Meal Planning at its Finest

I hate meal planning.  Actually, hate isn't a strong enough word.  I loathe meal planning.  For years, it was the bane of my existence.  For years, I'd dread Sundays, because that was the day I'd sit down with my recipe box (for someone who hate's meal planning, I sure do have a ton of recipes!) and try to pick at least 4 meals for the week.  I figured one day could be a leftovers day, Saturdays we'd order in pizza or go out and Sunday is always family dinner with my parents.  After a while, I realized I was picking the same 5-10 recipes over and over again.

One day, The Doctor saw my meal plan and said, "That again?"

"You think you can do a better job," I said, trying not to snarl, and knowing what the answer would be.

"Yes.  I can do a better job, " was the reply (for the record, I knew what he was going to say).

"Fine," I said, as I handed him the recipe box and stomped away. "From now on, you can meal plan for me."

I busied myself cutting coupons, changing a diaper or two and trying to clean up some kind of sticky mess when he called me over to the computer.

"Here you go," he said. "I call this our 8x5 meal plan.  5 meals a week for 8 weeks.  At the end of the 8 weeks, you go back to the beginning."

"This is brilliant!," I exclaimed.  It really was too.  Plus, it proved that even he didn't like meal planning.

The only problem was, after about 6 months, we started to get bored.  One day, last year, I decided to switch to the crock pot.  For months, I made crock pot recipes every night.  I was perfectly happy, as what's better than throwing a bunch of ingredients into a crock pot and walking away from the kitchen?  The answer to that, as I found out a few months later, is meat that is not stewed with veggies.  Although I'd use different meats, veggies and broths, everything had the same texture and color.  Not so good for a foodie such as The Doctor.

Over the Summer, I worked really hard to not use the crock pot and I'd forgotten how fun cooking can be when you're making meals that are super tasty.  In an attempt to get more organized, I took it one step farther, put on my Martha Stewart hat and created a menu board (props go out to my wonderful Sister-in-Law for the idea and to Pintrest for samples).  Because I was so proud of my creation, I bragged about it on Facebook.  It's not enough for The Doctor or the my 3 Curly Girlies to know I can be creative and crafty at times, I need other people to know it too.

I, then, had the great idea to put 2 and 2 together.  I sat down with my new and improved (non crockpot recipes) and created a new 8x5 meal plan.  Every week, I'll look at that week's meals, pull my recipe cards and write the meals on the Menu Board.  This way, I get to stay organized and I never have to answer the dreaded "What's for dinner?" whine again.

After talking about my meal plan on Facebook, I have had a few requests to share it, but I didn't think Facebook was the proper place to do so, so this post is dedicated to that.

Without further adieu, my 8x5 Dinner plan

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
Corn Crisp Chicken	Spinach Manicotti	Crockpot: Beef Stew	Leftovers	Maple Mustard Chicken
Chicken with Black Seasonings	Tacos	The Doctor BBQ’s	Leftovers	Orange Garlic Butterflied Chicken
Easy Cola Chicken	Goat Cheese Salmon	Crockpot: Tortellini	Leftovers	Chinese Chicken
Turkey Meatloaf Provencal	Baked Spaghetti	The Doctor BBQ’s	Leftovers	Apricot Ginger Chicken Thighs
Parmesan Crusted Tilapia	Tuna Noodle Casserole	Crockpot: Balsamic Cherry Chicken	Leftovers	Arroz con Pollo
Beef Fry Wrapped Meatloaf	Zucchini Paremsan	The Doctor BBQ’s	Leftovers	Honey Baked Chicken
Triple Citrus Salmon	Cheesy Tortellini	Crockpot: Beef Stew	Leftovers	Chicken with Black Season
Tuscan Spaghetti Casserole	Shepard’s Pie	The Doctor BBQ’s	Leftovers	Tuscan Style Chicken

Sides:

Roasted Vegetable (Brussels Sprouts, Asparagus, Mixed Veggies)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Grapes

Not Too Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Turnips (or Parsnips) and Mushrooms

Roasted Tomatoes, Onions & Zucchini

Green Beans with Mushrooms and Shallots

Green Beans with Tomatoes

Baked Spinach and Pea Risotto (Dairy)

Sautéed Zucchini, Onions and Mushrooms

Sautéed Spinach and Garlic

Sautéed Green Beans

Carrot Fries

After creating this, I remembered how this is The Year of Unboring Lunches.  I sat down with my handy-dandy Trader Joe's Easy Lunch Boxes cookbook (we are not lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's yet and I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival in late October).

I created a 5x5 Lunch Plan as well.  

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Peanut Butter and X*	Bacon Cheesy Pita Pockets	Leftovers from Night Before	Cream Cheese and Olives	Momables Pizza
Turkey Day Pinwheels	California Tommy Dogs	Leftovers from Night Before	PB&J Sushi	Deviled Eggs
Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese	Deep Sea Dogs	Leftovers from Night Before	Quinoa with Chia, Apricot and Sunflower Seeds	Momables Chicken Nuggets
Oatmeal Blueberry Pancakes	Roast Beef Sandwich	Leftovers from Night Before	Turkey Roll Ups	Fluffernutter
Veggie Delight Sandwiches	Macaroni and Cheese Bites	Leftovers from Night Before	Rock and Roll Stuffed Croissants	Spaghetti Muffins

 *X= Nutella, Jelly, Honey or Banana

Veggie/Fruit:                                                             Snacks:

Celery (Ants on a Log)                                               Trail Mix

Fruit Kabobs                                                               Oreo cookies

Carrots and Ranch                                                      Homemade Cookies

Caramelized Bananas                                                 Gooey Chocolate Nut Bars

Apple/Peach/Plum                                                      Nature Valley Bars

Strawberries/grapes/raspberries                                  Pretzels and Nutella

Bell Pepper strips medley                                           Peanut Butter and Crackers

Balsamic Strawberries                                                Goldfish

Ambrosia Salad                                                          Chocolate PB & Oat Snackers

Roasted Chickpeas                                                    

Sweet Potato French Toast

Carrot Fries        

My girls cannot complain about boring Uncrustables or Gogurts this year. I bought bento boxes and I think I'm more excited than the girls are about using them.  As you might remember from the other night, M is so insanely picky and I told her today, lunches will not be catered to her.

"Do I look like I'm running a restaurant?," I asked.

"No, but Mommy, what if I don't like the lunch?," came the tearful reply (she's going for a Golden Globe.  This child can turn on and off the water works at a drop of the hat).

"Well, then I guess you have 2 choices.  You can either deal with it and eat something that's tasty, even if it's not to your liking, or you can go hungry," I said calmly.  She wasn't too pleased with that response, but I know she isn't going to starve.  She also has the option of buying up to 4 times a month, so she can weigh the lesser of two evils (the nastier of two lunches?) and pick.  If you ask me, though, my lunches will win every time.

If any of the recipes intrigue you and you'd like the recipe, let me know and I'll be happy to share.