How about me?

A post about what's up with me. I'm so frustrated with myself for failing to journal or blog for the last 5 or so months. I love having memories recorded like this. So me. In the last month I've been putting a lot more attention to meal planning and grocery budget. I'm finding if I have a solid plan for the week, I only need to shop once a week. If I only go to the store once, I spend A LOT less money. I've dicovered I kinda hate meal planning. My kids are selective about what they eat, well, at least one is. (I don't want to call it picky, because he really honors what his body is saying it needs). I'm often worn out from the day and if I don't have a plan, I want take out! (and that pizza is doing me NO favors). So, a plan! Fridays are easy. It's either (nitrate free, organic) hot dogs and (organic, frozen) french fires OR chicken wings and Mac N Cheese. This is easy stuff to make and we all enjoy it. There is always salad and cut veggies too. (How lucky am I that my kids love most Veg?) Wednesday. That is our homeschool group meetup day, so it needs to be really easy or a crockpot. I usually make this beans and rice, as black beans in a crock pot are yummy! (Oh yea, sour cream & hot sauce too). The kids don't love beans, so they'll "try" beans, eat rice, and there is always veg and a fruit and/or yogurt option. Ok, that's 2 days. I always make one night a pasta night, mainly because I can separate a portion out for the kids, with olive oil or butter and parmesan cheese and they're happy. I love making a huge batch of spaghetti sauce with meat and freezing enough for a couple extra weeks. So the other 2 "week" days, I just go through the cookbook (my favorite right now is America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook) and pick something simple. If I have meat, F is happy. If I make sure we have salad, veg & parmesan, L is happy. Weekends are laid back, but I tend to make sure I have everything for pancakes, waffles, tuna salad, grilled ham & cheese, you get the idea, so we don't have to eat out. My other favorite cookbook right now is Vegan Lunch Box. Crockpot beans, Tofu Apple Spring Rolls... there's so much good stuff in here. The Oatmeal Pancakes are awesome, and even better the next day w/ peanut butter spread on to make a sandwich. The muffins have changed my life. Make a batch before a playdate and we have a great lunch option.