Creating A Weekly Menu

This past week was a busy one! (Aren’t they all?)

With my better-half out of town for work all week (boooo), and endless piles of  laundry, homework, and after school activities for everyone, it was sure to be a challenge to stick with our menu plan. But suffice it to say, everyone pitched in to help and not a single complaint was heard where dinnertime assignments were concerned!

I am so proud of my kids. Each and every weekday meal they had planned was executed flawlessly. In fact, if you haven’t yet, you can read all about how delicious Patrick’s meal turned out! Embarrassingly, our only challenge came up Saturday night, when I caved in to exhaustion and served up cold fruit and toast with jam instead of the planned meal, Zucchini Bisque with Knotted Rolls.

HOWEVER, I personally feel that one synonym for FAMILY is FLEXIBLE, so I guess we can just chalk it up to a full and productive week, and save that meal idea for one of the upcoming menu plans!

And now for this week’s menu!

In my previous post, I talked about my proposed blogging schedule and mentioned my objective to share our weekly menu plans each and every Monday. This schedule will hold me personally accountable and also encourage the kids to get excited about working in the kitchen!

Meal planning is a weekly chore in our house

Every Saturday morning, as part of our chore-time ritual, I sit down at the kitchen table with each little chef where we discuss, and fill out, a menu plan for the week, down to each and every ingredient. They each get to select a main dish, 1 or 2 side dishes that compliment the main dish, as well as a drink or dessert of their choice to spice up the meal and get them excited to prepare and serve it to the rest of the family.

Sometimes, choosing a meal every.single.week can seem a little daunting, especially for the youngest members of the family, so I always keep our handy-dandy list of Meal Suggestions within reach. This extra little step in preparation is fool-proof, and never fails to answer the question...”what do you want to make for dinner this week?”

Weekly Menu Plan:

MONDAY:  Sesame Chicken with Asian-Style Green Beans, White Rice, and Berry Punch

TUESDAY: Hawaiian Haystacks and Water

WEDNESDAY: Meatloaf with Broccoli and Muddy Buddies

THURSDAY: Pancakes with Maple Bacon, Scrambled Eggs, Strawberries, Whipped Cream, and Fresh-Squeezed Orange Juice

FRIDAY: Pepperoni Pizza with Veggies/Dip and Root Beer

SATURDAY: Hot Dogs with Baked Beans, Zucchini and Lemonade

SUNDAY: Turkey Sub Sandwiches with Chips, a Veggie Platter and Peach Punch

 

As part of planning out their dinner menu, my kids are expected to write up a shopping list that includes every ingredient required to make their meal,…from meats and produce, to cheeses, grains and spices. Currently, I choose to do all the grocery shopping and pantry organization to save on sanity time. But I plan to add those necessary skills to the mix as they gain experience and become more competent in the kitchen. Because those are important skills to learn too!

You gotta take it one meal at a time

Planning out every meal for the week always looks a little intimidating when you factor in how long each menu item takes to prepare and making sure you have every ingredient on hand. But it’s much like eating an elephant…you gotta take it one bite day at a time.

I hope this post has inspired you to take action with your meal plans and include your little minions ones in the planning process. I know that our children can learn so much from working alongside us. And gaining skills in the kitchen will benefit them in so many ways and for so many years to come.

How many meals per week do you make meals from scratch? And of those meals, do you allow your kids to help you in the kitchen? What are your mealtime accomplishments and/or challenges…please leave your comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

I think we can all use any encouragement we can get!

 

xoxo, Erica