THM Menu for December
Merry Christmas, friends! This month's menu is one of my favorites from this year. There are some special recipes here, but many are inexpensive and EASY to help me save money and time this month.
This month's menu is dairy-free, but you can feel free to add dairy to your S meals if you want to. Where a recipe calls for meat or veggies to be sautéed in butter, I just use coconut oil where appropriate.
- Special Note about Day 14: The serving size on this recipe is 4, but I need to feed 7, so I just add two extra chicken breasts and serve a bunch of extra rice for the kids. This is a Trim Healthy Mama “E” recipe, so the rice goes well with it. I do double this as written to freeze the second portion, just adding a little extra chicken.
- As always, please note that my menu planning system includes repeating breakfasts, lunches, and snacks throughout the month for simplicity. That means there are 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and a handful of snacks included on this menu. My kids and I enjoy the routine of knowing that on Monday we will be eating a certain thing for breakfast and a certain thing for lunch – it definitely saves time in the kitchen!
- I've marked a few recipes that I double to freeze the second portion for later in the month. This definitely saves time and energy later in the month as things get busier. 🙂
- Some of the dinners, like the Pan Roasted Chicken, filled us up, but it just might be us – feel free to add a side salad or round out your meals as desired.
- There are several holidays here where there isn't a dinner meal listed because we are having meals with family. I have a Christmas Dinner menu coming soon, though!
- Remember that THM is SO ADAPTABLE! There are more E meals this month because I needed to save money and my body has been responding well to E meals, but you may need to swap out E for S, or switch things up during the week. Don't be afraid to mix up your fuel types and keep your body guessing!
- This menu and the shopping lists that go with it feed my family of 7, but my oldest is 11. If you have bigger kids, or big eaters, you may want to add more protein, rice, and veggies to your shopping list. It doesn't hurt the recipes to add an extra chicken breast or 1/2 lb of ground beef to make a meal stretch, and you can always add extra rice or veggies or salads as side dishes for the kids. If you have a smaller family you may want to make the meals as directed but freeze half (if it's freezable), or just eat the leftovers for lunch.
- If you already need these ingredients and want to help keep WorkingatHomeschool.com running, using my affiliate links here doesn't cost you any extra and definitely helps me out! This is where I buy the following: Jay Robb Egg White Protein Powder, Just Like Brown Sugar
I am always striving to make things easier for you, so I made more changes based on your feedback! I hope this is easier and more helpful!
This month, December's menu pack includes 1 clickable PDF with notes to make the meals THM-friendly and links to recipes! You can download the menu here:
December Printable Menu for THM…and sign up below for free printable shopping lists to go with this menu.
Helpful THM-Christmas Posts:
I have a full day of Christmas Meals here, an elegant, simple Christmas Dinner Menu here, and a list of cozy Christmas Breakfast Ideas here if you need some ideas!
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I love your meal plans, but would like to “own them” by being able to change the meals to fit our family. Do you have a blank or “editable” version that could be used as a master? I’ve looked at lots of different versions, and yours is the closest to what I prefer to use.
Thanks,
Nicole
Hi Nicole! This particular format for the December menu is new to me so I don’t have an editable version for this one. But if you want one, I’ll make one! It might take me a few weeks but I’ll put one together. In the meantime, I have some other meal planning worksheet printables…it’s not exactly what you’re asking for but it might help.
https://thewellplannedkitchen.com/2015/08/07/meal-planning-made-easy-works-for-trim-healthy-mama
https://thewellplannedkitchen.com/2014/12/31/get-organized-part-2
I need easy meals n know whats s e fp meals. I don’t want to spend a lot. When I get home I am toooooo tired to cook meals. HELP!
Hi Marie! The meal types (S, E, FP) are next to the meals listed on the menu, if you want to check those out. I’ve also got this post of quick and easy meals and also two posts of $7 dinners part I and part II). I hope those help!
can someone please tell me how many people the shopping list is intended to feed! Thanks in advance
These meals feed my family of 7. I have suggestions for cutting them down for a smaller family or bulking them up for a bigger family in the post. I hope that helps!
HI, I’m also a Home School Mom of 4 kiddos, and just started the Trim Healthy Mama. I really would to start blogging about eating healthy, Homeschool tips and just life in general. I’m not sure how to get started? Please could you give me some helpful advice? thanks so much,
Thanks,
Kim Quiring
Hi Kim! I’m not a blogging expert by any means, but I can recommend that you get started with WordPress.
I have been using your meal plan for the last week and I’ve really enjoyed it! I only have 3 in my home so I just cut all of the recipes in half and it’s great for us. You put so much work into the meal plan and I thank you!
That’s so great, thanks for letting me know! I have people ask frequently about cutting it down for a smaller family so that’s very useful information. 🙂
Hi Jen. Merry Christmas.
I am enjoying your menu and shopping list! Thank you so much for all of your work! Quick question, though, the Mexican Lime Chipotle Soup for Dec. 27 calls for chicken thighs, but is labeled and E meal … I thought chicken thighs were automatically an S? Is there a reason you can count it as an E that I am missing? … just reviewing things and see that possibly you have a typo on the page formatted like a calendar — There’s an E next to the meal. But on your Menu List the meal is listed as an S meal.
file:///C:/Users/House/Documents/Kristy/Recipes%20and%20Menu%20Planning/Trim%20Healthy%20Menu/December-THM-Menu.pdf
I hope this is helpful. I think what you are doing is amazing and I am going to keep using your menus! Thank you so much!
Kristy
I’m so glad you found it useful! Thanks!
Hi!
Thank you for these menus! I just found your website and I’m so excited.
I’m just wondering- how much (about) do you spend on groceries per week/month?
Thanks, Anna
I spend about $900 for our family of 7. All gluten-free and lots of organic, so I know others could do it cheaper than I could!
The doc with your notes is not working.
My bad! It didn’t work on my ipad but it worked on my desktop. Life is good now. Thanks for sharing this! We just got back from a long trip and I need to find my brain!
I love your meal plans! On your Go-To Pantry Meals printable, I had a question about the black bean soup. Is the pre-mixed seasoning packet the same from the Santa Fe Quinoa? Also, how much quinoa do you use in the Santa Fe Quinoa? Thank you!
Hi Missy, thanks! It can be the same, or you can buy pre-mixed black bean soup packets. I usually make about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dry quinoa per person, so for us it ends up being at least 2 cups of dry quinoa. I hope that helps!
I’m SO excited that you did a dairy free menu! I too am nursing a little one with sensitivities. I’ve found it hard to jump back in the band wagon, but I think this is the push I need. Thank you!!
Yay, Corinne, I’m so glad it’s helpful to you! My March Menu was also dairy-free, if you need more ideas! https://thewellplannedkitchen.com/2016/02/29/march-menu-thm-gf-w-dairy-free-options
I love what your doing and it inspires me to want to do more. I am brand new to this and look forward to using your meal plans and more.
Hi Chantelle! Thanks so much for your encouraging words! I hope this menu is helpful to you – please let me know if I can answer any questions!
Thanks Chantelle! Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you!
You are one AMAZING lady, and so incredibly organized! You are an inspiration for me! I have tried to start THM so many times, but it becomes so overwhelming that i cannot follow through! You have inspired me to start THM now! I cant believe you have done all the work to make this actually doable! So thank you, thank you. thank you!
Hi Jeni! Thank you so much for the kind words! I’m really excited to hear that some of my resources are helpful for you! Please let me know if you have any questions or need any help!