Menu complete!

Here I am Saturday night and finally getting to this that I had hoped to do Wednesday. Yes, that is the story of my life right now. My to do lists are always too long to actually accomplish in one day. But, I will keep on trekking. As I trod along, I try to establish routines. At one point, I had it down pretty well.....and then I found out I was pregnant and then when he was 5 months old we moved to the country. I haven't reestablished my schedule yet, but am making positive progress in the last 2 weeks. :-) Yes, this makes me happy, very very happy!!!

One area that certainly helps me is to make a menu.  Preparing meals is my least favorite task in homemaking.  I like to nourish my family and I really don't mind the cooking part usually.  However, the figuring out WHAT to make and then going to the store to get it all is NOT my favorite.  On top of that, trying to make healthy, whole food choices and stay on a tight food budget adds to the stress of it.   It is something that is very rewarding though, IF my kids eat it without bargaining, whining or complaining, which doesn't always occur.

I am including here my menu for one week, although I do try to do a menu for at least 3 weeks if not 5.  I allow myself some wiggle room on this.  Keep in mind that most weeks we eat at church for the fellowship dinner and on we have a Sunday Standard.  Sunday mornings, I try to have something that is easy to eat in the car since we have a 45 minute drive to church.  We usually have sandwiches of some kind for lunch and then for dinner we just snack.  I try to make smoothies, popcorn, fruit, or sometimes chips and dip.  It is a day of rest, right.  :-)  The other thing is that I do not claim in anyway to be a super mom.  There are many days that we have PBJ's for lunch and I am okay with that.  I also come up with 2 snacks per day so that I make sure I buy stuff for that.  These menus are not totally complete.....I have to wing it sometimes with sides and fillers. 

I am including one weeks worth of menu here with links to the recipes for many items at AllRecipes.com.  I love that site!   Keep in mind too that I try new recipes a lot to add to our repertoire.  Not all of these recipes I have tried......there is usually at least one new one.  I will note new recipes with an * and will write a review at a later date.

MENU 1

Day 1  ____________________

Breakfast:  Cereal (MultiGrain Cheerios/Kashi Autumn Wheat)

Snack:  1  Fruit

        Lunch:  Lunchmeat, cheese and crackers

Snack 2:  Animal Crackers

Dinner:  Cheesy Spinach Casserole

Day 2 ___________________

Breakfast:  Breakfast Rounds

Snack 1:  Graham Crackers

Lunch:   PBJ sandwiches or lunchmeat and cheese

Snack 2:  Fruit

Dinner:  Pepperoni Pizza

Day 3 _________________

Breakfast:  Butterscotch Breakfast Ring Yogurt Fruit Smoothie

Snack 1:  Goldfish crackers

Lunch:  Hot Dogs

Snack 2:  Fruit

Dinner:  Slow Cooker Turkey, Sweet Potato Casserole,

Day 4 _______________

Breakfast:  French Breakfast Puffs Tropical fruit smoothie

Snack 1:  Granola/trail mix

Lunch:  Sandwiches

Snack 2:  Fruit

Dinner:  Quesadillas

Day 5 ______________

Breakfast:  cereal

Snack 1:  Animal Crackers

Lunch:  Tuna Salad with crackers and cheese

Snack 2:  Fruit

Dinner:  Grilled Cheese & Tomato soup

Day 6 _______________

        Breakfast:  Breakfast Crisp

        Snack 1:  Graham Crackers

Lunch:  Smoothies

Snack 2:  Fruit 

Dinner:  Breakfast Casserole w/ Choc milk

Day 7 ________________

        Breakfast:  Pancakes

        Snack 1:  Rice Cakes

        Lunch:  PBJ and Chips

        Snack 2:  Fruit

        Dinner:  Smoothies, Popcorn, Apples & cheese 

Enjoy!  Oh, and have a WONDERFULLY HAPPY & BLESSED MOTHER's Day!