I’ve started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays. It’s easier to do it while I’m writing up the kids at home learning schedules, and prepping the snack box for the week.
I’ve been buying snacks in bulk and only putting weeks worth out in the snack box. It keeps us out of the stores, and its healthier. This is only kinda working- I need to do a better job of hiding the snacks that are meant for the future.
The big kid and I went to the store on Saturday- all masked up and ready to hunt for bargains. We went over budget by about $20, but we stocked up on some extra stuff like a big bag of frozen mango chunks, more eggs (we’ve been eating a lot more eggs recently as the price of meat keeps going up), and cheese.
For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day: Right now our local school district is serving lunch for a drive-through service for kids 18 and under M-F. It’s great because it helps stretch our budget and it gets the kids out of the house for a few minutes. They also include a cold lunch (usually cereal and milk and a piece of fruit) for the next morning. Often times, the cereal ends up being a snack for late afternoon.
Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix). I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular. recently the Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.
Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.
We’re wrapping up distance learning in the next two weeks. That means I’ll be looking for more fun stuff for us to do. Our local parks are opening up to walking and I think we’ll be getting outside more as we are able.
- Sunday: Leftovers
- Monday Cheese enchiladas, Right Rice, and Beans
- Tuesday:Veggie Stir Fry with Lo Mein
- Wednesday:BBQ chicken and veggie bowls (with rice)
- Thursday: Pizza Night!
- Friday:Cheesy Chicken Broccoli casserole, kale salad. The casserole has a very small amount of chicken, so I can scoop some out for the big kiddo and he can have some meat-free.
- Saturday: Breakfast for dinner (possibly breakfast burritos)
Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.
Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?
It’s Friday- Time for some awesome Freebies and Deals! As the stay at home orders in various areas are relaxed, remember to continue to be kind. And please wear a mask, wash your hands, and use common sense!
It’s Friday again, but because time is a flat circle these days, that doesn’t mean much for most of us. What it does mean is that it’s time for a round-up of the most exciting freebies and deals the internet has to offer.
I found 
Forward Seasoning blend contains extra bold black pepper, onion, paprika, garlic, turmeric, spice extractives (including oleoresin of celery, rosemary, black pepper, thyme, basil and paprika).
Friday Friday Funday as my son says.
I posted about 
If this isn’t your cup of tea, or your kids need something that’s just for them here are a few other exercise options:
Hewes Family Fun 