Souper Saturday & Slow Cooker Sunday

Ask the kiddo and you'll find out that I like trying new things.  I introduce new foods, new school work, new workbooks, new places, new ideas, NEW STUFF all the time in our house.  But the kiddo will also tell you that only about 50% of it sticks.

Meh.

Such is life.

It's true.  I do like new things.  Goodness could you imagine doing and being and eating and living THE SAME always?  How boring!  So yes- I like to stir shit up and then I learn from it and take what I want and incorporate those lessons into our daily lives.  Not too bad if you ask me!

Recently I found this super cute weekly schedule for meal planning over on the Pinterest.  Not to be confused with actual menu planning- this one is different in that it assigns a different day of the week to a different category.  Think Taco Tuesdays y'all....get it?  Good!

While it was super cute- it just wasn't realistic for our lives.  So I've slowly been transitioning it to work for my house and I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with the outcome!  Here's my adapted version of the weekly meal schedule, you're welcome!

Meatless Monday

Well....no brainer here because every day is meatless in my house.  But this day, without a question has become ANIMAL FREE.  I've kicked it up a notch like old Emeril and BAM- no more animal products on our dinner plates on Mondays.

Meals Include: veggie pastas, family size salads, soups, chili, lentil and quinoa, stir fry- the sky is the limit here!

Taco Tuesday

Y'all.  Tuesdays were MADE for tacos- who am I to mess with perfection?  However, it's really become more "Mexican Food Tuesday" and clearly our vegetarian, Americanized version of what Mexican food really is comes no where near the real deal.

But I try.

Meals Include:  black bean soups, veggie enchiladas, mexi lasagna, tacos, bean burritos, fajitas, tortilla soup

Wild Card Wednesday

I've given myself A DAY to do whatever the hell I want.  Wednesdays are also the days where I'm home working just one job and the kiddo is gone all day at homeschool classes with friends.  So this means I've got more time to be in the kitchen.  As a result- it's usually the day I get my baking done in addition to dinner.  Sometimes I even prep a few other meals or make things like dips and veggie trays to snack on later.

Some nights I give my boys a special treat and make something with meat in it.  Remember, I did say WILD right?!?  Other times, you'll get a counter top full of leftovers or a frozen meal.  I've also been known to throw down the SNACK NIGHT like a BOSS.  But most Wednesdays I end up doing something NEW and FUN that we haven't ever had before.

Meals Include: white castle burgers, jack fruit BBQ sandwiches, Betty Crocker meat & bean chili, truffle mac n cheese, snack night with tiny pickles & olives, veggie Big Mac "burgers", homemade onion rings & other appetizers, fondue, cauliflower fried rice

Throwback Thursday

My people need one day per week that they RECOGNIZE and know they like otherwise, CHAOS WOULD REIGN.  And it just so happens that our trusty favorites fit in nicely on Thursdays.

I try my best to rotate this based upon what I've already made earlier in the week.  Meaning if I did make REAL meat burgers on Wednesday- then I go meat free on Thursdays.  Coincidentally, this day also works great for leftovers if making dinner simply doesn't fit your schedule.  Throwback right?

Meals Include: lasagna, spaghetti, meatballs & rice, cheese enchiladas & beans, meatloaf & mashed potatoes, no chicken & dumpling soup

Fancy Friday

My Fridays are typically my one day off per week- well, that's not true, but I'm usually only working ONE job instead of two or three.  So Fridays are the days I do my grocery shopping and on Fridays, I try to make something a little bit fancier.

Depending on what your personal schedule is like- Fridays also lend themselves nicely to Free Day Fridays or Fend For Yourself Fridays, where you do whatever you want or pile all the leftovers on your kitchen counter so your people can choose for themselves what to eat for dinner.  I know many people reserve this day for going out to dinner too.

Truth be told- I flip flop back and forth between a fancy dinner and leftovers because I have legit run out of steam some days.  Do what works for you.

One word on Fancy Friday- it doesn't necessarily have to be super fancy food.  In our house, we just aren't fancy.  You're shocked right?  But fancy can mean other things too- tablecloth and linen napkins, candles, mood music etc.  Any meal can be made fancy with a little table dressings mmkay...

Meals Include: fancy fish, veggie pot pies, steak with fancy veggies like Brussel sprout gratin, complicated pasta dishes, homemade rolls, cauliflower stuffed shells, truffle oil lentil soup, crab cakes

Souper Saturday

YES HONEY!  Nothing like a big ole pot of soup to nourish your soul.  I make at least one soup per week and usually try to do it on Saturdays, or prep it on Friday to make on Saturday.  I work all weekend long and a big pot of soup means my boys have leftovers for Sunday lunch while I'm at work.  It's also easy to make in the evenings after I've worked all day or something I can make earlier in the day if I'm working later in the evening.

Basically- it's "souper" flexible and easy.  Time willing, I will also pop some bread in the oven or bake up some biscuits.  Some days we have a salad with it or might crumble up some tortilla chips and plop a scoop of sour cream on top.  Yay soup!

Meals Include: vegan split pea, minestrone, no chicken tortilla, lentil, baked potato, chili, no chicken & dumplings, lasagna soup, potato & leek, kale soup.

Slow Cooker Sunday or Sandwich Sunday

Sunday is entirely dependent on what has occurred earlier in the week.  Since I try to not repeat the same type of dish twice in a row- what I throw into the slow cooker will depend on what the weekly menu plan was earlier in the week.  Or- I LEGIT may have just given up and you get leftover soup or something easy.

We don't really eat lots of sandwiches but "Easy Sunday" just doesn't have the same ring to it.  In my mind- sandwiches are one of the easiest "meals" you'll ever make.  Same thing goes for anything you pop in the slow cooker.  Sunday is for relaxing and even though I'm almost always working all day, I still try to relax when I get home and not spend the rest of the day in the kitchen.  So it works.

Meals Include: any slow cooker meal, sandwiches, grilled cheese & soup, french dips, leftovers


Alright.  There you have it.  We are officially a few weeks into this fun meal planning schedule and so far so good.  I have written down a cute color coded cheat sheet that sits on the side of my fridge (I hate lots of clutter on the front y'all) along with my weekly meals and grocery list.  It is SUPER easy for the kiddo to now see what's for dinner without asking me a million times over.  It's also pretty helpful in my planning because I usually have a general idea of what needs to be made each day along with my time constraints and work schedule.  And of course it helps me keep to a well rounded meal schedule along with aiding me in feeding my family a well balanced plant based diet.


It's easier than you think- I promise.

Tip:  Did you notice the amount of times I said LEFTOVERS?  I purposely make more just so we can have leftovers.  I rely on these damn leftovers y'all.  We eat them for lunches and I've been known to stretch them out further and even re-invent them for dinner time.

LEFTOVERS ARE LIFE.

Psst- if you try it, I wanna know!  Leave your comments below!

Homeschooled Housewife's Menu Planner

It's no secret that I'm a perfectionist.  And when it comes to meal planning and prep- I don't hold back.

Today I want to share with you how I menu plan.  I've gone through several different methods over the years, but this is by far- THE best way to menu plan and my personal favorite.  It's not too time consuming, super easy and won't require you to purchase much.  You may already have the supplies needed to get started!  I do my menu planning monthly.  However, with this system its easy to plan several months at a time.

Supplies Needed:

• a 12 month paper calendar, regular size
• 7 packages of post it notes, all different colors
• scissors
• fine point black sharpie 
• scratch paper

Step 1:

• Determine your food categories. My categories are Soup, Crockpot, Meat, Italian, Mexican, Leftovers, FREE Day/Out and Misc.  Yours might include other categories like Chicken, Beef, Pork, Fish, Vegetarian etc however for my family, we do not eat much meat so all my Mexican dishes, Italian dishes etc are meat free.  That's why I have just one category labeled simply- Meat.
• Now assign each category to a different colored Post It.

Step 2:

• Cut your Post It's to size.  To do this, cut into quarters.  You will only be using the 2 quarter pieces that have the sticky part on them.  Throw the others away, or better yet- recycle them!
• Now get out your sharpie & write the name of the dish on each corresponding colored Post It.  Shoot for at least 10 dishes in each category.  For new dishes put this symbol at the bottom of the post it  -N-  to help you differentiate that it is a new dish.  I try to incorporate several  new dishes each month.  And if you try it and don't like it, simply toss the Post It away and take it out of the rotation.

Step 3:

• Write the name of each category at the top of each piece of scratch paper.  
• Place your colored Post It's onto each sheet of paper for that category.  NOTE- there will be some categories that overlap.  For example, a soup that you make in the crockpot that has chicken in it could go under the soup, crockpot or meat categories.  Simply pick the category that works best for you.
  

Step 4:

• Take your sharpie and mark any significant dates on your calendar where you will NOT be cooking or where you will be making a special meal.  This can include things like your spouse's birthday, St. Patrick's Day, a child's birthday, Thanksgiving, vacation, an anniversary etc.  If I know what I will be cooking or if I know for sure that I am eating out on that night, then I write that down.  Otherwise, simply leave it blank for now.
• You might also circle paydays or the days you plan on doing the bulk of your grocery shopping.  This will help you in staying on budget.
• Now it's time to fill in your calendar with your Post Its. You can assign specific days of the week to certain food categories or plan on cooking something more time consuming on the weekends when you have more free time available.  For example, you can do things like Meatless Monday, Free Day Friday, Taco Tuesday, Souper Sunday etc.
• Leave one day for leftovers.  You will have them and no sense in being wasteful!  I like to assign leftovers to Fridays whenever possible because let's face it- by the end of the week, I'm done.
• Mix up the meals- try not to have 2 pasta dishes in a row or tacos one night and enchiladas another.  Keep it interesting.
• Keep in mind your time constraints and budget when placing your Post It notes.  For us, Tuesdays are our busy days and Wednesdays are our late nights with activities.  So I like to have a casserole that I've prepared ahead of time or a crockpot dish.  And of course, there's no way we are going to be eating a week full of steak and lobster if payday is still 3 days away.  Not that we eat a lot of steak and lobster to begin with....

Step 5:

• Now's the time to step back and admire all your hard work.  Take a good critical look at the colors for each week.  Do you have a lot of blues together?  How about a week full of nothing but pink and yellow?
• Move your Post Its around if necessary until you are satisfied with the results.  This is the biggest benefit to using the Post It's.  It's super easy to move them around and adjust the menu for the week or month as you go along.  And then when it's time to plan next month's menu- simply put all your colored Post It's back on your papers that listed each category (see picture above) and start fresh.

If you're feeling ambitious you can also think about doing a calendar for breakfast meals and home baked goods. To be honest, I simply write in my breakfast plan for the week and any baked goods I plan on making in the margin next to each week.  I don't stress about these items nearly as much.  Lunches at my house are almost always leftovers or something super easy like quesadillas, grilled cheese or beans so I don't need a lunch calendar.  

When you're done, your calendar should look like this.

*If you try out this system- I would love to hear your feedback!  Enjoy!

Bonus Tip- Before you start placing your Post It notes on your calendar, write down the groceries you currently have in your fridge and pantry.  Or if you have a weekly CSA delivery, write down items that will be arriving at your doorstep.  Then try to build the calendar around meals that contain these items you already have.  Hello Money Saved!