Part 2 – Every Mom’s Guide to Getting Organized with Meal Planning
Last week we talked about getting organized in the New Year. I shared what my weekly schedule looks like:
(Update: If you missed it, here's a link to Part 1, and Part 3 is available now! Free printables, Trim Healthy Mama menus, and more!)
In Part I, I talked about how Large Family Logistics suggests one task for each day of the week. So as you can see in the graphic above:
Monday – Laundry Day
Tuesday – Office Day
Wednesday – Errand Day
Thursday – Kitchen Day
Friday – Cleaning Day
Saturday/Sunday – easy days
Remember, at the end of this series I'll be giving away a FREE ERIN CONDREN LIFE PLANNER! So stick with me as we get organized, then you'll have a chance to win the ultimate organizing tool!(Giveaway is now closed)
Monday (Laundry Day) is pretty self-explanatory (although I do have a few details in Part I), and there are lots of tips and recommendations in Large Family Logistics if you can find a copy! This week's free printables relate to Office Day, AND Kitchen Day. In our house, Tuesday is Office Day, where I create our meal plan and shopping lists, pay bills, file papers, and sort mail. Like I explained previously, our meal planning is done on Tuesday (office day) so that I'm ready to shop on Wednesday (errand day) and prep food on Thursday (kitchen day). But you can arrange your week in whatever manner works for you.
I've made some free printables to make your meal planning easier. Please stick with me, because when we get to Kitchen Day I have a bunch of Trim Healthy Mama Freezer Meals and other THM food prep tips to share!
Here is a free printable blank template to create your own THM menu (Keep reading for an already filled-in 2 week THM menu):
If you need new ideas for meals, here are some of my favorites:
31 Day THM Menu with Printable Shopping List
31 Day THM Menu with Printable Shopping List (Part 2)
Now if you're not into meal planning, or you've already used some of the menus and ideas listed above, here is a BRAND NEW 2 week THM menu! This menu and shopping list feed my family of 6, but if you have big eaters you may want add more meat. I also often serve brown rice as a side for the kids when I'm eating an (S) meal, so you may want to do the same. When you download the menu, please make sure to keep reading below for special instructions and links to all of the recipes:
Click here for a new free printable two-week Trim Healthy Mama menu for meal ideas (keep reading to the end for the printable shopping list that goes with this menu):
Here is a list of the recipes with suggestions from the 2 Week Menu:
Sunday:
B- Scrambled eggs (S) (I add a tablespoon of cottage cheese for extra creamy eggs with more protein)
L- leftovers
Week 1 Sunday Dinner: Dreamfields pasta OR spaghetti squash (for a GF option), with Tomato Cream Sauce (I omit the sugar and it's still amazing). ADD PROTEIN PLEASE! If you're following the THM plan, you'll want to add some leftovers to this – ground beef, shredded chicken, turkey, or whatever you have on hand. (S)
Week 2 Sunday Dinner: Dreamfields pasta OR spaghetti squash (for a GF option), with Alfredo Sauce. ADD PROTEIN PLEASE! If you're following the THM plan, you'll want to add some leftovers to this – ground beef, shredded chicken, turkey, or whatever you have on hand. (S)
Monday:
B- Muffin in a Mug (S) – This is the recipe for frosted cinnamon MIM, but there are tons of options on Pinterest and in the THM book to choose from!
L- lean turkey on sprouted bread (E) or in a lettuce wrap for a GF option (FP)
Sn – Cucumbers w/ ranch and a handful of almonds
Week 1 Monday Dinner: Low Carb Chili (S) I do NOT recommend their soy bean suggestion. Instead, since this recipe makes 10 cups of chili, you can throw in one can of beans and have few enough beans to that it will keep it an S.
Week 2 Monday Dinner: Easy Crockpot Chicken with buttered veggies (green beans, Brussel sprouts, whatever you'd like to buy!) (S)
Tuesday:
B- Trim Healthy Pancakes (E) (from THM Book) – we love these with fat free Greek yogurt (I add a pinch of pure stevia to sweeten it) and some Polaner all-fiber fruit jelly or fruit.
L- Chef Salad (S) You should have all of the ingredients on the shopping list for this version, but if you have favorite additions you can add them to the list.
Sn – Fat Stripping Frappa from THM book (If you don't have glucomannan, you can substitute xantham gum)
Week 1 Tuesday Dinner: Chicken Tacos w/ Cafe Rio Crockpot Chicken
Week 2 Tuesday Dinner: Taco Stack-Ups – Family Recipe – 1-2 lbs ground beef browned with taco seasoning and one 6 oz can of tomato sauce (don't skip the tomato sauce! It makes it especially good!). Use this as your base, and layer lettuce, cheese, avocado, sliced black olives, sour cream, and other favorite taco toppings to make a delicious “Taco Stack Up.”
Wednesday:
B- Scrambled eggs with cheese
L- Just Like Campbell's Tomato Soup (from THM Book) + extra protein side (Greek yogurt with berries, Fat Stripping Frappa, etc.)
Sn – Almonds and String Cheese
Week 1 Wednesday Dinner: on-plan sausages and salad or veggies
Week 2 Wednesday Dinner: Store-bought rotisserie chicken (eat dark meat, save white for tomorrow) and veggies or salad. I like to serve brown rice for the kids to fill up on, too.
Thursday:
B- My Favorite Peanut Butter Blizzard
L- Asian Chicken Salad 3 Ways (check recipe link for specific ingredients)
Sn – Cottage Cheese Toast (E) or Cottage cheese and fruit (E, depending on the fruit) for a GF option
**Thursday afternoon I prepare snacks for the week. This week I'm making THM Chocolate Chews to snack on.
Week 1 Thursday Dinner: Pot roast with veggies of choice
Week 2 Thursday Dinner: Quinoa with leftover white chicken meat from yesterday. Our basic recipe is to cook the quinoa according to package directions, then add shredded chicken, a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, finely chopped carrots, cucumbers, and green onions, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
**After dinner Thursday nights I prepare overnight oats for breakfast on Fridays.
Friday:
B- Overnight Oats (E)
L- Dinner Leftovers
Sn – THM chocolate chews (this was in the last official THM eZine. If you didn't snag it, try searching online. Bloggers aren't legally allowed to share it but I will post a link from the official THM source as soon as it's available!)
Week 1 Friday Dinner: Low Carb Zuppa Toscano Soup (S) ( I use chicken broth instead of chicken bouillon and water) – save the other 1/2 pound of bacon for breakfast on Saturday.
Week 2 Friday Dinner: Low Carb Taco Soup (S)
Saturday:
B- Eggs and Bacon (S)
L – Joseph's pita pizza (S) (from THM book)
Week 1 Saturday Dinner: Crockpot Rice and Beans (E)
Week 2 Saturday Dinner: Crockpot Carnitas (S) (I substitute olive oil for vegetable oil)
You'll notice that I use the same meals for breakfasts and lunches in both week. Rotating my breakfast and lunch menu helps me save money and keeps life simple! This is an easy way to simplify meal planning, and I highly recommend it.
Below is the shopping list for the menu. It's 2 pages long, but please note that many items are optional, and you likely already have many of the staples. To save money on this meal plan, I would skip the “optional” items, and shop your pantry first to see what you have on hand before you shop.
Click here for the shopping list to go with these two weeks of THM meals:
I hope this is helpful, and that you enjoy it! I'm looking forward to upcoming posts, where we'll talk about organizing freezer cooking (the easy way), figuring out the most efficient way for you to run errands, and more organization tips!
Linked up at Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015
I found this menu very helpful… except I’m having a little trouble… for one, there was nothing on the grocery list about buying pork for the “Crockpot Carnitas”.
Also, I bought a bag of shredded cabbage and I have not figured out where it was supposed to fit in the menu plan. I can’t find a recipe it was supposed to be in and I’m not sure if you meant for us to just eat it as a side vegetable or what? 🙂 Thanks.
Oh – Asian Chicken Salad for the cabbage. Forgot that one! Some days I wasn’t able to follow the plan completely so I was trying to figure out what I’d missed. Ha!
I think the crockpot carnitas is on a different menu. The cabbage is for the Asian salad, but the pork will be listed in the shopping list attached to the menu for the carnitas.
I just recently sratted teaching Sunday school for 3rd graders at my church. I’ve never taught kids let a lone a class before and don’t really have the patience for them, but it felt like I had a calling to do it. Anyways, I managed to stumble upon this page and just want to let you know this has been a great help to me. I appreciate the work you put into this to help us. God bless!
On the 2 week menu, the Monday breakfast of the muffin in a mug (the frosted Cinnamon MIM) the link is broken. Any chance you could give a new link or the recipe please? TIA