Why oh why did I not do this years ago? I was always a Meal Planning Skeptic. Yes, if I was very organized, I would plan a week's worth of meals. And sometimes I would plan a week's worth, and Atlanta Mom would plan a week, and then we would swap so we each got 2 weeks out of the bargain. But whenever I heard someone say "I plan out a month's worth of meals at a time," my snarky little brain would immediately think, "I don't even know what I'll be doing in a month, so why would I know what I'm eating?"
Well, news flash. In a month, or six weeks, or whenever, I think I can assume with confidence that I'll be doing pretty much the same thing I'm doing now: Working. Driving carpool. Juggling soccer practice and sight words. Planning a small dinner party. Trying to fit in some exercise. Grabbing the occasional tennis game or lunch out. Meeting with clients.
In other words, my life is not quite as spontaneous and varied as I might lead myself to believe. Which brings me back to meal planning. I'm telling you, dear readers, having these meals planned out is a weight lifted off my Sunday afternoon shoulders. And here's the bonus: we are somehow saving about $100 per week, or more. Part of it is easy to understand - we have cut out the "I have nothing in the house let's just eat out" $50 meal. A smidgen more baffling is that for the past 3 weeks, my grocery bill is $50 - $75 less than usual. I don't know why this is, since I'm cooking more, but I'm guessing that I am throwing fewer random extraneous items in the cart in the hopes they'll magically transform themselves into dinner (impulse buying at the grocery store is admittedly a weakness of mine, so perhaps I've found a way to combat it?).
All that said, I'm sure you are now on pins and needles for this week's menu:
Monday: Pork chops and rice, salad
Tuesday: Roasted chicken leg quarters, mac and cheese, roasted vegetables
Wednesday: Spaghetti and meatballs, salad
Thursday: Roasted shrimp, pesto pasta, whatever veggies come in our farmbox
Friday: Pizza
Coming up next: Shrimp Pizza!
