Menu Plan Monday - Why We Menu Plan

In this post I touched very briefly on the reasons we menu plan in our home and they really are quite simple.


There are two main reasons we menu plan; to save time and money.  That's it, that's all there is to it.

By menu planning we take the guessing out of "what's for dinner?".  No longer are we playing the end of the day game, standing in front of the fridge wondering "what should I make?".  We know what we will be making in the morning, so if something needs to come out of the freezer or go in the slow cooker it is done before we even leave the house.  There are no more stops at the grocery store on the way home, wandering the aisles tired and hungry. The best part, whoever gets home first starts the cooking because the menu and the recipe is right there!

I know what you are thinking; doesn't menu planning take extra time?  I am not going to lie to you, initially yes.  Menu planning can be a time consuming process, especially if you need to plan every.single.meal like I do, but if you are only looking at dinners your workload is quite light.  Initially there is the collection of recipes and deciding how exactly to approach menu planning to suit your family, but once you get the hang of it it becomes quite easy.  In a future post I am going to share the specifics around my menu planning process, but trust me, you will save time.

And how exactly do we save money you ask.  How many times have you been wandering the grocery store and see a "good deal" so you buy it "just in case" and a week later forget it is in your fridge, freezer or pantry?  In essence that is wasted money because it didn't need to be bought.  With menu planning you know exactly what you need and how much and by the end of the week your fridge is empty and you are throwing nothing out except a few leftovers (which I will show you how to even use those).

If you are interested in saving time and money stick with me as I share my menu plans and the ways in which I achieve those two goals.

Here is my menu plan for this week, it is quite similar to last as we are still trying to eat clean.  Breakfast we choose to just wing this week as we have quite a stock of cereal, toast, fruit, eggs and oatmeal.

Family Menu

June 21st - 27th, 2014

DAY	BREAKFAST	SNACK	LUNCH	SNACK	DINNER
SATURDAY	Turkey & Spinach Egg White Scramble		Buffalo Wing Shrimp Lettuce Wraps		Eat Out (Spring Rolls Anniversary Dinner)
SUNDAY	Avocado Tomato and Bacon Toasters with Poached Eggs (Recipe Coming Soon)				Picnic In The Park
MONDAY		Oranges (Chicken & Celery)	Grilled Cheese with Apples	Raisins & Cheerios (applesauce w/flax, pear & Protein Shake)	Salmon Rice Broccoli
TUESDAY		Fruit Cup (Protein Shake & Apple)	Hummus Pasta With Peas	Yogurt (applesauce w/ flax, tuna & tomatoes)	Pork Chops Sweet Potatoes Green Beans
WEDNESDAY		Apples ( protein Shake)	Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadilla	Cheese Strings And Grapes (applesauce w/ flax, chicken w/ cucumbers and radishes)	Spicy Sausage Pasta With Vegetable Ragu
THURSDAY		Bananas (protein shake)	Chicken Taziki Tomatoes Cucumbers	Bear Paws (applesauce & flax, Radishes & Pork Chops)	Steak Mashed Potatoes Asparagus
FRIDAY		Pears (chicken)	Mini Hamburgers With Veggies	Smoothie Pops (applesauce w/ flax)	Free Night