Menu Plan, April 6 - 12

     We had a very busy weekend last week and I am hoping, praying, and crossing my fingers that this weekend is calm.  This whole week has been nonstop pandemonium and I need to call a time-out!  I miss my husband and spending time together.  As I stated in my last menu plan post, we had to go out of town unexpectedly during the last weekend of Spring Break.  My grandparent’s house sold much quicker than anticipated, and this was the best weekend (after coordinating 5 different schedules) to move.  We said good-bye to a very special house and it is a place I will never forget.  My Mama Jean and Grandaddy Ed are both in heaven now, so it was time, but the moments that were created in this old house are engrained in my memory forever.  Mama Jean and Grandaddy Ed were the best grandparents any child could every dream up, and it is an honor to be their granddaughter. 

     On Sunday, my parents hauled back an entire moving truck packed full of furniture and boxes.  We also used J.T.’s truck to get any remaining items that couldn’t fit in the big truck.  The majority of things are going to stay at my parent’s house, but I ended up getting three pieces of furniture.  Most of the furniture is very old and needs some sprucing up.  J.T. and I are looking forward to having these various spring/summer projects.  We added to our apartment a large kitchen hutch that my grandfather built, a wide chest of drawers that dates back to when my grandfather was a child, and a small table/cabinet that was built by my grandfather.  On top of receiving the furniture, I brought back two large mirrors, several wooden picture frames to be repainted, and tiny odds and ends to go in the kitchen.  Now, if I could only find the time to paint/refinish the furniture and reorganize/rearrange our apartment! 

Sunday

• Cauliflower & Chicken Sausage Casserole (new recipe)
• Green Beans

Monday

• Spinach & Chickpea Tortilla Pie (new recipe)
• Roasted Carrots

Tuesday

• Strata Muffins
• Vegetable Rice Pilaf

Wednesday

• Hummus Sandwiches
• Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday

• Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos 
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Friday

• Peanut Butter Waffle Sandwiches
• Eggs

Saturday

• Leftovers

Menu Plan, March 30 - April 5

     Spring Break has come and gone and I am very sad it passed so quickly.  J.T. and I had a great week doing little projects around our apartment, watching too much Modern Family, and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.  Our break was cut short on Friday, when we unexpectedly had to go out of town.  My grandparent’s house sold after being on the market for only two weeks, so we had to jump in the car, head to South Carolina, and finish moving out the remaining furniture.  One of the pieces of furniture is coming to our apartment and it will go in the dining area.  It is a hutch that my grandfather built, and I am so excited about all the extra storage space it will create.  J.T. and I plan on refinishing it once we move to a house, but for now, I am grateful that I will hold on to a piece of furniture that has been in my family for decades. 

     Throughout the week, I took pictures of a few of the new dishes I made.  Enjoy the photo bomb!

Toasted Coconut Muesli & 

Raisin, Sunflower Seed, and Flax Muesli 

adapted from Whole Grain Mornings 

Smoked Salmon Tart 

adapted from Whole Grain Mornings 

Spinach, Pea, & Brown Rice Frittata 

adapted from Whole Grain Mornings 

Big Cluster Maple Granola 

adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Sunday

• Zoe's Kitchen

Monday

• Butternut Squash Soup
• Pizza Crust Wedges

Tuesday

• Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos 
• Roasted Carrot Coins

Wednesday

• Hummus Sandwiches
• Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday

• Sloppy Joe's on Whole Grain Corn Muffins (new recipe)
• Sauteed Broccoli & Carrots

Friday

• Peanut Butter Waffle Sandwiches
• Eggs

Saturday

• Leftovers

Menu Plan, March 23 - 29 (SPRING BREAK!)

  

     It's Spring Break week!!!  I always thought that I would say goodbye to Spring Break after my last year of college.  Luckily, I became fortunate enough to work for a University that gives students AND employees Spring Break.  Blessed.  Over the course of my week off, I am trying multiple new recipes and restocking our freezer.  Out of the recipes listed below, I plan on quadrupling the burrito recipe and tripling the hot dog recipe.  Plans have also been made to make a large batch of hummus, marinara sauce, strawberry muffins, and tortillas.  I hope the freezer door will shut!  Of course, nothing has been set in stone, so an impromptu trip to Zoe's Kitchen may pop up.  Sunday lunch will consist of just J.T. and me, so we aren't having anything fancy.  I am trying to save a little money to put toward ingredients I need to get ahead with my cooking over the break.

  

   I have been experimenting in the kitchen with different snack bars, but I have yet to find THE recipe.  I love these little snack bars because they are perfectly portioned, making it easier for me to control how much I am eating.  A slightly adapted recipe has been made of both Pumpkin Spice Bars and No-Bake Granola Bars.  So far, I have enjoyed the granola bars more than the pumpkin bars.  

 

     I am happy to report that my knees are much better, so I started back on the treadmill this past Monday.  Since I am taking things slow and trying to strengthen my thigh muscles, I am only walking.  Hopefully I can begin interval running soon.  Over Spring Break I will start Pilates, in hopes that it will also strengthen my legs.  My new running shoes have also helped ease the pain in my knees (Thanks Mama!).

Sunday

• Smoked Salmon Tart with Millet Crust (new recipe from Whole Grain Mornings)
• Green Peas

Monday

• Pinto Beans
• Cornbread

Tuesday

• Spinach, Pea, & Brown Rice Frittata (new recipe from Whole Grain Mornings)
• Sautéed Cabbage

Wednesday

• Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos (new recipe)
• Roasted Plantains

Thursday

• Peanut Butter Waffle Sandwiches
• Eggs

Friday

• Hot Dog Wraps (new recipe)
• Julia's Boston Baked Beans

Saturday

• Leftovers

Menu Plan, March 9 - 15

     I am trying to get back into the blogging groove and maybe, just maybe, it will stick this time around.  We were out of town last weekend, so it was nice to have some time to recharge for the work week ahead.  

     A couple of weeks ago J.T. and I bought a treadmill, which I absolutely love.  I sit at a desk all day at work and have very little physical activity throughout the day.  This was really starting to bother me, not to mention the 5 extra pounds that have crept up on the scale!  I have been dieting and monitoring what I eat very closely, but with hypothyroidism it can be next to impossible to lose weight by diet alone.  In college, I ran two miles every morning before class and I figured if I could do it then, I could do it again now.  Two very successful weeks went by, where I woke up 15 minutes earlier every morning (at 5:00!) and ran one mile on my treadmill (bless our downstairs neighbors).  Everything was going great until a week ago, when my knees really started to hurt.  Since we went out of town last weekend, I took Saturday and Sunday off to rest my knees.  My Monday run was torturous - awful knee pain - not just sore muscles.  On Tuesday, I power walked a mile, but the knee pain was still very bad.  I started researching what I dreaded, runner's knee.  It's a self diagnosis, but I believe that is the culprit.  Too much of a good thing too quick.  I regret not stretching, not taking more off days, and not investing in new tennis shoes before I started my fitness regime.  Never again.  Next time will be different.  I haven't exercised since last Tuesday and I have been taking the elevator when going downstairs, since it is much more painful on the knee when descending.  I am also taking Aleve and icing my knees every 3 hours for 30 minutes, even at work.  Yes, I am the girl with her legs propped up on her computer monitor with an ice pack.  Friday was the first day I didn't want to cry when walking to and from my car.  Small progress steps.  I hope and pray that this will heal quickly.  

    
     This weekend I was on my knees far too long, but I did get a lot accomplished in the kitchen.  I am still working on my butternut squash soup recipe.  As you can see, I made a huge batch this weekend.  There was so much soup that I was able to have a bowl for lunch on Saturday.  Below is the menu plan for the week.  My hope is that it doesn't look like we eat the same thing all the time.  My goal is to try or create one new recipe a week!

Sunday

• Mini Meatloaves
• Vegetable Brown Rice Pilaf
• Roasted Asparagus
• Strawberry Shortcake

Monday

• Butternut Squash Soup
• Stone Ground Pizza Crust Wedges

Tuesday

• Spinach with Chickpeas
• Roasted Carrots

Wednesday

• Hummus Sandwiches
• Roasted Potato Fries

Thursday

• Mini Meatloaves (again...I know, but I have some in the freezer to be eaten)
• Pumpkin Risotto (new recipe from Whole Grain Mornings)

Friday

• Peanut Butter Waffle Sandwiches
• Eggs

Saturday

• Leftovers

Meal Preparation: Grocery Lists

    In a recent job interview, I was asked to describe myself in one word.  Without hesitation I replied “picky.” Throughout my life, my mother has consistently reminded me that I am a very picky individual.  I am picky about clothing, picky about men, and picky about food, just to name a few.  Over the past (almost) year of marriage, I have come to realize just how picky I am about purchasing our groceries and planning our weekly meals.  Honestly folks, I do not believe I can hand the power of the grocery list over to anyone else.  My grocery lists are elaborate and probably a wee bit over the top.  These lists are divided up by category and a price is listed for each item.  If a coupon goes with the item, the coupon is listed along with the price after the coupon discount.  A few days ago I shared my menu plan for last week and the upcoming week. Dinner would be a disaster each night if I did not have my grocery list and menu plan.  These two tools are my secret to getting dinner on the table every night between 6:00 and 6:30.  This plan works but it also takes work.  

    My weekly grocery list is based on two things: items that are on sale and items that we need.  I do not deviate from this list unless the store is out of stock.  If I must have the item, I try to find a substitute of equal price or I simply hold out until the next sale.  My detailed grocery list gets me in and out of the store in about 45 minutes.  This time frame includes checking out with coupons and our trip to and from the store.  It goes to show that being prepared saves time.  Most Saturday’s I have my husband with me to push the buggy and unload at checkout.  While he unloads, I am able to watch the scanner to make sure the prices ring up correct.  

    Speaking of price, most of you know that I have a weekly grocery budget of $60 a week.  This $60 covers every single meal we eat for the entire week.  For our little family of two, it provides us with 42 meals.  To be fair, I will divulge that I place a $50 order with vitacost once a month to restock pantry essentials, which breaks down to an additional $12.50 a week for food.  Even with the vitacost order factored into the equation, we are only spending an average of $1.73 a meal.  Most of the ingredients used in our meals are organic, local, or low pesticide level foods, so $1.73 a meal is a bargain.  

    I exclusively grocery shop at Publix because I love the clean store, the availability of organic products and their generous coupon policy.  We also go the farmer’s market every Saturday to purchase local eggs, beef, and pork.  I wish we could purchase all of our vegetables at the market, but right now it is not financially possible.  Frozen vegetables are a huge bargain over fresh and this keeps me going back to Publix for the majority of our produce.  I have shared before that I utilize southernsavers.com and iheartpublix.com for sale and coupon matchups.  These two websites are indispensable to me in the meal planning process.  I hope the things I have learned and shared are able to help someone else who wants to feed their family real food on a budget.  Below, I have listed my shopping list for this week’s meals.  When menu planning, I try to incorporate as my items as I can which I already have on hand into our meals.  This means nothing goes to waste and we are never overflowing with groceries, but we have enough.  

Meal Preparation: Menu Planning

    Menu planning is a topic that tends to scare most people.  Fast food and frozen dinners have become far too common in our society, because someone was too overwhelmed to sit down and plan a meal.  Since starting the whole 8 to 5 workday regimen, I have found that if I do not have a plan, things go bad.  I literally plan every aspect of our meals, including what needs to be defrosted or prepped the day before, to make dinner happen quickly when I arrive home from work.  My general rule is to stay one day ahead.   For example, I normally do prep work for the next day’s supper while our current supper heats up.  I have about 45 minutes from the time I get home to the time we eat, and we normally eat at 6 O’clock on the dot - because we are old folks like that.

     Typically I plan meals for six days out of our seven day week.  What about that seventh day?  Normally enough leftovers have accumulated throughout the week, so we are able to have a meal from those.  When all else fails, my backup plan is a bowl of cereal for J.T. and a bowl of oatmeal for me.  Don’t judge.  It is better than a drive thru.  For the six days that I do plan meals, I follow a general pattern.  First, I would like to point out that protein comes in various forms.  Eggs, beans and whole grains can be used as a main dish alternative to meat.  We are by no means vegetarian, but reducing our consumption of meat helps us stay within our weekly budget.  This wasn’t a difficult change for J.T. and I. Growing up, my mother served meat at almost every meal, but I would often get choked on the meat.  I believe that is why I always ate very little meat and preferred vegetables and grains.  Before J.T. and I got married he was eating ramen noodles and cereal, with the occasional meal out or Philly cheesesteak sandwich prepared at home.  

    We always start off the week with meatless Monday at our house.  In the winter I prepare more soups and in the summer I serve vegetable plates.  Tuesday is normally roasted chicken, but sometimes we have meatloaf.  A lighter meal is served Wednesday night.  J.T. is the orchestra director at our church and he has rehearsal every Wednesday evening.  We eat a little earlier than usual and J.T. prefers to eat less than he normally would.  Thursday night is another “meat” night.  We either have individual pieces of meat or meat chopped up and incorporated into beans, eggs, or rice.  BFD (breakfast for dinner) is served each Friday night.  It has become a Spann household tradition.  Since the addition of a waffle iron to our kitchen, BFD has become a breeze to prepare.  I make the waffles in advance and freeze them.  On Friday, all I have to do is reheat them in the oven for about 8 minutes while J.T. fries the eggs.  Saturday is our big leftover day.  This is a nice break because I generally spend much of the day prepping for the upcoming week.  I know Sunday is technically the first day of the week, but I normally view it as the last.  Each week, I invite my parents over to eat with us after church and meat is always served at this meal.  Pot roast and chicken piccata are favorites as well as meatloaf or roasted chicken.  This is by far our biggest meal of the week, with dessert served at the end.  Listed below is my meal plan for last week and the upcoming week.  These plans include meals and basic pantry staples (granola, crackers, etc.).  I try to space things out so that I do not have a lot to do in the kitchen on any one particular day.  Also, you will only see dinner menu plans listed.  I always make enough food to serve at least four people.  We pack up the leftovers and take them to work the next day for lunch.  I hope this shows you how to plan meals to be both cost and time effective.  This is a two part blog series.  I will be posting part II, the grocery list, within the upcoming week.  Stay tuned! 

Publix & Farmer’s Market – March 2, 2013

     I survived my first week at the new job, working full-time.  While I would be fibbing if I said it wasn’t a major adjustment (waking up at 5 everyday AND eating lunch without my favorite pooch), it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be.  We both had clean clothes to wear all week, dinner was on the table every night by at least 6:30, and we both had a lunch of hot leftovers for work the next day.  Mission accomplished.  Waking up at 5 o’clock all week made sleeping in on Saturday impossible, so we headed off to Publix and the farmer’s market at 7:45 am.  I was able to get a large majority of meal prep for the week done before lunch time on Saturday.  I am hoping for another smooth week of getting dinner on the table.  Below is a list of my menu plan for the week and you will notice that many items have “(freezer)” listed beside them.  These are things that I am pulling from my freezer, which I either made yesterday or a few weeks ago.  I have recently fallen in love with my tiny freezer and I find it comforting to come home after a long day to find that dinner is practically done.  Many of these recipes will be coming soon to the blog, but for now here is my menu plan for the week:

Sunday

·         Herbs de Provence Chicken

·         Broccoli Rice Risotto

·         Sautéed Cabbage

Monday

·         Easy Pea Soup (premade on Sunday)

·         Whole Grain Corn Muffins (freezer)

Tuesday

·         Roasted Chicken

·         Black Bean Tomato Rice (freezer)

Wednesday

·         Veggie Burgers (freezer)

·         Cornmeal Griddle Cakes (freezer)

·         Roasted Brussels

Thursday

·         Breakfast Casserole Bites (freezer)

·         Stir-fried Broccoli & Carrots

·         leftover whole grain corn muffins

Friday

·         Leftover Breakfast Casserole Bites

·         Waffles (freezer)

Saturday

·         Leftovers

·         Dairy

o   ½ gallon Publix Greenwise Organic milk @ $3.99

o   (1) 8 oz. block Cabot Vermont Cheddar Cheese @ $2.50

o   Silk Almond milk @ $3.35

§  $0.55/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.80

o    Eggs @ $4.00 (farmer’s market)

·         Grocery

o   (1) Publix Greenwise Organic Toasted Oats Cereal @ $3.79

o   (2) Publix Greenwise Organic Oats @ $3.98

o   Publix Greenwise Organic Coffee @ $5.99

o   (1) 15 oz. can Muir Glen Organic fire roasted tomatoes @ $1.34

o   Vlassic Farmer’s Garden pickles @ $2.99

§  $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.99

o   (1) 6 oz. can Muir Glen Organic tomato paste @ $1.09

·         Meat

o   Publix Greenwise skinless chicken thighs @ $2.69/lb. – $11.89

·         Frozen

o    (2) Cascadian Farm broccoli @ $4.98

§  (2) $0.75/1 manufacturer coupons & (1)$2.00/2 Publix coupon - $1.48

o   (2)Birds eye frozen peas @ $1.99

o   (2) Birds eye frozen Brussels sprouts @ $2.45

·         Produce

o   Organic Bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $1.95

o   1 head green cabbage @ $2.15

Total before coupons              $63.33

Less: coupons used                   (5.05)

Total with Tax                        $58.28

Publix – December 7, 2012

   Do you ever wonder what I make with all the food that I buy?  In the past, I have discussed the general menu outline that I follow each week.  In case you missed that post, click here.  A general outline makes planning much easier.  For example, we normally have some form of chicken on Tuesday.  It is much quicker to come up with a chicken recipe, than to look endlessly through an entire cookbook!  In November, we decided to quit eating at Zoe’s Kitchen every Wednesday.  We still love Zoe’s, but missed having a hot meal for supper.  We are saving our “eating out” money and putting it towards Christmas gifts and holiday travel.  We will be eating out tomorrow night, because we will be in Birmingham finishing up our Christmas shopping.  Listed below is my menu plan for the week.  I always plan our meals around what is on sale and what I already have in my pantry and freezer.  Sometimes my plan will change, but 99% of the time I stick to it.  I cook enough food for at least 4 people and we eat the leftovers at lunch the next day. 

Saturday (lunch)

·         Sausage Pizza

·         Sautéed Peas & Onions

Sunday (lunch)

·         Chicken & Rice Casserole from Joy of Cooking

·         Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas & Carrots

·         Leftover Wedding cake (yes, we still have wedding cake in the freezer!)

Monday

·         Corn Chowder from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

·         Whole Grain Popovers

Tuesday

·         Roasted Chicken (olive oil, salt, pepper)

·         Easy Pea Risotto (using brown rice)

Wednesday

·         Hoppin John

·         Honey Mustard Coleslaw from Poor Girl Gourmet (this makes a large amount)

Thursday

·         Sweet Italian Sausage with Apple & Fennel Seed

·         Leftover Honey Mustard Coleslaw from Poor Girl Gourmet

Friday

·         Waffles from Joy of Cooking

·         Fried Eggs cooked by my husband J

 

·         Dairy

o   1 gallon Publix Greenwise Organic Milk @ $5.99

o   ½ gallon Silk almond milk @ $3.39

§  $0.75/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.64

o   1 dozen Publix Greenwise Organic Eggs @ $4.29

·         Grocery

o   (1) Publix Greenwise Organic coffee @ $5.99

o   (1) Publix Greenwise Organic Oats @ $1.99

o   (2) Kashi Strawberry Fields Organic cereal @ $4.00 (on clearance)

§  (2) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.00 (received 1 free because of incorrect pricing)

o   1 lb. Publix Black-eyed Peas @ $1.59

o   (1) 8 oz. can Publix Greenwise Organic Tomato sauce @ $0.79

o   (2) 8 oz. cans Giorgio Organic mushrooms @ $1.90

o   1 lb. Gourmet House Organic Brown rice @ $1.35

o   2 lbs. King Arthur Organic Whole Wheat Flour @ $2.42

o   (1) Vita Coco Coconut Water @ $4.99

§  $1.00/1 Publix coupon - $3.99

·         Meat

o   Publix Greenwise whole chicken @ $1.99 - $8.26

·         Frozen

o   (2) Green Giant Valley Fresh steamers @ $2.59 (sugar snap peas)

§  $1.00/2 manufacturer coupon & (2) $1.00/1 Publix coupon – free

o   (3) Green Giant boxed peas @ $2.97

§  $1.00/3 manufacturer coupon - $1.97

o   (3) Green Giant boxed corn @ $2.97

§  $1.00/3 manufacturer coupon - $1.97

·         Produce

o   Organic Bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $2.48

o   1 green cabbage @ $0.69/lb. - $1.75

o   1 organic Granny Smith apple @ $2.69/lb. - $1.00

o   red potatoes @ $0.99/lb. - $0.91

o   1 lb. Publix Greenwise Organic Carrots @ $1.29/lb.

o   2 lbs. onions @ $1.99

·         Other

o   Rachael Ray Just 6 dog treats @ $2.99

§  $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.99

Total before coupons             $71.54

Less: coupons used                 (14.75)

Total with Tax                       $56.79