our menu.

Oh my goodness! I have gotten so many emails the past few days about my menu planning! Emails begging me to spell it out, day by day, thought by thought, meal by meal. So, I'm here to tell you, I've got you all covered! I'm here to explain everything I possible can, and after this novel of a post, you still have questions- please ask away!

So let me first start out by saying that this does take time, but I've found that once I've done it for a month or so, and have stuck to what I set out to do, it gets so much easier [I promise!], and you are going to figure out what works for you and your family, so don't get overwhelmed!

Disclaimer: We eat chicken...alot.

We eat wraps/ tortillas a lot.

Our Menu

Monday: Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta via rachelcooks

[Hudson will be able to eat this throughout the week for lunches or dinners]

Tuesday: Skinny Enchiladas via eat-yourself-skinny

Wednesday: Chicken and Pineapple Jamaican Jerk Wraps.

[chopped chicken, canned cubed pineapple, jamaican jerk seasoning, tortillas]

I will use the leftover chopped chicken from Tuesday]

Thursday: Healthy Spinach Lasagna Rolls the-girl-who-ate-everything

[I will use the leftover spinach from Tuesday night]

Friday:  Beef and Chicken Fajitas [on the back of the mccormicks mix]

[beef or chicken, peppers, pineapple, onions, mccormicks fajita dressing mix, light sour cream]

[I will use the leftover chopped chicken and pineapple from Wednesday]

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Leftovers

Monday: Tomato Basil Mozzarella Pizza via davidlebovitz

Tuesday: Kabob Packs via bettycrocker

[chicken, pineapple, peppers, onions]

[I will use the left over pineapple from last Wednesday,

chopped chicken, onions, & peppers from last Friday]

Wednesday: Spaghetti and Homemade Meatballs via jennysteffens

[I will use the leftover sauce from Monday]

Thursday:  Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Melted Mozzarella via skinnytaste

[I will use the leftover mozzarella from Monday]

Friday: Breakfast for dinner

[we don't do this very often, but it will work perfectly for

NO leftovers since we will be traveling.

Saturday: Traveling

[I've budgeted and bought items for our  l o n g  road trip]

Sunday: Traveling

Snacks/Sides:

Asparagus with Feta via onceuponachef

Gluten Free Cloud Bread via food

Apple Chips: via delightedmomma

Summer Fruit Salad via realmomkitchen

Once I have all the meals scheduled, I then make my master grocery list.
We obviously have our staple items like milk, eggs, fruit, veggies, bread, etc. but otherwise, believe it or not, all of the above items, for my family of three, usually- if not always, comes under $200.
I do make 3 trips, to 3 different stores to get all of my items [walmart, king soopers, sams club] but if you do the quick math, we usually get all of our groceries for around $400 a month.

-I have a green smoothie almost every morning, so I plan accordingly with fruit and spinach.

-Having leftovers on the weekends, works the best for us. We have always done it and don't plan on stopping!
-I won't lie. There may be a day or two where things just got crazy and I didnt' have time make the dinner I had planned. We always have a backup, like grilling some chicken, or "on your own night"-yes, this does happen! And, I promise, cereal never hurt anyone for dinner!

- We always have a fruit, vegetable or a salad for a side so we stock up!
-When in comes to veggies, I will sometimes freeze what I can so it doesn't go bad, but usually, if it's packaged and stored right, it will stay for the whole 2 weeks. [go here  if you need help with freezing food!]

-We rarely ever eat out. Planning two weeks in advance eliminates the desire and need to eat out. This is obviously saving us money every single month too.

- We only have dessert once-twice a month.

Okay, so I think I covered the basics of my meal planning.
Remember, this works for my family, it may not work for yours. You may only have time to cook 2-3 nights out of the week- but you can still meal plan so you aren't wasting time running to the store 4 times a week! Again, don't get overwhelmed!

Questions or comments?
Don't hesitate to ask!

happy meal planning!

Also, do yourself a favor and jump on over to
for love of a cupcake for some
motivate me monday...
Why? Because I'm guest posting today, and that blog is simply amazing...that's why!