Do any of you peeps out there plan meals?
I know Terry has in the past, and I know Renee does on a regular basis. But what about you? What about ME? Will meal planning help me? What is meal planning? Basically, it is deciding what you're going to eat every night of the week. My buddy Renee even meal plans her breakfasts, lunches and snacks! (She has five kids and homeschools...an awesome godly woman!) You can plan an eat out night, or a breakfast night, or a soup night. Whatever floats your boat. It helps to control grocery spending, and coupon use, and really helps the budget.
Well, let me just say that as I'm getting older, I'm not turning into a foodie. But I am SICK of eating the same food over and over. And when one of your kids has autism, you tend to fall into food patterns. Bucket eats chicken, chicken, chicken, pasta, parmesan cheese, cereal, garlic bread, chicken, pasta, and Pepsi. No ice. The rest of us are sick of chicken, pasta and most variations of such. Yet, due to his situation, I am resistant to change. He's eating. Not what I'd want to eat, but it is food.
Mr. R and I decided to buy boxes of pasta, and separate the boxes into 2 oz. portions in plastic baggies. That is one serving. The rest of us are going to eat regular meals, and if he chooses not to eat, he can make his own pasta. That might seem mean, but it actually has three consequences. One, is that Bucket will be able to see and smell other foods. Two, is that the rest of us will finally eat something different. And three, if Bucket is not willing to try the new food, he can make his own. I'm not making it for him. This will teach him independence.
So here is my menu for the rest of this week:
Sunday: chicken (sigh) and macaroni and cheese (sigh) with broccoli. It's a Bucket meal, except for the veggie.
Monday: Mexican Monday! We have Mexican food every Monday. We will have ground beef tacos, with cheese, salsa, tomatoes, sour cream, lettuce, and black beans. YUMMMM!
Tuesday: French onion soup (my speciality!) and grilled panini sandwiches.
Wednesday: lasagna with salad and garlic bread. (I've never made lasagna before. Pray for me!)
Thursday: burgers and hot dogs with fresh corn on the grill.
Friday: we eat out every Friday.
Saturday: whatever leftovers you can scrounge, baby!
I'm even thinking about making some dessert this week. Mr. R is a lemon lover. I was thinking about making some lemon cookies.
What are you having for dinner this upcoming week?
4 comments:
Oh I have a yummy lemon cookie recipe on my blog, and a lemon bread too. I was trying to make one like Starbucks. It's not even close, but it's good.
Lasagna isn't hard. You can do it!!
This week we're having dinner at my MIL's Monday. She invited us since Isaac leaves Saturday and Isaac picked the food.
Tues. will be chicken and rice with steamed asparagus
Wed. h/m mac and cheese or maybe burgers
Thurs. I'll make pizza dough for the boys on my way out to knit with my mom. I'll pack a sandwich to take with me and eat a bowl of soup from the freezer when I get home.
I have no idea about Friday, Sat. and Sun. I usually ask Doug what he'd like and make that.
A meal plan? Good going, Sarah.
Great thinking ahead for Bucket, too. My nephew is autistic and eats a select number of foods as well. But my sister, an excellent cook, manages to eat a variety of foods while keeping him fed.
Kelly: I've never had asparagus in my life. Not ever. My mom hates it and never served it once. Same goes for brussels sprouts, cabbage, beets. If she didn't like it, I didn't get it.
Terry: meal plan has worked out great so far. Every time someone asked me what was for dinner, I actually knew. Shocker!
Ha! I can't even plan what I'm going to wear for a week, let alone what I'm going to eat. However, it looks like you've got a good start on a menu! I'll be interested to see how it goes!
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