What We Ate – a New Series aimed at keeping me accountable
Meal Planning seems hard, and it seems even harder if you just have no ideas of what to eat, or what your favorite meals are or just at a loss for something new! But it’s really easy once you sit down and work on it a bit. I love looking at meal plan ideas from others because it gives me ideas of new food combinations, ideas of things I haven’t made in a long time, or new foods to try.
And instead of posting plan ahead menus that may or may not work out for us, I’ll be doing what we actually ate that week – as some accountability. It’ll help keep me in line with the effort to eat more whole foods, eat in more, and make better meals for my kids. I’ll still plan ahead, but the after is where it really counts – not what I plan, but what I actually do. So look for it each Monday as I let you know what we ate last week!
If you’re just getting started in Menu Planning, or trying to set better eating goals for your family – check out these posts from last year:
Meal Planning Day 1 – Meal Guide & Recipe Cards
Meal Planning Day 2 – Meal Planning Session
Meal Planning Day 3 – Let’s Go Shopping
Meal Planning Day 4 – Hints, Resources & Fridge Art
Meal Planning Day 5 – You’re on your own!
To get an idea of what I’ll be doing – here’s today’s menu
Breakfast: leftover Italian bread sliced thin, toasted, smeared in peanut butter, topped with sliced bananas, drizzled with local honey, and sprinkled with flax seed, along with leftover banana and chocolate milk.
Lunch: Hummus, homemade tortilla chips, sliced veggies (this might change depending on how long the library visit is today)
Dinner – 40 Cloves of Garlic chicken thighs (adapted from Alton Brown), roasted garlic & herb quinoa, roasted brussel sprouts*, applesauce
Another of our goals this year is to try 1 new food a week, whether it’s incorporating a new vegetable, or a new dish, just keeping ourselves open to new food, techniques and textures. This week it’s brussel sprouts which I’m terrified of. I’ve only had them as mushy bitter things, so I’m looking forward to trying these out (I think).
Good luck with your goals of menu planning and healthy eating. I look forward to following your journey and getting ideas. We get in food ruts all the time and it becomes hard to eat well. The roasted garlic and herb quinoa sounds interesting on todays menu.
I plan out 2 weeks of supper at a time but don’t assign days to them. I just list them on the white board & make sure I have the bulk of the ingredients on hand. Fresh veggies will get bought that day or the previous one depending on my mood.
I have a list of meals I know how to make & that mostly my kids like and I now have a second list of recipes I want to try & my goal is two of those a month. This two week period features Broccoli & Cheddar soup from Cooks Illustrated.
I love meal planning. We always do a basic plan before grocery shopping, that way we can buy what is needed more that plan. We eat healthier, and happier meals when we plan. We can take meats out of the freezer ahead of time, plan our time needed to cook etc.
We also like to try new things weekly. For me it’s mainly trying new recipes weekly – because I love trying new recipes. But trying new foods is always fun too
Have fun with it!
I have to say you are the best meal planner I know. I’m doing good to keep some meat and veggies in the house and throw something together each day. With a super picky family we eat the same things each week it seems. They don’t like new, so its hard. And with a husband rarely home(thanks Army), We half the time end up eating just the kids and I. So, I cave to kid food.
I really need to follow your meal planning more and learn more.
Your meal planning is something to be desired! I so wish I could be better at that. My family is so picky, it’s hard to introduce new things. Maybe some day…
Meal planning can be so tricky. I try to plan ahead at least a week, but sometimes it’s hard to stick to the plan. Good luck, Darcy! I really like that you’re posting what you actually ate rather than what you planned to eat. So much more real!
Thats a great schedule for meal planning can’t wait to see more posts x