Centsible Life

Helping Women Live Healthier, Happier, and Wealthier

  • Home
  • All Posts
  • About
    • Disclosure
    • Press
    • Privacy Policy
  • Health
  • Money
    • Make Money from Home
    • What To Buy Series
  • Fashion
    • Beauty
  • Food
    • Menu Plans
    • Recipes
  • Personal Posts
  • Travel
  • Work With Me

Back to Routines: Menu Mondays

September 19, 2011 By Kelly 14 Comments

Getting back to school means it’s time to get back to routines too. While I was light on schedules for a long time (especially when we homeschooled), I find that the kids & I operate better with a routine in place. I try to keep our schedule simple so it’s not overloaded with activity after activity and no downtime. Momma needs her downtime.

With school in full swing and some fall activities starting I need to be more mindful of meal planning, and shopping. I started a weekly routine with my 9 year old (who is an early riser by nature). We get up early and head out to Starbucks for a little breakfast (oatmeal and coffee for me, oatmeal and Odwalla mango juice for her), and snag a paper for some coupon clipping, and comic reading.

Then the two of head out for a morning of grocery and errand shopping. Emma loves to help and it’s a good way to get in some one on one time, talk about our week, and anything else that is on her mind. I find the key to keeping my kids balanced is making plenty of time for them one on one.

It also helps to shop when the stores aren’t terribly busy, and with only one helper I actually end up spending way less since she helps me manage the list and keeps track of the money we are spending. We’ve been spending about $50-90 less than when I shop on my own during the week, and that savings is enough to keep me getting up early even on a Sunday.

I’ve also been trying to cook every night of the week. I take Fridays off (if there are leftovers we usually eat those), and weekends are so variable it’s tough to know what we’ll eat (sometimes we are out, sometimes we are home and just nosh on whatever).

As with past menu plans, I’ll share what I’m cooking and recipe links, but I also try to keep things flexible. If something needs cooking or we end up running late on homework or have an unexpected delay I may switch meals around to make things easier on myself.

Some readers answered my call on the Centsible Life facebook page for their fave quick recipes for busy evenings. Their suggestions:

  • Cristie from The Traveling Circus said “Shrimp stir fry. Frozen everything an’s a splash of sesame oil and ginger.”
  • Jennifer said “Quesadillas. Older kids can even fill their own and you can grill/griddle them.”
  • Sheila from Pieces of Mom said “Caprese pasta…cube fresh mozzarella, chop some tomatoes (can be grape, cherry, roma, etc), tear basil leaves, add some olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano. Stir to combine. Add cooked whole-grain pasta. Toss and serve.”
  • Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife shared her favorite easy meal: “Spaghetti! (Gluten free of course)”

Meal Plan Monday (September 19th-25th)

Monday (19th): Tonight we eat early-Aidan and Audrey have activities in the evening. Gluten-free pasta with choice of butter, sauce or cheese. Side salad. Garlic bread for the kids.

Tuesday (20th): Chicken (cooked like the recipe here), salad, glazed carrots, and butternut squash soup (this is the BEST recipe ever).

Weird aside: After I was cut the squash up for this soup yesterday my hand got swollen, numb and the skin flaked off. Apparently this is a common allergic reaction to raw butternut squash! Who knew?

Wednesday (21st): London broil, broccoli, salad.

Thursday (22nd): Taco Night: Rice, ground beef, lettuce, grated cheese, and salsa.

Friday (23rd): OFF! Most likely eating leftovers.

Saturday (24th): Possibly eating out.

Sunday (25th): Shopping Day! Roast chicken (The secret is the lemon! It keeps the chicken juicy.), potatoes, asparagus or broccoli.

What’s on your agenda for this week? Do you have any quick and easy meals that make life simpler on busy nights?

For more inspirations read Julie’s post on scheduling and patterns when meal planning or check out the amazing linky at OrgJunkie for a ton of ideas!

Kelly

About Kelly


Kelly Whalen is the founder and editor of the Centsible Life. She started the blog in 2008 as her family faced a mountain of debt and the fixer upper they purchased became a FIXER UPPER. The website was born out of her desire to share what was working (and what was not) on her family's journey to financial security. Kelly lives in Minneapolis with her family.

  • View all posts by Kelly →
  • Blog
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+

Share:

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: Family, Food, Kids, menu planning, routines, schedules


Comments

  1. Sarah E. says

    September 21, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    Lemon is such a great touch to chicken (and turkey too!)

  2. Kelly Whalen says

    September 19, 2011 at 10:27 pm

    Great tip! I try to keep things super simple but it seems I always seems to take an hour with prep, cooking, eating and cleanup.

    Thanks!

  3. Kelly Whalen says

    September 19, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    Freezer meals are great if you can talk everyone into eating them! 😉 It was weird. I hope to never experience that again!

  4. Kelly Whalen says

    September 19, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    Love that you make one meal that you can dress up and eat again and again. Wish my kiddos were more into leftovers. I used to HATE leftovers as a kid now I love them.

  5. Kelly Whalen says

    September 19, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    Seriously, wear gloves or buy it pre-cut. Not worth it at all.

    Healthy cooking definitely takes more time and planning, but it’s worth it. 🙂

  6. Kelly Whalen says

    September 19, 2011 at 10:24 pm

    Sadly I can’t live off carbs, so meal planning is a neccessity.

  7. Kelly Whalen says

    September 19, 2011 at 10:24 pm

    Annie, kids ARE weird. My kids had oatmeal for dessert tonight.

  8. Julie says

    September 19, 2011 at 10:10 pm

    when I know it’s going to be a busy day, I search google for “easy” or “quick” and then the intended dinner. Lots of cheats for dinners.

    Love what you and E are doing now!

  9. Barb says

    September 19, 2011 at 6:44 pm

    Menu planning is on my front burner right now…..Im trying really hard to plan ahead and have even done several freezer meals that I can thaw and throw together on busy nights. And I never heard about that allergy either…weird!

  10. Nanette ~ A Mom Blog says

    September 19, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    I typically find easy, quick meals too. I need to with our schedule. We make tacos, gf spaghetti and a brown rice and ground beef mixture most weeks so that covers about half a week. The other days vary some.

  11. Melanie says

    September 19, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    OK, first, good to know about the squash allergy. 😉

    We have our staples…I like to cook shrimp in olive oil and toss with spaghetti. Easy and everyone eats it. And my family loves to have taco night. If I’m making a casserole or enchiladas, I make enough to freeze so I can save myself some trouble later on. I’m trying to cook more at night, but this year we have more activities after school and I’m working on a bigger project than usual. It’s hard sometimes, to fit healthy cooking in. Luckily, my husband isn’t afraid to pitch in!

  12. Melissa says

    September 19, 2011 at 12:41 pm

    i’m always making lasagna, meatloaf or spaghetti. although, when i make meatloaf, they all cry. i really need to start getting in a better habit of menu planning so we don’t live on carbs.

  13. Annie Shultz says

    September 19, 2011 at 11:44 am

    I am always cooking spaghetti! I it sooo fast and easy and my picky young kids love it. My kids are so weird. The other day I was cleaning the bedroom and the 4 yo and 2 yo got into the freezer and brought me a bag of frozen veggies and a bag of frozen french fries, asking me to make them. So for dinner they had veggies and french fries! (they ate a ton of veggies, shocking me to death)

    I love that you asked your facebook fans to share. They had some fab ideas!

Trackbacks

  1. Meal Plan Monday with Taco Beef Recipe — the ¢entsible life says:
    September 26, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    […] food This weekend we were away (more on that to come) so Emma and I didn’t have our usual Sunday morning routine. Instead we shopped on Sunday afternoon, and it proved to me that our Sunday routine is key to […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pinterest
INSTAGRAM
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Follow by Email
RSS

Hi! I'm Kelly Whalen, writer, frugality expert, debt slayer, and money nerd. Welcome to the Centsible Life, my corner of the internet, where I help women live happier, healthier, and wealthier lives. My goal is to help you save time + money, so you can spend both how you want.

Want to know more about me and learn how Centsible Life has helped readers like you? Click here.

As seen on:

Quick Money Savings Links

10% of LifeLock services

Track your net worth FREE with Personal Capital

FREE month of Rocksbox, a monthly jewelry subscription box customized to you!

Get cashback when you shop with ebates.

Take surveys to earn cash at Swagbucks.

Top Posts & Pages

  • Owl Paper Roll Craft
    Owl Paper Roll Craft
  • 50 Activities For Kids When There Is No School
    50 Activities For Kids When There Is No School
  • DIY Cardboard Box Lap Tray
    DIY Cardboard Box Lap Tray
  • Spray Paint Closet Door Makeover for $21
    Spray Paint Closet Door Makeover for $21
  • Halloween Egg Carton Treat Boxes
    Halloween Egg Carton Treat Boxes
  • HydraFacial Review: Is it worth the cost?
    HydraFacial Review: Is it worth the cost?
  • 2015 Menu Plan: Save $1,000s with Menu Planning
    2015 Menu Plan: Save $1,000s with Menu Planning
  • Free Printable Game Day Paper Chain
    Free Printable Game Day Paper Chain
  • Chores & Allowances
    Chores & Allowances
  • How to Update Railings and Spindles on Stairs
    How to Update Railings and Spindles on Stairs

Archives

Categories

Copyright © 2020 ·Metro Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in




loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.