Meal Planning

I used to be really good at meal planning, and I even tried my hand at freezer cooking a while back and got really good at it and LOVED how much it simplified my life.  But through moving in with our in-laws for two months and then having an absolutely crazy holiday season, I have gotten far away from it.  I think last week I made at least 4 trips to the store for one thing or another, shopped without a list, spent way too much money, and made multiple last minute decisions to eat out instead of making something at home.  And since one of my 2013 goals is to reduce our grocery budget while still feeding my family real, healthy food, I've decided to take on Shanna's Feed 2 for $50 Challenge (I seriously love Shanna's blog - check her out!).

This challenge is going to take some creative shopping and some serious planning, but I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I think I'm ready to try it.  The $50 budget will be ONLY for food for Korey and me - baby supplies/formula/other household items will come out of a different budget (so will date nights, which we tend to do once every two weeks).  I also don't have to cook dinner every night of the week - since my husband works overnight shift starting at 6pm, I usually don't cook a big dinner on the nights he's gone.  And we definitely need to get better at utilizing leftovers around here - last time I cleaned out our fridge I threw away so much food, and I hate doing that!

So, I'll be starting this challenge next week, but for this week I'm going to get my feet wet by at least posting my plan.

Sunday - Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Monday - Breakfast for Dinner!  French toast, bacon, and eggs.

Tuesday - Chicken Taco Soup

Wednesday - Leftovers (Korey works)

Thursday - Soup & Sandwiches (Korey works)

Friday & Saturday - We will be out of town visiting my parents!