Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 - Week 50

Welcome back meal planners and happy Monday! I can't believe there are only three weeks left in the year! What a great year it's been! Let's give ourselves a pat ont he back for getting dinner on the table more nights than we didn't, right?

My plan is to continue with weekly meal plan posts here on the blog in 2018. I will probably skip the week of Christmas, as we barely get our of our pajamas that week, and eat all sorts of junk and stuff! But I will have posts up on Monday the 18th and even Monday the 1st, so I hope you will check them out.

If you have any suggestions for the upcoming year, I'd love to hear them! While this post is to maintain my own sanity, it's also for you. So if there is a way to help it serve you better, I'm all ears! I also plan to create more lifestyle-centered content on the blog again. So keep your eye out for posts about wellness, parenting, fashion and life in general - all written to help you solve a problem, or improve your own processes just a little. Is there something specific you'd like me to write about? Leave a comment or tag me on the Facebook Page. My email is also up there in the upper right corner. I love to hear from readers!

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 49

Happy Monday meal planners, I hope you had a lovely weekend! We are getting our house (both inside and out) ready for the upcoming holiday. The year is really winding down now. I always feel like there's a subtle shift right about now, and everything moves just a little bit faster.

With that shift, I'm finding meal planning to be a real challenge as we have lots of extra things going on, and we want to take advantage of last minute holiday ideas as well. So I am trying to give myself grace in the meal planning department, and go with the flow. We have a few fall-back items like soup and sandwiches or breakfast for dinner if I fall short one night.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 48

Happy Monday and welcome back meal planners! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving (if you're from the US) last week. I took lat week off from posting my weekly meal plan, I'm so sorry I didn't post a warning, but thank you for coming back.

If you're new around here, each week, I post the real meals that I plan to make for my family of four for that week. I stick to mostly whole and real ingredients, limiting boxes, bags and pre-made things. My boys are somewhat picky, but I truly try to serve one meal. They are welcome to eat anything else we have around that is ALREADY MADE.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 46

Welcome meal planners! Another Monday has rolled around and we are less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving. We are fortunate in that my mom still makes a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and we bring a dessert or two and show up. Truthfully, it's my favorite holiday and time to spend with my immediate and extended family.

But in the meantime, I need to feed the family that lives here with me, and it's getting to be a challenge. Last week, I determined that were falling into the habit of eating out two to three times each weekend. Dirty secret - I LOVE to eat out. I love not thinking about a meal, ordering exactly what I'm in the mood for, having it brought to me, and cleaned up when I'm finished. Life doesn't get much better than that - does it?

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 45

Happy Monday meal planners . . . are you fan of "falling back" and the switch back to standard time? I love the first day, but the second day, which is also a Monday, is a bit tougher. I do love this time of year though, the feelings of family togetherness, snuggling in for a cozy evening at home.

Of course it also means school plays, holiday get togethers, shopping, visiting relatives and all the trappings of the holiday season. No matter what you celebrate, having a meal plan process in place can help alleviate your stress. Taking a few moments to think about how many nights you need to feed your family this week and what you need to do it, can free up your mind (and wallet) for other things.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 44

Happy Monday meal planners! It's a chilly, dreary Monday morning around here, so I'm having a rare second cup of coffee while sharing my weekly meal plan ideas with you today. I hope you had a fabulous pre-Halloween weekend. We finally picked up a carving pumpkin this weekend, thank heavens they had a few left!

This is a pretty busy week for all of us around here. Between regular before and after school activities, we have Trick or Treating on Tuesday and Homecoming got moved to this Friday, from last week. In addition, we are celebrating a special milestone with some fabulous friends on Saturday.  John is still super busy with his top-secret work project, and I never know when he'll be home for dinner.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 43

Some Mondays roll around quicker than others, don't they? Well I am certainly glad to have you back here today for another weekly meal plan. If this is your first visit, welcome! If you are a returning reader, thank you so much and I hope you find something inspiring today! 

Speaking of inspiration . . .where do you get most of your meal planning inspiration these days? I have always loved cookbooks, and browsing through them . . .but I don't actually do that much anymore. Most of my inspiration comes from the internet - Pinterest and Facebook currently. I do use the food magazine that my local grocery puts out, as well as a couple magazines that I still subscribe to. 

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 42

Here we are, another Monday. Did you take some time out this weekend to plan for your meals this week? Just a little time and thought, can save you a ton of aggravation, time and money later.

I used to get so stressed out about what we were having for dinner: did I have everything I needed? So many nights I just threw in the towel and we ordered take out. Easier, yes. But it was also not very healthy and it was expensive! For the past couple years, I have stuck with weekly meal planning, and sharing my ideas and plan here with you. I hope that it not oonly holds me accountable, but gives you some inspiration!

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 41

Have you crossed off meal planning from your to-do list yet this week? I love having this done and out of the way by Monday morning, even if I don't always love pulling it together on Sunday night.  Love it or hate it, it remains the best way I've found to save both time and money, while having my family eat rather healthy, fulfilling meals. 

It has been simply crazy around here so far this fall, but I believe this is the last week of "stuff". We have one more family birthday, an anniversary, a big work project for my husband finally coming to a close and a date for the car with the mechanic. I hope that some pleasant fall weather comes with our easier schedule next week, because it has felt much more like summer than fall around here, and quite frankly it is making me very cranky.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 40

Happy Monday meal planners! If you are new here, welcome and I hope you find something that inspires you in the daily grind of planning and preparing meals for your family. If you are a faithful follower, thank you for being here and welcome back!

Fall is in full swing around here, and we are busy with a family getaway, birthdays and general fall fun!  The weather seems to have finally cooled off a bit and I for one, and quite happy about it! What is your favorite fall activity? 

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 39

Happy Monday meal planners! If you are new here, welcome and I hope you find something that inspire you in the daily grind of planning and preparing meals for your family. If you are a faithful follower, thank you for being here and welcome back!

How is everyone's fall so far? The temperatures have SOARED back up to almost 90 degrees, so while I was fall-ing up my porch this pat weekend, I was sweating buckets!  I just want those nice cool crisp days of fall to get here! Who's with me? This week will be on the warm side, and we are super busy with activities and a BIG birthday around here, so our weekly menu is pretty simple this week.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 38

Happy Monday meal planners! If you are new here, welcome and I hope you find something that inspire you in the daily grind of planning and preparing meals for your family. If you are a faithful follower, thank you for being here and welcome back!

We have had a bout of summer-like weather around here as summer officially draws to a close, and it's made me not feel like cooking much. If you notice, I have two carry-overs from last week. That's the thing with meal planning, sometimes, things come up and that's okay. Because you have a plan, you're prepared. I simply shifted those things over and designed tonight's menu to use up some leftovers sitting in the the fridge.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 37

Happy Monday meal planners! If you are new here, welcome and I hope you find something to inspire you in the daily grind of planning and preparing meals for your family. If you are a faithful follower, thank you for being here and welcome back!

School is off to a great start around here. We moved over the summer; same district, just across town, but with that move has come new routines and so far so good. Also, my visit with our local Giant Nutritionist has really inspired my weekly meal planning! I sat down on Saturday morning and planned out our whole week of food. Then I went shopping to fill in any holes, restock our lunch and snack supplies, and I was done.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 36

Hello meal planners - welcome back! Well, here we are . . .the last day of summer vacation. The schedules are printed, the supplies are bought and the backpacks are ready.  There is a mix of sadness for summer to be over as well as excitement for what this school year will bring.

It's a big year for us, our oldest is a junior in high school this year and our youngest is wrapping up elementary school. Fall is my favorite time of the year, and I've already started putting out fall decorations and planning cool weather meals.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 35

Happy Monday meal planners! We are in our very last week of summer vacation around here. New school shoes are bought, supply lists are checked off and summer packets are as done as they are going to get! My plan is to spend this week relaxing and being together and soaking it all in before the hustle and bustle of fall begins. 

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 34

Oh hey it's Monday! A little late with my meal plan this week. We were so busy enjoying the last few weeks of summer, that I didn't even realize I didn't have a plan until it was time to make dinner and I was at a total loss!

That is one of the many reasons why I meal plan. It makes my life so much easier to have a plan in mind. Once I create the plan, I then have the ingredients to make the plan and I can execute. When I don't have a plan, I spend an hour or more spinning my wheels and procrastinating.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 33

Oh hello there meal planners - welcome back to another week of planning and menu ideas for your family.

Summer is winding down around here. With the move, it's been an especially busy one, with less "family time" activities than I would like.  But since the kids are older, we were able to experience packing up our old house and settling into our new house together, which can be a surprisingly great way to spend time together as a family.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 32

Good Monday morning friends! Welcome back for our weekly post where I share my intended meal plan for the week. If this is your first time here, welcome and I hope you find a nugget to inspire you. We are all busy, and sometimes life can get tough.  But each Monday, we can come together here and share our plan and hopefully help each other out a bit.

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 31

Hello meal planners and welcome back! Yes, I am back, and I apologize for my three week disappearance act. We made a sudden move across town, and my meal planning (and writing) went right out the window! We found out on Memorial Day weekend, and moved on July 21st, so things moved really fast.

We are settling into our new home now, and slowly unpacking the cooking things I brought with us. I'm finding I may be able to purge even more than I had thought. Why do we hold onto so many things? Do we really need that many pans and different pots? What are some of your MUST haves in your kitchen? 

Weekly Family Meal Plan 2017 Week 27

Happy Monday meal planners and welcome back! (It's actually Tuesday, sorry for the delay in posting) Can you believe July is here already and summer is in full swing? I hope yours is off to a great start!

We have a lot of things going on around here this summer. The biggest, is that we are packing up our house of nearly 12 years and moving to the other side of our little town. Did you know it's just as hard to move a small distance as it is to move across the country?? So we are in the midst of packing and purging, which can be very soul-cleansing, but at the same time it's exhausting!