Several of the blogs I follow have weekly meal planning posts that I enjoy reading, but I am never organized enough to join in. Before I do my grocery shopping on Sundays I try to make a list of what I will fix for dinner in the coming week, but I’m lucky if I follow my plan more days than I don’t!
Eating right is important to me, and I know that healthy meals won’t happen on their own, so I try to keep my kitchen stocked with ingredients that I can throw together for a quick meal when even my best-laid plans go astray.
- In my pantry, I always have a variety of Barilla Plus pasta, brown rice, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, soup and canned tuna.
- In my bread box, I usually have whole wheat sandwich bread and sandwich thins.
- In my fridge, I have milk, eggs, yogurt, reduced-fat cheese (shredded and sliced), salad fixings, apples, oranges, grapefruit and seasonal fruit.
- In my freezer, I have a variety of frozen vegetables (I love the microwave-in-bag type), edamame, shrimp, and turkey meatballs. I try to keep a Kashi frozen pizza or two and a few Amy’s entrees on hand for real dinner emergencies.
With these ingredients I can make:
- spaghetti and meatballs (my husband’s favorite)
- grilled cheese sandwiches and soup (his second favorite!)
- egg sandwiches (what my husband usually eats if I don’t make it home for dinner)
- vegetarian pasta with edamame and/or white beans
- shrimp stir-fry
Lately, I’ve been making a batch of baked oatmeal (see my version of Madeline’s recipe below) and 1/2 dozen hard cooked eggs (did you see how I make them in the oven?) on Sunday evenings. I take the oatmeal to work for my mid-morning snack, and usually end up having an egg and toast for breakfast on days I don’t have time to make my usual Egg Beaters omelette. But, that’s about as much meal preparation as I can mange.
For real menu planning inspiration, check out the weekly (Sunday) link-ups with Laura and Jill.
Do you plan your meals for the week?
Do you do any meal preparation on Sundays?
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Mmmm, those sound like winning meals to me! I'm def a meal planner. I'd spend a bazillion dollars at the grocery store without a plan.
Im so bad with the planning—I PLAN. I CHANGE.
I do rock the prep though. My sunday nights are alll filled with chopping and grilling and chopping and making and…
when i make the time to meal prep on sundays, my meals are way healthier throughout the week. itz so easy when you have fresh ingredients on hand and ready to use!
I don't necessarily plan any more as it comes more naturally to me now. It's like I make and prepare routinely 🙂
I plan out the week, but since life still revolves around those little people that live here, unfortunately a home cooked meal only happens about once a week. But, I do plan that meal 🙂
Also awful enough, we do a lot of take out. Or, actually, my husband gets a burrito from this place he loves and I usually have a veggie/scrambled egg combo for dinner many nights during the week.
I always plan out my morning oatmeal and lunch in usually a sandwich, so those fixings are always on hand. Staples for my kids are pasta, so the pantry is always stocked with that. Good ideas!
Thanks for the shout out! It's always fun to get a peek into other's cabinets and meal planning strategies!
I usually plan for a couple weeks at a time – not specific meals on set days but about 10-12 recipes to fix and then I make my grocery list from the recipes. Sadly, the past few weeks I've been slacking and now I have to get back into the habit!!
I actually enjoying planning out our meals for hte week and find that my hubby does as well. He always looks to our menu board to see what's for dinner so I'm never getting the dreaded, "whats for dinner?" or "what do you want to do for dinner." So much easier! I haven't tried the baked egg thing yet but need to!
Shrimp stir-fries are always no-fail quick dishes!! Same with chicken.