I feel like I need to take a deep breath before heading into this month. March, Adar, Purim… and the looming thought of Pesach. I’ll be honest – it fills me with joy, yes. But also a bit of anxiety, too.
My goals for my meal plan this month are three-fold:
(1) Start whittling down my freezer stock and storage room shelves in anticipation of Pesach
(2) Keep it SIMPLE – the simpler the meal, the less time I have to spend in the kitchen before and after the meal. That’s a good thing in my book.
(3) Actually stick to my meal plan – when I looked back at our February plan, I realized that we only ate what was slated about half the time. Now, this isn’t necessarily a problem. Sometimes we skipped a plan because we went to my parents’ house. Or because a child had a special request. But if I’m skipping a planned meal because I just don’t “feel like cooking”, it’s probably not a good thing for our budget – or our nutrition.
So, keeping all that in mind, here is my plan for March – which is neither fancy nor gourmet. But it is mostly healthy and definitely nourishing.
Remember, I have found that monthly meal planning works best for my family, but you may prefer weekly or bimonthly plans. No matter how you do it, menu planning will definitely save you money – and make your days run a whole lot smoother!
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Tues, Mar 1 – Chicken stir-fry with whole wheat pasta (made from leftover chicken)
Wed, Mar 2 – Cauliflower soup, tuna croquettes – A weird combination, I know. One is to make DH happy, the other is for D.
Thurs, Mar 3 – Homemade pizza & salad — Yes, we eat the same thing everything Thursday. I love knowing what to expect on Thursdays!
Fri, Mar 4 – Parmesan-encrusted tilapia, brown rice, sauteed chick peas, Greek salad
Sat, Mar 5 – Crockpot chicken soup & the rest TBD
Sun, Mar 6 – Spinach lasagna (make at least one or two extra to freeze), green salad
Mon, Mar 7 – Vegetarian taco “bar” with refried-ish beans, veggie crumbles, tomatoes, lettuce, grated cheese, sour cream and salsa
Tues, Mar 8 – Thai-style lentils with brown rice and steamed veggies — The Frugal Ima creatively turned my Thai-style chicken into Thai-style chickpeas, which I’m going to try turning into Thai-style lentils. I doubt DS2 will eat it, but I’m excited to try it!
Wed, Mar 9 – Cheese quesadillas & tomato vegetable soup
Thurs, Mar 10 – Homemade pizza & salad
Fri, Mar 11 – Beef stew, “buttered noodles”, steamed veggies, pareve chocolate mousse
Sat, Mar 12 – TBD
Sun, Mar 13 – Spinach lasagna & salad – Yup, the lasagna will be pulled straight out of the freezer
Mon, Mar 14 – Cauliflower & tofu bake, quinoa pilaf
Tues, Mar 15 – Crockpot Black Bean Soup, served with nacho chips, guacamole and sour cream
Wed, Mar 16 – Breakfast for Dinner – Either homemade pancakes or waffles with fruit smoothies
Thurs, Mar 17 — Ta’anit Esther – Homemade pizza & salad for the kids
Fri, Mar 18 – Barbequed Tandoori Chicken, Aloo Gabi, Vegetable Samosa – This is one of the plans that got bumped last month, so I’m trying it again.
Sat, Mar 19 – Cholent, potato bourekas, salads
Sun, Mar 20 – Community-wide Seudah
Mon, Mar 21 – Tuna casserole with steamed veggies
Tues, Mar 22 – Black bean burgers, sliced avocado and tomato, homemade pita (possibly!), sweet potato french fries
Wed, Mar 23 – Bowties with sauteed peppers, feta cheese and chopped walnuts
Thurs, Mar 24 – Homemade pizza & salad
Fri, Mar 25 – Crockpot BBQ beef, coleslaw, roasted potatoes, pineapple “pudding” cake
Sat, Mar 26 – TBD
Sun, Mar 27 – Spanakopita “eggrolls”, Greek salad, yogurt fruit smoothies – Instead of making the spanakopita in a casserole dish, I roll up individual logs for each person… yummy!
Mon, Mar 28 – Vegetarian fajitas – veggies, refried beans, rice and all the fixings
Tues, Mar 29 – Crockpot quinoa & red lentil soup with no-knead bread
Wed, Mar 30 – Sesame noodles with oven-baked tofu and sauteed snap peas
Thurs, Mar 31 – Homemade pizza & salad
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Breakfasts:
- Toaster waffles – we’ve got enough for the month, thankyouTarget
- Cold cereal with milk
- Steel cut oats in the crockpot
- Instant oatmeal
- Fruit smoothies
- Scrambled eggs with cheese
Lunches – all served with cut-up veggies and/or fruit:
- left-overs
- parmesan orzo
- peanut butter sandwiches
- egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches
- bourekas
- “wraps” with chumus, sprouts, grated carrots, grated cabbage and tomatoes (me)
- macaroni & cheese
- “stuffed” baked potatoes with cottage cheese and broccoli
Snacks:
- granola bars
- microwave popcorn
- cuties, apples, bananas, grapes
- cheese and crackers
- apple muffins – my kids LOVE these!
- veggies with dip or hummus
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Have you started in on March menu planning? Or do you plan by the week? Still flying by the seat of your pants?
I’d love to hear what you’ll be eating. I know we could all use a little bit of inspiration. And if you’ve got a blog, please link up to a post about your menu planning (monthly, weekly or otherwise) by using the Mr. Linky.
I do a meal plan weekly. I have found that besides saving money I am also eating healthier. I can prepare veggies in the beginning of the week and use them in meals throughout the week. I give myself wiggle room by not making each planned meal specific to a day of the week so I can decide on a given day what I have the energy to cook. I actually just started a blog yesterday so I will be doing Meal Plan Mondays from now on.
BTW, my goal for this month is also cleaning out my pantry and freezer for Pesach. I am doing this by incorporating my stock into my meal plans for the upcoming weeks.
Thanks for linking up, Frayda! I left a comment over there as well, but it looks like we have similar tastes for weekday meals 🙂
This month is kind of up in the air for us. I am starting a big project at work, as is DH, plus I’m due at the end of the month. I’m just going to use February’s menu (easy since the days of the week are the same!) and supplement from my well-stocked freezer as necessary.
Sounds like a wise plan. I’d loved that the days of the week were the same – I just cut and paste that part of last month’s post 😉
I hope all goes smoothly at the end of the month, too!
Since I tweeted about this, I figure I might as well post here, too: I’m not quite up to menu planning yet, but I’m working on making soups in my crockpot and freezing leftovers. It’s a different sort of menu planning, but it will help me stick to budget.
Being able to turn to your freezer for quick meals, rather than take-out (if you have that option) or ready-made food at the grocery store, is a huge savings — of both time and money!
Husband’s late nights (tax season) music lessons, Hebrew school, Science Olympiad practices, Girl Scout major event, 2 picky eaters, high cholesterol and arthritis in my hands. Here’s the menu:
Vegan Monday (a new idea for me and my husband) black beans and rice, salad, homemade bread – kids (mac and cheese/tortellini, salad, bread)
Tuesday Subway for three of us; cereal for husband, too tired to eat much
Wed – leftover pasta, salad, sliced apples and honey (great buy on romaine at Sam’s)
Thursday – tacos, corn, salad, spanish rice (rice cooker)
Friday – cranberry chicken, gnocchi (purchased), green beans, salad, homemade challah, cookies
Sat – turkey burgers, fries, salad
Sun – breakfast for dinner (French toast from leftover challah, eggs, turkey bacon, orange juice)
I like the idea of vegan Monday. In general, I find it really helps to “assign” themes to days. I don’t stick to it, but when I’m drawing a total blank, I like to be able to think, “Well, Monday is TexMex day, so I guess I’ll make a taco bar”…