Hi Everybody! Sorry to be gone so long, I took a much needed break from all of the things I could. But I am back and I am ready to start again! Menu planning is such an important part of my family's organization, that even though it is a lot of work upfront, it is an invaluable tool to make our weeks go smoother and to help keep our budget in check. These last few weeks, instead of more formal menu planning, I opted for shopping with a purpose. It meant more frequent trips to the store, more money spent than usual, and a lot more processed food in our diet, but honestly, I just needed to do something different for a few days. They say "A change is as good as a rest" and I will have to agree. Even though we didn't vacation, going with the changes (back to school, increased stress levels, generally being worn out) and doing some things different enabled me to come back to our "regular" way of doing things with renewed energy and purpose. Taking these last couple of weeks off from some of my commitments at least reminded me of why I do some of the things that I do and that they really are a valuable contribution to our family. I am so grateful for the emergency meals we had stocked up (going to have to work on that again!), for the love and concern of a friend (seriously, her chicken is so good!) and for my family's willingness to just go along because they care enough about me to eat the same meals three or four times without complaining too much ;).
During my blogging break I learned/remembered a few things, in no particular order:
- Without careful planning, money just sifts through my fingers. A stop for this, running to grab that, dollar sandwiches from Burger King, frozen lasagna all add up. It doesn't feel like it when you are spending it (it's only $1 more!) but in the end, even with a couple of meals gifted to us we still ended up over budget
- Mental health is super important! Stress reduces the ability to think creatively, and constantly being in flight or fight mode crowds out any space for problem solving. It also feeds into a sense of helplessness that can make me throw up my hands at anything that feels too hard in the moment.
- Cooking from scratch as much as I can is definitely less expensive over all, no matter what I tell myself (although the dollar sandwiches from Burger King are a fantastic deal if you don't order all the fries, drinks etc and instead supplement with your own bag of chips and bottles of water)
- Making sure to use convenience foods wisely will go a long way to maintaining the budget while keeping realistic expectations on my time.
- If all else fails, just make sure everyone is eating enough fruit and vegetables. Going off the rails for a couple of weeks was not the end of the world.
- Sometimes you just have to do what is best for the family as a whole. We really needed to circle our wagons and take care of each other the last few weeks. One on one time, snuggles, board games and a lowered stress level in the house was worth the extra money, junky food and repetitious meals. We can't afford a trip or vacation, and we couldn't take off work either, so we did the best we could by making our time together as a family and as a couple as supportive and restive as it could be and tried to fill each other up so that we could pick up and carry on.
- Sometimes, you have to let others know you are struggling. The best thing I could do was to let my family and a friend know I was reaching the end of my rope. I am so grateful for their response, patience and help. And seriously, I am going to have to get her recipe for that chicken!
Here is this week's menu plan, and PS the brisket turned out fantastic!
Monday-
- Breakfast- Cereal, banana
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us- sandwiches, pretzels, canned pears
- Dinner- Cabbage with Chicken, bread and butter, corn
Tuesday-
- Breakfast-eggs, toast, grapes
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us- Leftovers
- Dinner- Broccoli Fettucine Alfredo, garlic toast
Wednesday-
- Breakfast- Oatmeal, banana
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us- Sandwiches, pretzels, carrots and celery
- Dinner- Ramen noodles with mushrooms, peas, canned chicken, toast
Thursday-
- Breakfast- eggs, toast, grapes
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us- homemade microwave burritos, chips and salsa
- Dinner- Chili, peanut butter sandwiches
Friday-
- Breakfast- Fried bologna sandwiches, canned pears
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us- leftover chili and peanut butter sandwiches
- Dinner- Hotdogs, mac and cheese, veggies and dip
Saturday-
- Brunch- Biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, applesauce
- Dinner-Cilantro Lime Chicken & Rice (using regular rice, no jalapenos or corn, and chicken I cooked myself instead of frozen) this is one of those recipes that gives you a framework and you make it your own.
Sunday-
- Breakfast- Waffles, orange juice
- Lunch- Chili spaghetti, corn
- Dinner- Black bean burger, cole slaw, microwave baked potatoes
Comments
Post a Comment