monthly menu planning

Do you MENU plan?

I have always planned our dinners a week at a time which I find very helpful. I'm not a big fan of grocery shopping so the better I plan the less I seem to go. I've been reading (on the internet) about the benefits of monthly menu planning...cost and time! One blog I follow, Confessions of a Homeschooler, has monthly menus posted every month. In December I decided to try it since December is always so busy...LOVED IT!

So this month, I planned dinners for the entire month again and then went one step further...I did my bulk grocery shopping at the 1st of the month. I only bulk shopped for the dinner items like pasta, meat, rice, beans, eggs, milk (i freeze it), oatmeal, coffee, pb, whole wheat flour, etc. I also bought the bread, veggies and fruit we'd need for 2 weeks while at Costco. 

STEPS:

1. write our menu for the month

2. on my scratch copy I wrote every item i'd need

3. went through pantry to see what i already had

4. typed a grocery list

5. sorted my grocery list by stores: costco, whole foods, other (i.e. target., easy-way)

6. when I got home i went ahead and cooked 1 whole chicken(i bought 6) and browned/separated the beef

So will I keep doing it? YES ABSOLUTELY

Healthy family dinners are really important to Chris and I so planning for the month just made it easier!

PROS

We stayed well within our grocery budget.

I spent less time in the grocery store each week.

I've only had to sent Chris on 1 oops grocery run.

I loved my weekly grocery trips to Whole Foods and Easy Way bc I had the big stuff already.

CONS

It is LOTS of work to write the menu, write my grocery list and shop at Costco.

If you are in the mood for something not on your list your kinds out of luck.

Buying in bulk up front takes lots of space...not something we have at our house.

{thankful for}

12. saturday morning basketball games

13. a dad who makes the best Sunday lunches

14. everyone who wished me happy birthday

15. my sister who watched the boys while i finished a grant

16. yoga class on an icy morning

17. lunch date with a friend

18. a VERY handy and patience husband

19. movie nights and pillow pallets

20. a MUCH needed girls night with sweet friends

21. morning snuggles with the boys pl

the Arcade

If you haven't been to the Arcade restaurant on Main Street in Memphis 

you must add it to your TO DO list.

They have the most wonderful breakfast...I only eaten there for breakfast.

I LOVE the sweet potato pancakes and the boys love the french toast. I think Chris gets something called the Redneck Plate...its like every breakfast food you can think of!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Use your normal recipe...our is something like this...then just add about 11/2 of sweet potatoes

1 14 cups whole wheat flour 1 12 tbsp honey 1 14 tsp baking powder 14 tsp baking soda 1 dash salt

1 14 cups almond milk 14 tbsp butter 12 tsp vanilla extract 12 egg white

dairy-free blueberry lemon cupcakes

lemon blueberry cupcakes 

changes I made are in bluemakes 24-28 cupcakes
ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour...1/2 King Arthur's whole wheat
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter...3 tbs coconut oil
2 cups sugar...1 cup sugar plus 1/2 cup agave 
4 large eggs, room temperature
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk...1 cup vanilla almond milk
2 cups fresh blueberries plus more for garnish
icing:
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4-5 cups of powdered sugar
zext of one lemon
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Lemon glaze: I made a glaze instead of icing. I used about a cup of powdered sugar plus juice from 3 fresh lemons. It was really yummy:)

Here is the link for the original recipe.

http://www.the-baker-chick.com/2012/06/lemon-blueberry-cupcakes.html

I have been experimenting with dairy free baking lately. I have pretty much mastered some edible breakfast, lunch and dinners. It has taken almost a year seeing as most of my recipes had some form of dairy. I have learned which almond, dairy free and soy products are edible and which are not. Tanner misses out on so many "treats" because they have dairy so I always try to send things for him. 

obsessed with smoothies

We are obsessed with smoothies. The boys eat them for breakfast, lunch and for snacks. Our "special" ingredient is SPINACH. The boys think that it is so funny that the spinach makes it green and then as we add the other fruit it changes back to an "edible" color.
To make the spinach taste go away, I make the smoothies in this order:
almond milk...plain
vanilla protein powder
1/2 banana
(this is the base for all of our smoothies)
blend
then spinach (about 2 cups)
A little honey
blend
add fruit...frozen works best
we like
1)strawberry/oranges 2)strawberry/blueberry/raspberries 3)apple/blueberry 4)almond butter/honey
*when I'm out of fruit I've frozen I just add fresh fruit then add crushed ice until icy!