How I meal plan for our family.

I menu plan in two week increments, but I do it a bit differently. I don't set a schedule by date. I make a list and then cross things off as we eat them. I do plan to utilize my leftovers, which means that some meals need to be eaten in sequence. Essentially I make a master list of all the main meals that we will be eating at home. During the school year, this master list is usually dinner,  lunches on weekends and holiday breaks, and large breakfast meals.

I poll hubby and the kids to find out what meals they would like to have. I also check to see what we have on hand, what needs to be used up before it goes bad, and what is on sale. I have a variety of cookbooks- especially vintage ones!- that I glean ideas from. Pinterest has also become my new meal planning BFF! Got a main ingredient, just type it in, and you'll probably get a hit for something you haven't tried before. Do you have a hankering for a meal from a specific restaurant three states away? Type it in! You might just get lucky with a good copy-cat recipe.

My husband works a schedule that changes quarterly. He also works out either before or after his shift for an hour to an hour and a half at the onsite facility. When I prepare dinner during a quarter that he is working evenings, I pack his portion into travel dishes and he eats it the following evening. He eats whatever meals that I plan into our menu for his dinner and weekend lunches, but generally has a high protein breakfast and several protein based snacks through the day. Since the protein is a part of a diet and workout schedule that he tracks, he just makes a list of foods he needs for the two week period and I pick them up.

LUNCH

The school puts out a monthly lunch calendar.

Our oldest is in middle school, and she rarely takes her lunch.

School lunch menu

Our middle child- 5th grade boy- goes through the menu and then lets me know which days he is NOT eating. He generally eats the school's "hot" lunch, but often takes a salad, Greek yogurt, or something of that nature to help supplement his meal. He's very active and needs a bit more fuel to make it through the day. Occasionally, they will serve something that he doesn't care for. In that case, he likes to take leftovers in thermal containers.

Our youngest girl is the opposite. She looks over the menu and lets me know which days she wants to eat the school lunch- generally less than two days a week. She is a VERY healthy eater, but some what picky in the foods that she will consume. The bulk of her diet is fresh fruit and veggies, with some dairy and whole grains as sides. She doesn't care much for meat or beans, so I'm always careful to monitor her protein intake. I don't "plan" these lunches. I purchase extra staple items and whatever seasonal or frozen fruits and veggies are on sale, then make lunches with those items. I also tend to use some left-over items that I know she will eat.

Some examples of lunches that she had this past shopping period:
1. water, milk, 2 wheat tortillas, 2 bananas, honey
2. water, vanilla greek yogurt, blackberries, granola
3. water, milk, peanut butter, apple slices, pear slices, oatmeal breakfast "cookie"
4. water, sliced provolone, thin sliced roast beef, garlic bread stick, 2 cutie oranges
5. water, 2 hard boiled eggs, shredded cheddar, sunburst tomatoes, cucumber slices, spinach, homemade ranch
6. water, milk, wheat tortilla, diced chicken breast, shredded cheddar, spinach, homemade ranch, strawberries and chocolate sauce
7. water, milk, ham & spinach quiche, strawberries, banana, and chocolate sauce

I am a teacher at the elementary school our two youngest attend. I tend to have a greek yogurt, fruit, and granola for lunch if I stay at school. If my husband is home during my lunch time, then I try to go home and eat with him. He either prepares something light or we have a leftover heated up.

BREAKFAST

Breakfast is often only a full meal on weekends. I poll the kiddos and hubby for what they would like, and then add it to the master list.

The other days of the week are often not as formal. Hubby may be sleeping or not home yet. Our oldest daughter's school starts an hour before the elementary, so her day starts an hour before the other two. She prefers to take a portable breakfast on the bus, so she can sleep in that extra little bit of time. I tend to eat breakfast with the two still in elementary since they often ride to school with me in the morning instead of catching the bus.

I keep grab-and-go breakfast items all together in a basket in our fridge and in the pantry. When its hectic in the morning, a bagel or English muffin can be pulled out and popped in the toaster quickly. A cup of fruit or yogurt parfait works as well. A quick pan of oatmeal with some mix-ins is also a favorite. Cold cereal happens some mornings too.



Sneak peak in the kitchen pantry.

I just add whatever breakfast staple items are running low to our list, and then add in items based on the sale flyers, coupons, and seasonal produce.

SHOPPING and our PANTRY                

I try to feed my family as wholesome and natural as possible. I am not a zealot about it though, so you may find boxed breakfast cereal next to the homemade granola. We like to eat. We like to eat things that taste good.

I have a chest freezer in the garage, a large upright freezer and  spare fridge in the storage pantry. My storage pantry is the size of a small bedroom, but still needs some work to utilize all of the space effectively. That is a post for another day though. I also have quite a dated kitchen with minimal cupboards and a small closet pantry. Once again, a post for another day. Pics on Pinterest have been calling my name though...

We raised pigs last spring, so all of our pork is from that. We are beginning to run low on bacon, so I will have to either limit our bacon in the menu or purchase it. When we did it last spring, we raised several and sold the extras. We had a lot of success with word of mouth on the quality of our pork, so have had several more people approach us to raise for them. This means that we will need to expand our operation a bit, and hubby has been working on that.

My in-laws raise beef, and as an amazing gift for the last 8 years, they have been raising a steer for us every 18 months or so. It has been a huge blessing to our family! We have fresh, all naturally raised Angus beef in our home for the cost of running a large freezer.

I purchase all of our eggs from a local family that raises chickens and ducks. They cost just slightly more than what I would pay at the store and taste immensely better! We would like to add our own chickens to the farm here, but can't justify it with the price we are currently paying for the eggs. I have some feelers out to try and purchase fryers this spring so that our chicken will be fresh and locally raised as well.

I bake a lot, and have been trying to limit the amount of store bought bread that we consume. I have always made a lot of baked goods, but my husband had previously preferred store bought bread. He recently asked me to start experimenting with more bread recipes, so that we could cut more processed shelf food out of our diet. That's something that is still in the works though. I'll share the recipes as we find the ones we like. I purchase most of my baking supplies in bulk through Sam's Club and through an Amish store near my in-laws' and parents' homes in Missouri. We make the 12 hour trip once or twice a year. Sometimes, depending on pricing, I pay the shipping cost for my mom to pick up items and send them to me. I would love to find a store locally, but haven't found one that compares in pricing.

Frozen raspberries

I buy items in bulk when they are on sale. I generally know the rotation of when items will go on sale, so I can judge how many we need to make it from one sale to the next. Since I have a large pantry, it works for us. I use coupons, but am in no way shape or form "extreme" about it. I might have 100 rolls of toilet paper, because if you have kids, you use quadruple the normal amount of tp. I may have a year's supply of powder milk, but only because I can get it at the Amish store's discount rate only once or twice a year. I do not have a year's supply of soda. We drink it pretty rarely, and it runs on sale often enough that I can grab a 2 liter only when we need it.

I try to buy as much locally grown, untreated produce as I can. I do buy some organic produce, but not all. I try to compare price points, safety, and the availability of a locally produced product that isn't certified organic, but was grown "naturally". I live in Colorado, clearly the availability of local produce is limited by season. I utilize my freezer a lot. I have also begun to learn about effective dry storage methods. We are still learning how to garden where we live, so our own success at raising produce has been limited. Fingers crossed for more luck this year!


This has been a brief overview. Please feel free to ask questions! I wasn't sure what to include. I will add the master list for the next two weeks tomorrow.