365 days of homecooking

January 3, 2010

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If you happened on this post via search (hello!)–you may want to check out 2012′s meal plan which includes a rotating menu for the year to make 365 days of homecooking happen. The post includes my own menu plan as well as templates for you to download. Happy meal planning!

photo credit: John Loo

As part of my 2010 goals I mentioned offhandedly that we need to eat better this year, and since we’re paying off debt budget friendly dining in will only help us reach that goal faster. Instead of saying we’d cut back on eating out (which we do about once a week), I decided to be my usual over the top self and commit to cooking every meal at home for the next 365 days.

For some people that is a normal thing, but it hasn’t been status quo in our lives ever. Even when we made very little money we still managed to eat out every once in awhile.

I’m writing about my challenge so that other people will join in, and we can keep each other motivated. You can start at any time this year, and you can most certainly have your own guidelines, but the idea is to eat healthy homecooked meals as often as possible.

My Rules (please feel free to make up your own)

We will eat at homecooked meals for every meal. Cereal for breakfast still counts though!
I will start each week with a menu plan, and groceries purchased. At the end of each week I’ll share our menu plan, any photos I have of meals, and recipes I used or tried. Why after the week is over? Because some nights one of the kids will be sick, or my husband will work late, or something will make plans change.
I’ll be 100% honest. If I feed everyone PB&J (or everyone’s variation of PB&J) then I will tell you. If I try to cook something and it flops, I’ll share that too.
I will be using organic ingredients where it counts, and cooking with whole foods as much as possible.
We will not eat out, but I have several exceptions I’m making:

- Celebrations: For special days (our anniversary, birthdays) there is the option of eating out. Last night my husband and I ate dinner out in place of getting gifts for one another. The kids still ate at home. On the kid’s birthdays they can choose to eat out, but it would mean no birthday party.
- Work Events: If either my husband or I travel this year, or make a decision to eat out for an event, social gathering, etc. we will do so with our allowances.
- Allowances: The kids can use their allowances to get a meal or snack if they choose. For instance my 7 year old likes to buy lunch on occasion, so she can spend her allowance on school lunch if she chooses.
- Free Meals: If someone offers to buy one, both, or all of us dinner then we will likely accept. For instance, if we get a gift card, or coupons for free meals we will use them.

365 days of homecooking is about more than just meal plans, recipes, and healthy living. It’s about saving money, being frugal, and spending more quality time with my family.

I admit I’m borrowing a little from Julie Powell (of Julie and Julia fame) with the 365 days thing. Though cooking through Julia Child’s cookbook would likely mean a lot of PB&J for the kids.

I also plan to try one new recipe each week, so if you have a recipe you want to share, leave me a comment, or send me an email via my contact page.

I’ll be posting a weekly update here that will include our menu plan, any photos I take, recipes, and more. I will post updates on Sundays, but if it becomes a popular feature I may post more frequently.

We had a short week this 1st week of the challenge, but here is what I cooked for dinner (breakfast wasn’t cooked-toast and cereal, and lunches were sandwiches, yogurt,fruit, and/or leftovers):

1/1/10: Sesame chicken, jasmine rice, and a fruit salad with cantaloupe and kiwi. (ketchup on the side since 3 of the kids eat most stuff with ketchup)

1/2/10: Hamburgers and hot dogs, homemade fries, salad. (not really health food, but whole grain buns, salad, and our own fries are better than eating out)

About Kelly

Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

Tagged as: 365 Days of Homecooking, action, Food

http://twitter.com/dgarozzo @dgarozzo

"I’ll be posting a weekly update here that will include our menu plan, any photos I take, recipes, and more. I will post updates on Sundays, but if it becomes a popular feature I may post more frequently."

Did you give up on this? I don't think I've seen any recent updates.
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  I didn't give it up, there have been updates, just not as regularly as I'd like. We were sick for about 3 weeks total, and there wasn't much cooking-though we did eat at home. We just ate a lot of odds and ends.
  
  I will be posting an update this week on Friday. Sundays are family time-it wasn't easy to make time for a post then.
http://twitter.com/dgarozzo @dgarozzo

"I’ll be posting a weekly update here that will include our menu plan, any photos I take, recipes, and more. I will post updates on Sundays, but if it becomes a popular feature I may post more frequently."

Did you give up on this? I don't think I've seen any recent updates.
- http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen
  
  I didn't give it up, there have been updates, just not as regularly as I'd like. We were sick for about 3 weeks total, and there wasn't much cooking-though we did eat at home. We just ate a lot of odds and ends.
  
  I will be posting an update this week on Friday. Sundays are family time-it wasn't easy to make time for a post then.
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http://earngivesave.com Andrew

That's awesome—congratulations! We push ourselves to eat at home for 90-95% of our meals, and that makes going our all the more special. You're going to have a great meal in 2011!
http://earngivesave.com/ Andrew

That's awesome—congratulations! We push ourselves to eat at home for 90-95% of our meals, and that makes going our all the more special. You're going to have a great meal in 2011!
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Jennifer Y.

Love it!! So ambitious! We have made a very concious effort to cut back on eating out over the last 6 months. We we "trying" but when I checked my mint.com breakdown of what we were spending on eating out, I seriously almost had a heart attack. I blamed working outside the home and lack help from the hubs (he does NOT cook), but even if we just have grilled cheese and soup, it's saving us at least $20 vs. eating out.
Jennifer Y.

Love it!! So ambitious! We have made a very concious effort to cut back on eating out over the last 6 months. We we "trying" but when I checked my mint.com breakdown of what we were spending on eating out, I seriously almost had a heart attack. I blamed working outside the home and lack help from the hubs (he does NOT cook), but even if we just have grilled cheese and soup, it's saving us at least $20 vs. eating out.
http://www.fiscalfizzle.com Wojciech Kulicki

What a very worthy goal, and certainly one that ought to save you a ton of money during 2010! While we've significantly reduced dining out expenses in 2009 as compared to previous years, I don't think we could ever cut it out completely.

To say so would be setting up our family for failure…we just get invited to eat out too often, and sometimes it's the only convenient option. But something along the lines of what Jaime is doing (300 days) would be a reachable goal for us.
http://www.fiscalfizzle.com/ Wojciech Kulicki

What a very worthy goal, and certainly one that ought to save you a ton of money during 2010! While we've significantly reduced dining out expenses in 2009 as compared to previous years, I don't think we could ever cut it out completely.

To say so would be setting up our family for failure…we just get invited to eat out too often, and sometimes it's the only convenient option. But something along the lines of what Jaime is doing (300 days) would be a reachable goal for us.
Jaime

Inspiring. I'm going to aim for 300 days of homecooking.
I do have some concerns as to what this means to any MNOs though.
Good luck. I look forward to checking back for meal ideas.
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  Great goal, Jaime!
  I prefer MNIs with Erica as bartender anyway.
  My meal ideas will likely be boring-since that's how the family tends to eat, with one yummy thing for me thrown in.
Jaime

Inspiring. I'm going to aim for 300 days of homecooking.
I do have some concerns as to what this means to any MNOs though.
Good luck. I look forward to checking back for meal ideas.
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  Great goal, Jaime!
  I prefer MNIs with Erica as bartender anyway.
  My meal ideas will likely be boring-since that's how the family tends to eat, with one yummy thing for me thrown in.
http://www.webtechservices.com Tammy

This is a great way to not only save money but choose healthy foods to eat. We have been trying to eat healthy which is sometimes impossible when eating out. Good luck with this new project
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  Tammy, that is so true! We found when we were eating out because we were trying to eat cheaply we ended up eating garbage, and 1/2 the time the kids didn't even eat the food! Talk about a waste!
  
  Thanks, and I hope you'll try it as well, sounds like we are in the same boat!
http://www.webtechservices.com/ Tammy

This is a great way to not only save money but choose healthy foods to eat. We have been trying to eat healthy which is sometimes impossible when eating out. Good luck with this new project
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  Tammy, that is so true! We found when we were eating out because we were trying to eat cheaply we ended up eating garbage, and 1/2 the time the kids didn't even eat the food! Talk about a waste!
  
  Thanks, and I hope you'll try it as well, sounds like we are in the same boat!
http://www.raisingroots.com Lauren

Hi Kelly,

This is so timely!! We've been eating out WAY too much lately, mostly because of the way our schedules are, with 2 late evening after-school activities, and my choir in the city, we've been out 3 times a week for months… and often more. We've decided to change one of those nights, so that after choir we either go home, or to one of our nice local grandparents. The other two nights, well, Pizza night is sometimes homemade, sometimes take out, and my choir night dh and Miss often stay home, so it's just me out, and I get soup or salad…. It's a great challenge though, and we'll hop on board as best we can!!
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  The nights that are busy in our house either involve the kids eating early with a late evening snack, or something super easy to prepare.
  
  I've even packed them sandwiches to eat in the car if I have to! Way cheaper than feeding my brood when we go out.
http://www.raisingroots.com/ Lauren

Hi Kelly,

This is so timely!! We've been eating out WAY too much lately, mostly because of the way our schedules are, with 2 late evening after-school activities, and my choir in the city, we've been out 3 times a week for months… and often more. We've decided to change one of those nights, so that after choir we either go home, or to one of our nice local grandparents. The other two nights, well, Pizza night is sometimes homemade, sometimes take out, and my choir night dh and Miss often stay home, so it's just me out, and I get soup or salad…. It's a great challenge though, and we'll hop on board as best we can!!
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  The nights that are busy in our house either involve the kids eating early with a late evening snack, or something super easy to prepare.
  
  I've even packed them sandwiches to eat in the car if I have to! Way cheaper than feeding my brood when we go out.
http://www.moneymatekate.com MoneyMateKate

I've had something like this in the back of my mind for a few weeks now. Before I read all the way through your post, I was already thinking of the differentiation between dining out as a social/celebratory event v. not in the mood to cook. My reasons are 90% health/weight-related though rather than financially motivated. I really need to drop the 50 lbs I regained since the economy collapsed, and the #1 change I can make in the right direction is cooking for myself. And heck, now that I've taken up the coupon hobby, my grocery bill for 1 will probably be under $20/week v. $60/week with take-out once a day.
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  Kate, that's exactly it! Mostly me being lazy (not that I'm implying you are, I just know for me I have to push past that feeling). Even eating out to celebrate is not as fun with my family as it is with friends, they just don't get the whole idea of sitting down and enjoying a long meal with good conversation. I think with the kids it will happen when they are older, but my hubby may be a lost cause.
  
  We are trying to lose weight as well, and I think eating out has a huge impact on our waistlines. It's like a vicious cycle. Not in the mood to cook=eating out=not eating healthy=feeling too tired to cook
  
  Good luck! I really need to learn more about couponing.
http://www.moneymatekate.com/ MoneyMateKate

I've had something like this in the back of my mind for a few weeks now. Before I read all the way through your post, I was already thinking of the differentiation between dining out as a social/celebratory event v. not in the mood to cook. My reasons are 90% health/weight-related though rather than financially motivated. I really need to drop the 50 lbs I regained since the economy collapsed, and the #1 change I can make in the right direction is cooking for myself. And heck, now that I've taken up the coupon hobby, my grocery bill for 1 will probably be under $20/week v. $60/week with take-out once a day.
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  Kate, that's exactly it! Mostly me being lazy (not that I'm implying you are, I just know for me I have to push past that feeling). Even eating out to celebrate is not as fun with my family as it is with friends, they just don't get the whole idea of sitting down and enjoying a long meal with good conversation. I think with the kids it will happen when they are older, but my hubby may be a lost cause.
  
  We are trying to lose weight as well, and I think eating out has a huge impact on our waistlines. It's like a vicious cycle. Not in the mood to cook=eating out=not eating healthy=feeling too tired to cook
  
  Good luck! I really need to learn more about couponing.
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http://www.openlybalanced.com Jess

Kelly — This is totally awesome and I am impressed. I doubt that I would be able to do this for myself, much less my whole family. My food goals for the year are far more modest than yours (cook much more, eat less meat, source my food as sustainably and ethically as possible), but I can't wait to follow you in this!
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  Jess, thanks! I can't wait to hear how your year of cooking more/eating more consciously goes! I'm hoping with the savings we can spend more on quality food, and maybe even a CSA this year.
http://www.openlybalanced.com/ Jess

Kelly — This is totally awesome and I am impressed. I doubt that I would be able to do this for myself, much less my whole family. My food goals for the year are far more modest than yours (cook much more, eat less meat, source my food as sustainably and ethically as possible), but I can't wait to follow you in this!
- http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife
  
  Jess, thanks! I can't wait to hear how your year of cooking more/eating more consciously goes! I'm hoping with the savings we can spend more on quality food, and maybe even a CSA this year.
http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife

Evan,
I think you just summed up my personality.

I think eating out less is a great goal. I just find we eat better at home, might be because we have so many picky eaters.
http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife

Evan,
I think you just summed up my personality.

I think eating out less is a great goal. I just find we eat better at home, might be because we have so many picky eaters.
http://www.myjourneytomillions.com Evan

Kelly,

Good Luck! Are you the kind of person that needs to "go hard or go home" or can you just cut down eating out? The Wife and I are making a conscious effort to eat at home more, but it is easier since its just us 2 (and our dog lol)
http://www.myjourneytomillions.com/ Evan

Kelly,

Good Luck! Are you the kind of person that needs to "go hard or go home" or can you just cut down eating out? The Wife and I are making a conscious effort to eat at home more, but it is easier since its just us 2 (and our dog lol)