Monday Meal Planning and Reposting Some Meal Stretching Tips

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 Add a Pop of Color to Your Designs with Blueberries Clipart

 Almost exactly a year ago, I did a post about making things stretch, here are the highlights:

TIPS FOR MAKING YOUR MEALS STRETCH

  1. Add bread to your meal. Bulk out your meal by serving a slice of bread and butter, corn bread, a biscuit or roll. Bread, especially homemade, is an inexpensive way to fill a belly.
  2. Portion control. Dip out an appropriate size portion onto your family's plate and leave the rest on the stove. This will cut down on taking more than a person actually needs just because they see it. If they are hungry enough to walk into the kitchen and make a second plate, then they are hungry.
  3. Add inexpensive sides. Adding rice, potatoes, pasta or beans to fill up on.
  4. Waste nothing! If there are leftovers, use them. When you make a meat with bones, make broth with the bones afterward. If a kid doesn't finish their plate, in the fridge it goes to be used as a snack when they eventually say they are hungry.
  5. Making meat a side, not the star. We do this with chicken legs. Everyone here gets one piece of chicken and I make something usually considered a side the main.  Its funny, presentation really can be everything. If someone asks what is for dinner, for example I would say "Scalloped potatoes, green beans and a chicken leg" somehow that sets expectations differently than if I said "Chicken legs, with scalloped potatoes and green beans." Weird, huh? And when I plate the food up, the thing I want to showcase as the main goes in the middle and the chicken leg off to the side. Some weird psychology working there, haha.
  6. Mixing your meat and vegetables together. Soups, stews, pot pies, casseroles and stir fries are so popular because they allow you to use less meat per person as it is mixed in instead of sitting there on the side of the plate looking like an obviously small serving.
  7. MENU PLANNING- Seriously, the easiest way to cut down on waste, make meals that work together (cooking once, eating twice, planned leftovers) take advantage of what you have on hand and what is on sale is to menu plan. Figure out a way of organizing your meal planning and shopping that works for you and you will see less trips to the store, less stress about what to make after the work day, and less waste as you can plan for everything to be used up.
Have you got any tips to making meals stretch? Please share in the comments! I love learning new tricks.

 Blueberries were on a good sale! So I bought quite a bit as we LOVE them and will dole them out over the week. Did you find any good deals this week?

Monday-

  • Breakfast- Oatmeal, blueberries
  • Lunch-  Sandwiches, crackers, carrots and cucumbers
  • Dinner- Pork Butt, roasted potatoes, broccoli, garlic toast

Tuesday-

  • Breakfast- Fried egg, toast, blueberries
  • Lunch-  Ham and cheese roll ups, crackers, carrots and cucumber
  • Dinner- Scalloped Potatoes, baked beans, peas, garlic toast

Wednesday- 

  • Breakfast- Peanut butter toast, blueberries
  • Lunch- Leftovers
  •  Dinner-  Pulled Pork sandwiches, cole slaw, chips

Thursday-

  • Breakfast- egg, toast, blueberries
  • Lunch-  Sandwiches, pretzels, cole slaw
  • Dinner-   One Pot Veggie Pasta, garlic toast

Friday-

Saturday-

  • Brunch- Blueberry muffins, boiled eggs
  • Dinner- Baked chicken legs, roasted sweet potatoes, green beans, biscuits

Sunday-

 Have a good week!

~ Sarah

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