Before Rowan was born, Matthew and I were both working, and dinner was whatever we felt like throwing together that night. Since we never planned our meals out, we rarely had everything that we needed. That meant that we would often have to run to the store which was conveniently down the road, for an ingredient or two. Since we were going when we were hungry and tired, inevitably we would come home with more than what we went for, usually lots of snacky stuff we didn't need. When I got pregnant, and we began to think about me quitting my job and staying home full time, we started taking a look at our finances. We decided to keep all our receipts for a month and see where our money was going, and what we could cut back on. When the end of the month came, and we tallied all our receipts for groceries, coffee in the morning on the way to work, and eating out. We were shocked when we saw the total for food was well over $800 a month! That was for a family of 3, and before we ate organic and natural foods. I don't know what we spent it all on, but we decided we had to make some changes and get our grocery bill down.
That brought us to making a monthly menu. We have been doing it for about 4 years now, and its been such an invaluable tool for us. I don't ever stand around the kitchen at 5:00 wondering what I am going to make for dinner, and I know we have saved money by not going to the grocery store every couple of days. There are days when something comes up and we cant stick to our menu, and there are times when we switch things around because what we are having on Wednesday sounds better than what was scheduled for Tuesday. But for the most part we stick to it, and have what we are supposed to have on certain days. I usually go grocery shopping at the beginning of the week, so I try to plan dinners that use fresh ingredients early in the week, and dinners that don't need fresh items for the last part of the week and the weekends. I also take into account the days that Matthew works late, and wont be home for dinner - the kids and I throw together something simple and fast those nights. I keep all my old menu's, and look back on them for ideas for the current month. We are also trying a lot of new dishes, so I try to incorporate a mix of old and new recipes. When I am making my grocery list for the week, I sit down with the menu and figure out what we have, and what we will need for that weeks dinners, and then add in things for lunch and breakfast, and restock our fruits and veggies for snacking. When I am making the menu, I try to list the ingredients that I need for some recipes so I don't forget them (like the gyros on the 3rd). It makes everything so simple, I cant imagine going back to the days before we did this!
Here is this months menu (you can click on it to make it bigger). Usually I would start with the 1st, but I got really sick Sunday night, and didn't get around to making a menu until Tuesday :)
February 3rd: Chicken gyros
4th: French toast with Chicken and apple breakfast sausages
5th: Chipolte bean burritos
6th: Turkey burgers with homemade fries and home canned applesauce
7th: Chicken breasts with apple and parsnip mash and a veggie (usually frozen peas, broccoli or corn)
8th: Free Night!! My once a month get out of the kitchen free pass ;)
9th: Chicken and dumplings
10th: Eggs with hash browns and fruit
11th: Spaghetti with ground turkey marinara sauce, and french bread
12th: BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches with home canned peaches
13th: Chipolte chicken and rice
14th: Steak w/ salad and baked potatoes and molten chocolate fudge cakes for dessert (we very rarely have desserts after dinner, but its a special occasion being Valentines day)
15th: Cheese quesadilla's with fruit
16th: Lemon grilled chicken and bulgur w/dried cranberries and a veggie
17th: Romaine caesar salad with homemade bread sticks
18th: Peppercorn pork with dijon-cider sauce and apple barley salad
19th: Stir fry with rice and veggies
20th: Gryos with veggies
21st: Taco's
22nd: Grilled cheese with home canned applesauce
23rd: Chicken breasts with herbed orzo and a veggie
24th: Slow cooker pork stew
25th: Turkey burgers
26th: Cheese steak sliders on homemade rolls with a veggie
27th: Sandwiches with fruit
28th: Spaghetti with turkey marinara sauce and french bread
That brought us to making a monthly menu. We have been doing it for about 4 years now, and its been such an invaluable tool for us. I don't ever stand around the kitchen at 5:00 wondering what I am going to make for dinner, and I know we have saved money by not going to the grocery store every couple of days. There are days when something comes up and we cant stick to our menu, and there are times when we switch things around because what we are having on Wednesday sounds better than what was scheduled for Tuesday. But for the most part we stick to it, and have what we are supposed to have on certain days. I usually go grocery shopping at the beginning of the week, so I try to plan dinners that use fresh ingredients early in the week, and dinners that don't need fresh items for the last part of the week and the weekends. I also take into account the days that Matthew works late, and wont be home for dinner - the kids and I throw together something simple and fast those nights. I keep all my old menu's, and look back on them for ideas for the current month. We are also trying a lot of new dishes, so I try to incorporate a mix of old and new recipes. When I am making my grocery list for the week, I sit down with the menu and figure out what we have, and what we will need for that weeks dinners, and then add in things for lunch and breakfast, and restock our fruits and veggies for snacking. When I am making the menu, I try to list the ingredients that I need for some recipes so I don't forget them (like the gyros on the 3rd). It makes everything so simple, I cant imagine going back to the days before we did this!
Here is this months menu (you can click on it to make it bigger). Usually I would start with the 1st, but I got really sick Sunday night, and didn't get around to making a menu until Tuesday :)
February 3rd: Chicken gyros
4th: French toast with Chicken and apple breakfast sausages
5th: Chipolte bean burritos
6th: Turkey burgers with homemade fries and home canned applesauce
7th: Chicken breasts with apple and parsnip mash and a veggie (usually frozen peas, broccoli or corn)
8th: Free Night!! My once a month get out of the kitchen free pass ;)
9th: Chicken and dumplings
10th: Eggs with hash browns and fruit
11th: Spaghetti with ground turkey marinara sauce, and french bread
12th: BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches with home canned peaches
13th: Chipolte chicken and rice
14th: Steak w/ salad and baked potatoes and molten chocolate fudge cakes for dessert (we very rarely have desserts after dinner, but its a special occasion being Valentines day)
15th: Cheese quesadilla's with fruit
16th: Lemon grilled chicken and bulgur w/dried cranberries and a veggie
17th: Romaine caesar salad with homemade bread sticks
18th: Peppercorn pork with dijon-cider sauce and apple barley salad
19th: Stir fry with rice and veggies
20th: Gryos with veggies
21st: Taco's
22nd: Grilled cheese with home canned applesauce
23rd: Chicken breasts with herbed orzo and a veggie
24th: Slow cooker pork stew
25th: Turkey burgers
26th: Cheese steak sliders on homemade rolls with a veggie
27th: Sandwiches with fruit
28th: Spaghetti with turkey marinara sauce and french bread