Menu Planning

Posted on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 08:05

Menu Planning

Any mom, whether working outside of the home or as a homemaker is a busy mom and anything that assists in cutting back on time spent with our heads stuck in a freezer or running to the grocery store at the last minute, hungry and often cranky children in tow is a good thing. When I am homeschooling my daughters, the last thing that I want to worry about doing is a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up something for lunch or to have to take 15 minutes to try and remember the contents of my freezer so that I can pull something out for supper. As often as not, when I feel this way I get frustrated and overwhelmed and end up either wanting to eat out or make something quick, and often nowhere near at nutritious as I would like. Not to mention the damage it can do to a family’s budget!

I decided to take control of our families eating habits and my first step was to devise a way to be able to quickly and easily know exactly what I have on hand to prepare for our meals. I am a technical sort of gal so my immediate thought was to create an excel database on my computer. Not only is it easy to edit, sort and if needed print out, I can upload it to my palm pilot and carry it everywhere with me, thus eliminating the need to stand in the grocery store wondering whether or not I have a certain item on hand when I have forgotten to bring my grocery list. Because you can add extra pages to the database, I can also keep my menu plan for the next two weeks, a grocery list, a list of our favorite meals and my price book all in one location.

I started by creating the following pages in excel: Freezer, Food Storage, Menu Plans, Price Book, Weeks of the Year, Favorite Meals and Grocery List. Each has a different tab colour for easy reference.

Freezer

On this page, I created the following headings…

• Category: this is the type of product it is. Baking, breads, dairy, finger foods, fruit, leftovers, pasta, seafood, soups/stews and vegetables
• Product
• Date of Purchase
• Amount: be specific. If its leftovers and there is enough for only two people make sure that you mark it that way.

Food Storage

This is a list of all food items that we have in the house outside of the freezers. The only thing that I do not add to this list are the items that we go through quickly such as milk, bread, fresh fruits or vegetables, cheese, yogurt etc.

Here, I added these headings:

• Product
• Date of Purchase
• Storage Location
• Amount

Menu Planning

This page holds two full weeks of menu’s starting with breakfast, snack #1, lunch, snack #2, supper main, supper sides and dessert. I can easily print out this page and post it on the fridge for easy reference.

Price Book

A price book is a record of store and flyer sales. Most stores rotate their in store specials and by keeping track of the special prices, and the stores that they are found in, you can soon determine which store has the best sales price and when the item generally goes on sale.

To keep track of these items, I wanted to log the following information:

• Week #: this is the number of the week during the year. As I log the prices, I will eventually be able to see a pattern of the sale weeks for certain items.
• Item
• Store
• Price
• Sale?
• Flyer?
• Price Reduction: Here I will write the difference between the normal price and the sale price or whether or not the price is one that is an “in season” price (for fruits and vegetables)

Weeks of the Year

Here I made a list of the weeks of the year from week #1 to #52 along with the applicable dates. In addition, I added a column for any specific holidays, birthdays or anniversaries during that week so that I can plan ahead for any special meals.

Favorite Meals

Whenever I try a new recipe, I will mark it down here so that I can easily refer to it when creating my menu plans

• Type of the Recipe
• Recipe Title
• Location of the Recipe: write the recipe book name and page number, or if its a recipe on the computer.
• Comments: write down anything that you may have added, taken away or would do differently with the recipe when its made again.

Planning the Menu's

When I am planning my meals, I try to keep the same basic meals every week for breakfast, lunch and snacks. For suppers, I try to balance out the types of meals and plan to use the crock pot on days that I know we will be out for part of the day and I won’t want to bother with cooking dinner when we get home.

Breakfast

Monday – Toast

Tuesday – Cold cereal

Wednesday – Fresh fruit and muffins

Thursday – Toast

Friday – Hot cereal

Snacks

Monday – Fresh fruit in season/Cheese and crackers

Tuesday – Fun snack (I have several snack recipe books)/Carrots and celery with dip

Wednesday – Chips, pretzels or popcorn/Yogurt or pudding

Thursday – Homemade baked goods/Fresh fruit in season

Friday – Cheese, crackers and meat circles/Seasonal vegetables and dip

Lunch

Monday – Soup and sandwich

Tuesday – Pizza

Wednesday – Eggs and Toast

Thursday – Hot Dogs

Friday – Sandwiches

Supper

Monday – Chicken/Fish

Tuesday – Crock pot/Soup or stew

Wednesday – Beef

Thursday – Packed supper for after Swimming

Friday – Treat Night/Dessert Night

Saturday - Pasta

If you are interested in a copy of my excel database, feel free to email me using the link on the side bar and I would be happy to send it to you!

Alls fair in love and war

Posted on Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 04:25

This was a hard week for me. First off, we were supposed to begin homeschooling LAST week but due to printer malfunctions, procrastination and other various delays we didn't get started so here I sit feeling guilty. This week was really busy - in fact, I was gone from the house before 8:00 am everyday but yesterday and not returning home until around 4:00 pm in the evening. Anyone that knows me IRL knows that I don't deal very well with being on the go all the time. I am, by nature a complete homebody. If I had a choice between going out for dinner and a movie or staying in and having take out and renting a movie I would choose to stay in 95% of the time. Fortunately, my sweetie is the same way so we work well together.

That said, I feel completely socialized out (which doesn't take long btw), tired and lazy. The mister and I were talking about our pending house sale and move and I mentioned that I was feeling very trapped by our home. I don't know if thats the right word... maybe more like anxious and unsettled. I don't know how to explain it. In any case, he understood my feelings on the matter and reassured me that he too feels the same way. I am a person in need of routine and dealing with things that are all over the place and cluttered doesn't work well with my personality.

I love my home and I love caring for it... in every way. I enjoy decorating our home, keeping it clean, filling it with the fragrance of supper cooking or gently scented water simmering in a pot pourri burner. I have the windows open whenever its cooler outside bringing the freshest air into the house. I like everything about homemaking... when my house is tidy and organized which is not what it is at the moment. It simply can't be and while I realize this with my head, I am having difficulty ensuring that my heart follows suit. "This too shall pass" is a thought that I have frequently, unfortunately when I feel this way I withdraw into myself and don't want to do anything in terms of homemaking.  I am hopeful that this blog will assist me in regaining my full desire to fullfill my calling as a wife and mother because as I blog about things and air out my feelings, stirrings happen within my soul that lead to productive time management and a cleaner, happier home.

I think that if I could live anywhere it would be in the country rather than a smaller town like the one that we are moving too. I love old rambling farmhouses and while I don't ever want my sweetie to be a farmer, I wouldn't mind a few chickens and a garden. I have aspirations of homesteading but lack the ability at the moment but once we move and get settled in I look forward to bringing out that "old fashioned" woman in me and start cooking from scratch again, perhaps plant a vegetable garden in the spring and of course do some canning next fall. The Lord is strongly prompting me (and has been for some time) to become more self sufficient and to concern myself with preparedness. In addition, I am being gently counselled to focus more attention on my husband, children and home rather than retreating into my own world when I am overwhelmed. I hear this counsel clearly and know that I need to heed it.

Procrastination and planning are forever my worst enemy because I always plan things out until I have an image in my head that will never compare to the real thing. I find myself easily frustrated as I attempt to recreate what I have seen within my mind and I give up. Long term devotion to things that I find difficult to complete or accomplish is hard for me and needs to be worked on. I am fortunate, I think, to be able to see so keenly at times my strengths and weaknesses. Now I just have to improve my strengths and declar war on my weaknesses. Not an easy task when my husband, being a very driven, determined, perfectionist can see a fault of his own, live with it awhile, finally get tired of it and simply improve it. No questions asked, no holds barred he just changes. Its hard to measure up to that but I believe that he finally realizes that this is a unique quality in a person and that I am not the same way.

Today's Journal Prompt

What are the things that you can do that you are really good at? Why do you enjoy doing those things? Write down everything that you are good at... even the little things that don't seem to matter like how well you clean the stove top or the fact that you always remember to kiss your sweetheart goodnight.

Today's Challenge

Take a moment to tell each person in your family something that you appreciate about them... it will make their entire day brighter. Promise!

Welcome!

Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 07:10

Good morning! I suppose the best place to start with this blog is why I am writing in it. I will be the first to admit that procrastination is among my strong points. Not a good point but it is definitely one of the strongest character traits I have. Like many, I feel inspired when I read other peoples blogs. Whether its for homeschooling or homemaking, when I read how others are doing things, I want to get downto the nitty gritty with my own house. I practically aspire to clean toilets! Sick but true. I think that the only thing that I haven't ever felt inspired to do was teach my darlings latin but thats a whole other story.

Why a Retro Muffin?
I am a prairie muffin wanna be but I think that it boils down to the fact that even though I aspire to be the perfect housewife, wife and mother, Caroline Ingalls, as much as I adore her, doesn't exist. (Seriously!)

I believe that God has called women to the highest calling on earth: to be a wife and mother. Certainly some circumstances prevent women from fulfilling that calling and thats ok. Being the best woman that you can be in light of your circumstances, whatever they are should be considered success in fulfilling your Godly calling. I am however, lacking in some of the prairie muffin criteria. I always make time for myself. Always. Without that space, that area of life carved out for me to have my alone time I cease to function. If I can't function I can't fulfill my calling. Vintage/Retro housewives realize that despite their greatest ambitions, they are still human and while they may strive for Prairie Muffin status, sometimes, due to lifes circumstances its simply not obtainable. That said, it does not mean that we do not strive daily to obtain a "higher" status... it simply means that we realize that everyday is a new one and that through prayer we can obtain that status.
Besides that, who wants to be Caroline Ingalls when they can be June Cleaver with all the modern gizmos and gadgets that modern society gives us... vacuums, microwaves, tv, the telephone and more. Why aspire to cook over an open fire and catch your skirts aflame when with the twist of a knob you can have your oven heated and a roast popped in without sending the offspring out to collect wood?

What to Expect from this Blog...
As I begin my journey as a  newly inspired housewife (wear that title with pride ladies! Men, no matter how amazing simply can't do it!) I want to be able to record my thoughts, my setbacks, my steps forward and perhaps share a little information that I am finding helpful. To that end, you can expect jubulation and tears, recipes, "It works for me Wednesdays",  and frugal living thoughts. Oh, and you can also expect PICTURES. I am an amateur photographer and love to share!

This is more than a homemaking blog... its also a place to celebrate my womanhood and with that comes my thoughts on what it means to be a woman of God, daily dresses and more.

What NOT to expect from this Blog...
1. Sewing
I want to sew but can't sew a stitch. If I had to be Caroline I would have naked children. I do however, want to learn.
2. Cussing

I don't swear very often in real life and never in my cyber world. Consider this blog family friendly.
3. Perfection
I realize that some housewives out there blog like they are perfect. Lets face it... I don't get to visit their house so how would *I* know if they are telling the truth? For all I know they are sitting at the computer, creating a lovely fantasty life for themselves while their youngest child clings to their arm while they type, droopy diaper and snotty nose hanging out in all their glory. If you get nothing else here, you will at the very least get HONESTY.
4. A Fantasy Life
I am in the midst of moving, my house is filled to the rafters with boxes and I have a husband with an organized wanna be streak in him. This means that more often than not, my kitchen table is filled with paperwork. I hate it but its a reality of my life. Fortunatly, he swears that he is organizing everything here before we move so that when we are at the other house he won't have paperwork anywhere but in filing boxes or cabinets. Amazingly enough he also swears that his tools will be in the basement and not my hallway. For now, I am going to believe him because 98% of the time he is right and I have never before met a human being that can change as much as he does and thank God because like procrastination, change is not one of my strong points.
5. Daily blog entries that make you want to be just like me
See #4
6. Political Correctness
Now before you get your panties in a bunch, let me clarify. You will not see ethnic bashing because I believe fully and firmly that no matter what race or religion we are God's children. If, on the other hand, you are looking to see positive comments about the Pearl Family or any other individuals that advocate what I believe is child abuse, you might as well stop reading. If you want me to comment in a postive manner about things that I don't believe in then you will be sorely disappointed. I have my beliefs and will state them. Its my blog so I get to do that.

Aren't I lucky?

Yea, I thought so too