Meal Planning

Recently, as an attempt to lose weight and save money by not eating out, I began diving into meal planning.  At first I started out planning a week at a time.  It didn't take too much energy to plan and the trip to the grocery store didn't last too long. That was especially nice since the baby was barely walking and didn't like shopping.  Now, almost a year later, I'm planning my meals almost a full month at a time and shopping once every two weeks for the bulk and small trips once a week for milk, produce and other highly perishable goods.


I have an awesome PDF and Excel worksheet that I use, and it usually contains 2 snacks between the meals, as well.  Also keep in mind that my toddler eats everything on this menu, the same as I do.  Sometimes plans change and it gets altered, but it doesn't usually change too often. I make notes when I need to freeze half of the recipe for another night and when what I'm making for dinner that night is from my freezer meal stash.

EDIT: I did a print screen of the worksheet I have, so it should look at least a bit more presentable. ;)

Without further ado, here is this weeks menu, starting 10/21/2012 (click to enlarge):

Recipe Resources: -- Spaghetti Squash Lasagna-- http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/09/spaghetti-squash-lasagna.html --Pizza Pasta-- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pizza-pasta/ --Chicken and Dumplings-- http://eatathomecooks.com/2009/07/homemade-chicken-and-dumplings-its-easy-really.html --Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken-- http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried.html --Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta Bake-- http://www.theslowroasteditalian.blogspot.com/2012/09/meat-lovers-pizza-pasta-bake.html --Chicken Nuggets-- http://sammyw.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/homemade-chicken-nuggets/ --Yogurt Cereal Bars-- http://www.food.com/recipe/yogurt-cereal-bars-310692 I'll work on making a prettier way to show it on the blog. Until then, I hope this works for you.  If anything is unclear, or you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment.