho, I really need to figure something.
@@cindiallain8542 : I'm certain you will find a balance that suits you and your family. Have a great weekend 🌞
@@brilliantbutblue thank you I hope you have a blessed weekend too.
I love to cook and I have meal planned a few times in my life. But fell of the wagon for the last year or so. I am returning to school in January for my RN degree and will still be working. So we are getting back into it.
I have discovered that I am way tired and often don't want to cook after I am done at work, so my goal this time is to prep things and prep things my husband, who is not a cook, can easily do.
Wish us luck. Hopefully this will be successful and my children will enjoy the meals.
I love how flexible you are with what you can do, like to do, and what is healthy and not to do what you don't want to do! HUGS blessings!
I'd be lost without my monthly meal planning! I work a lot, so one less thing on my mind every day is the best! I do leftovers twice a week, and every Saturday I plan "something new", so I can try out recipes I might want to add to my rotation.
Also, if you're doing tacos one night, plan nachos the next day to use up the leftover taco meat and toppings 😊
i LOVE how you promote doing what works for your family! You don't push onto others. You don't pretend to be "perfect" and eat all organic all the time. THANK YOU for being real with your food choices and meal prepping! Other moms need to know that it's OK to do what they want♡ hope all is well!
I’m a first time mom, and always look up to you so much, your content is so wholesome ❤️
I love doing laundry and hate cooking! Hello Fresh and home chef have helped me a lot but my household is smaller
I just the other day made the decision to start meal planning and try it out for October so this video comes at a perfect time! I live alone though and meal planning for one can be a bit difficult because I know there's going to be a lot of leftovers but not really sure how much. That's why I am going to take it a week at a time now but hopefully in the future I can meal plan on a two week basis. I am really hoping this will save me some money as well as make sure that I actually eat sufficiently. Thank you for the tips!
Making 1 batch and freezing individual portions would be a great option.... Then you can have the frozen meals throughout the Month. I think that's what I would do if Id cook for myself only. ☺️
God bless the child.. Thank you Mama. You're doing great
I love laundry, I wish I had laundry facilities though because I hate the laundry mat.
I had been doing once a week. but the last two months I have tried to plan 2 weeks ahead 1 per month. I noticed that I save about 40 to 60 when I do two weeks vs 1 week.
I have gotten a couple of ideas from you, like meatless night and pre cook rice. I also make a "menu" dinners, lunch, bfast and snack options so I can see what I have vs need. I would love to pre cook more but I am not brave enough and feel like my family wont eat it. I have been sneaking veggies and things into their food hear and there as well.
These are good and hopefully i can stretch it out to every two weeks(so twice a month) soon.
I love planning once a month but I find that if I plan more than a week I end up not sticking very well to my plans. I usually find something that I want to try so I do that instead. So once a week usually helps me, but I’m also very flexible with it because we have several freezers full of meat and vegetables so I’m able to adapt easily.
My struggle is my family is going in so many directions with no littles around anymore just teens and adults I’m struggling with how much food to prepare?? Any helpful tips or advise?
So since you meal plan every month..do you save those monthly calendars? And re use them
Yes I use them to reference.
If you are looking to avoid waste and save money, start by digging at the back of your fridge or freezer to find something that you forgot about. Don't forget to check the crisper drawer. Also, I always cook with leftovers in mind. It is so much easier to just make double.
Happy to see a video from you ❤️ hope you are feeling good! Can't wait for baby ❤️
Ok my birthday is October 8. Hoping new baby is born then. Prayers for you and my bd buddy lol.
Can you give ideas for drinks for kids? We don't do sugary, carbonated drinks. I let them drink juice but I limit that because it can get expensive. Can anyone give good, healthy, inexpensive things for kids to drink?
This was great! Thank you for sharing and inspiring!
I have decided to make a serious effort to go back to meal planning even though I am cooking for one just person. Today I tossed a moldy yogurt 😞 $1.79 in the trash can and I need to toss a package of attorney wings that have been in the freezer for 2 years heart broken 💔 @ the thought of the money wasted still it was a lesson learned - Only by that which you will eat ( I don't care for wings), and pay attention to ensure food does not spoil.
Thank you for a great video it certainly helps everyone to be encouraged
Hubs/Kids are weekly fresh variety/seasonal eaters w/new recipes whereas I could cook one weekday and fill up my deep freezers with 6mo of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack options. Literal random grab, heat, eat and move on with your day with no real thought. Of the meals they do repeat I have at least 3 big batches frozen in individual serve portions.
I have some family that has fallen on hard times and I spent 2 days last week and boil lots of chicken for some southern comfort meals. Chicken and dumplins, chicken & dressing, ramen (with some broth) nd chicken salad sandwiches. Then cooked up lots of ground beef for tamale pie, chili, and hamburger soup. Thawed a large pork tenderloin and bbq'd half on the grill for sandwiches or tacos and thinly sliced & marinated the rest for pork cutlet sammies. I also got a meatloaf formed and frozen and to finish my SILs Bday is on the 20th and she wants my chocolate cake with cheesecake in the middle plus open faced roast beef with onions and gravy. And all the sides will be a no brainer and a breeze. Blessings y'all! Also Sunday 3rd is my 53rd Bday I really want you to have the baby for my day, lol, wink, wink!!
I dislike cooking, I am not horrible but my husband is better.
Have you thought about letting the kids pick a meal of their choosing to cook?
Thank you as always for sharing, and I need the pep talk for doing more meal prepping and planning 😬🙈
I live alone, and I don’t eat out, have takeout or buy things like “tv-dinners” for the micro or frozen pizza, I just end up eating very selective and things like naan bread in the toaster, or like this week: oat sour dough bread with vegan butter and salt 😆 I do have some baby tomatoes and protein as a side, but it is not the best diet. I am tired though, and going to the hospital on Monday, so I have an excuse, but still...
For me is prepping the carbs what I need to do. I normal find it very easy to make a stir fry of veggies (some frozen and some fresh), and some frozen vegan protein of any sort. I do often end up with not have carbs with it, and I do love my carbs, but I often just eat more carbs for other meals then. I love having sweet potatoes in the microwave, that is easy, and cooks fast, but when I have the energy baking the potatoes, regular or sweet once in the oven is a game changer, and is good both for lunch and dinner, and for snacking.
Thank you for the motivation talk, and I may need to see the videos again at the hospital the day before going home 😆
I will clean out my fridge tomorrow Sunday, and freeze left over mushrooms and bell peppers so I have that for when I come home, and that is a little start at least.
Love and blessings from Johanne, Norway