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I hear clients tell me that
they don't have time to cook, or that they never sit down as a family
to have a meal, but with a little planning you can change
"What are we going to eat tonight?" to "Oh, its
Wednesday - that's taco night!"
This should not take long to do - sit down with a notebook and your
family's weekly schedule and write the days of the week down, leaving
room in between to add menu ideas.
Here is an example of my weekday menu to give you an idea:
MONDAY - Fish of some kind
Rice
or Couscous
2
veggies and a salad (I am big on salads as you
will
no doubt see
TUESDAY - Pasta of some kind (usually contains veggies)
Salad
French
bread with dipping oil
WEDNESDAY - Tacos
THURSDAY - Homemade pizza ( quite healthy I assure you )
Salad
FRIDAY - Homemade macaroni & cheese (This has been a
tradition for my husband since he was a child and
has been a tradition for our children too. In fact,
they get upset if I suggest we have anything
different on a Friday night!)
Vegetarian
Hotdogs (yes, I'm one of those!!)
2
veggies
Salad
Now, the point of sharing this with you is to show you that you can
eliminate the daily food dilemma.
Do we get bored with this? Not at all, because although we are having
fish one night, the kind of fish varies, the pasta and the veggies
vary as well as the kind of salad and sometimes I switch the days
around (except of course for Friday!!!) This is also not a hard-core
menu plan that I adhere too. Quite often I will make something
completely different as I love cooking and trying out new recipes.
It's a great guideline though.
Once you have come up with your weekly food game plan, write out a
grocery list and make one trip to the grocery store for the week.
This is possible! You will save money if you can do this, as you end
up spending and buying more if you grocery shop from day to day.
If you don't already have a coupon organizer, invest in one. You can
pick one up for about $1, so start clipping those coupons that come
in the Sunday paper. I save $5-$10 a week this way.
As busy as we all are, I think it is important for families to sit
and have meals together and talk and share about their days. I know
it's not always possible due to after-school schedules, ballgames,
etc., but give it a try and tell me what you think.
Merri
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