Need Help with a Meal Plan for the Week.

I use the Kraft website: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Dinner/1Bag5Dinners/1Bag5Din...

and i adjust the meals to out likes/dislikes :)

If you go to www.allrecipes.com, they have sections on budget cooking, quick and easy, etc. I am finding that what works best for me is to sit down on Sunday, make a plan for the week, shop for it and then I don't have to think so much the rest of the week.

Saving Dinner is awesome...a couple of other moms suggested it too. I would go further and recommend the website savingdinner.com and get a "menu mailer". It's SO easy. Depending on which one you sign up for (and they have a bunch of them from "money saving" to "low carb" to "kid friendly" to "heart healthy" and "diabetic"...and more.

Anyway, once a week you get an email with your menu for six days PLUS a pre-written shopping list which includes the side dishes. I've found the food to be great (we get the vegetarian one because my husband is veg...but I have a gluten allergy and guess what...so far I find that I can substitue wheat free "stuff" and make it work for the whole family which is HEAVEN!)

It takes the "what do you want" conversation away, you shop once for the whole week, and if you just resolve to get up and go make what Leanne has already planned for you -- it's done. I've found the food to be quite yummy too. The meals take no more than 30 minutes to prepare (maybe longer cooking times, but the actual work involved is no more than 30 minutes)...Plus, she has a free one week menu for most of her menu offerings that you can try out.

AND she has "add on" things like recipes for healthy baby food and holiday fare...she's really done a GREAT service for the whole nation. :-) She's got crock pot meals and freeze meals so you have a ton of options and variety depending on what will work for your family.

Good luck. A family meal is such a treasure these days. It'll save you time and frustration and you'll feel good about feeding your family such healthy meals. Yippee!

Check out menus4moms. They send you menus, recipes and a shopping list each week.

Try the six o clock scamble www.thesixoclockscramble.com, or Relish meal planner www.relishrelish.com. I have been doing both of these for the past 4 years and it has absolutley saved our dinner time. I no longer am searching through my recipe books at 5:00 trying to figure something healhty for everybody. Each service gives you a weeks worth or menus for dinner and your shopping list. Relish lets you choose from 15 meals each week. I now go grocery shopping only one time per week and it saves me a lot of money on our grocery bills because I am not making extra trips to the store. I stick to my list and that's it. I love it!

I know that several others have given this idea, but I wanted to place my vote for Leanne Ely and Savingdinner.com. Her weekly meal plans are easy, delicious and come with a complete grocery list, so you can shop and not forget anything! I also love the fact that every week there is one crock pot recipe, which makes things super simple as well. She also has a line of freezer recipes that you can do in advance and pull out as needed. Those are also very helpful. Good Luck.

I heard about this great book called Saving Dinner. It has weekly dinner plans with shopping lists. One of the meals is always a slow cooker recipe. Check it out.

Do you like Polenta? You can buy organic Polenta that just needs to be sliced and heated with a good organic jarred sauce. I make it for my little family, the polenta is nice and soft so easy for my 19-month old the eat and she loves it. I always like stuff I can bake, such as chicken breasts. that way you can pop it in the oven and then go rest!! Easy sides such as boxed wild rice, with no MSG is usually fairly inexpensive. I have also started buying canned peas and greenbeans with no salt added, cheap and easy and Emilia, my 19-month old, loves them. I believe each serving only has 5mg of sodium or something like that. Remember, anything that you bake is usually less work!!

When I was prego and put on bedrestf or 6 months, I wish I new about, Dream Dinners, My Girlfriends Kitchen and Supper Suppers. Basically have a session where you assemble your own meals and freeze them. Then all you or your husband have to do is pull out a package from you freezer and cook it according to instructions. They each have a website you can look at for pricing and menus. Menus change monthly. I think Supper Suppers have the best tasting meals. Also Swansons has delivery, preprepared items that are frozen, I believe they have a website too. Safeway.com can deliver fresh fruits, dairy and veggies to your door. I hope this helps somewhat.

I don't know where you live or what your financial situation is like, but I use dinners from Dinner Afaire and Dinner my way or Girlfriend's kitchen. If there is one in your area, you may want to check it out for a night or two a week.

Another thing I make that is ready to go is lasagna with elbow macaroni instead of the long noodles. You can make several in a short time and they freeze well.

good luck!

Hello J.,
What I have used to help me with a family of 6 and I was working full time, is use of a crock pot. They are fabulous... and you can Google the recipes and find some wonderful meals. It does take some planning because you cant use frozen meat. However, roasts are easy or, any meals with a crock would be fabulous. Place about 1/4 C. water in the bottom of it. Placing your meat next, follow by some potatoes,carrots, onions,garlic or whatever spice you want. Pour some cream of mushroom soup on top of that and when you get home in the afternoon. WA-La... one fantastic dinner without the fuss. One Fantastic Home Cooked Meal!! I Love It. Try to be on top of your preparation and have you prep done the night before. When morning comes around you need about 10mins. to place your food in,place on low setting and its done when you come home from a long days work.
I hope this might help you with some easy insights that has helped me for my meal prep.

Good Luck and try it, You'll Like it....D. W.

Saving Dinner by LeAnne Ely is great! It's menus, yummy, healthy recipes and shopping lists!

get your hands on a copy of the cookbook Eating for Life. It will help with the weight loss for hubby, keep you healthy during your pregnancy and is basic and easy.

DREAM DINNERS! I discovered this place about a year and a half ago, and wish I had known about it sooner. They have many meals that are deemed heart-healthy by the American Heart Assn, and we love that they come in appropriate portions. You end up feeling like you've eaten enough, but not overstuffed. Plus the dinners are super tasty and VERY easy to prepare (read: when you're dealing with the kids, your husband can prepare them). If you have any allergies or food dislikes, it is easy enough just to eliminate those ingredients as you assemble the dish at the store.

I have found Dream Dinners to be very budget-friendly. Since I make fewer trips to the grocery store, I end up spending less overall every month by about $200 vs before we started going to DD. Overall I would highly recommend checking out this option!! I hope this helps, and good luck in the coming months with your growing family!

Check out the cookbook Simple Suppers by Mollie Katzen I believe...same person who wrote Moosewood Cookbook.Simple,tasty, healthy.
P..

You need a crockpot!!

I'm a busy mother of four children under eight. I pride on having home cooked meals on the table for my children as often as I can. I have found the cheaper, simpler meals are ones that you can make a lot of and then have left overs. For example chile, chicken and dumplings, and casseroles are good ones. Stir fry and of course pasta or homemade mac and cheese are our favorites as well. As long as you keep some basics on hand like cheese, rice, and veggies, as well as a variety of broths (chicken, beef, and vegetable) on hand for soups and maybe some cream of chicken soup or condensed milk for casseroles, then you will be able to whip up something delicious in no time. To avoid having to make a big salad, serve cut up veggies or put some veggies in your sauces or casseroles.