Gluten-Free Fridays: Meal Planning

Meal Planning:

This particular subject has less to do with being gluten-free and more to do with how 

I budget.

Meal planning helps me stay within my grocery budget.

It also helps with making sure I am "shopping" my pantry and using things up,

instead of buying things I don't need.

So first things first:

For Breakfast and Lunch, I have a menu that really doesn't change too much

unless it is neccesary.

Breakfast Menu Looks Like This:

Sunday- Oatmeal

Monday- Eggs

Tuesday- Oatmeal

Wednesday- Smoothies

Thursday- Pancakes

Friday- Eggs

Saturday- GF Cereal

Lunch Menu Looks Like This:

Monday: Homemade Ramon

Tuesday: Tomato Soup

Wednesday: GF Mac N Cheese

Thursday Leftovers

Friday: Meat, Cheese, Nuts Smorgasborg

These menus get changed up every couple months as the seasons change.

In the summer we tend to do more salads and cold things for lunch.

When it comes to my dinner menus, it's a little more involved and I make it out every 2.5-3 weeks.

Here are the steps I take:

1. I go through my pantry, cupboards and freezer to see what I have.

2. I figure out what recipes will use what I have.

 I look through my recipe box for tried and true recipes.

3. I also get on Super Cook and see what interesting recipes I could try.

4. I get out a piece of paper and my calendar.

5. I then look at my calendar for the period I am making my menu and decide

what dinners would work best on which night.

(For instance, I prefer having a crockpot meal on Wednesday nights because that is easier

for heading to church afterwards. Rather than GF pizza that takes some prep time,)

6. Then I make out my menu. It looks something like this: 

Yes, I have my menu in a nice frame on the kitchen wall!

If you can read it, you will notice that there are a couple question marks. 

On those nights, we typically do whatever comes to mind, breakfast-for-dinner or

what my family calls "Fend For Yourself" which is their absolute favorite.

They are free to raid the pantry and frig to see what they can come up with.

I also put the date and day of the week on my menus. 

The date is more for me to keep track as I am writing out the menu,

the days of the week make it easy for the kids to quickly see what is on the menu for the night.

And there you have it, how I meal plan or make a menu!

Until next time...

Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!

Heidi

Numbers 6:24-26