One for the money, two for the show

It is a dreary Monday morning here - I am wondering if we will get snow for Christmas this year. I don't think there have been too many Christmas days where we have not gotten snow.

I got to spend a lot of time last week with family and do a lot of reflecting. We had a great time together, and learned just how loved and supported we really are.

Yesterday we had a quiet day. We went to Church then had my mother in law over for some lunch (we/she has gotten so much food lately it has been a blessing to not have to worry about getting groceries). 

I spent much of the day working on expenses, meal plans, and my meal data base. I updated my meal data base with a bunch of new ideas - some we have tried, some we have not. 

As I look forward over the next few months I was trying to get some kind of idea what it might look like. I have just over two months before I return to work and I plan on making the most of it. I also know that once I return something will have to go because there is no way I can do it all, especially with the hours I work. My shift is from 8:45am-4:45pm. Awful hours! By the time I fight my way through traffic I will get to pick up Rylee at 5:30pm and she goes to bed at 7. Let's not forget making and having dinner and getting her bathed and ready for bed. So our evenings are pretty much a write off, especially when Sean is on afternoon shift. 

I have come up with a few tweeks to my current meal planning (which I love because it is super easy and efficient) and also came up with a new recipe organization method.

To be honest I didn't want to use an app in case I don't always stick with apple products. I didn't want to be retyping them again and again. I also don't want to switch to paper because one of my biggest stress causer is already how much paper we use that constantly has to be organized. I will sort and file papers and the next day 20 more will appear and I have no clue where they came from. So I have decided to go with a word document sorting system. I will make a file folder called recipes and then sub folders within that folder. I will have each recipe it's own document and it will be saved as the recipe name so it will be very easy to find.

Yesterday I also went to Wal-Mart (during dinner time so it wasn't busy) and man were the shelves completely picked over. There were SO many empty spots. People will be getting A LOT of tooth brushes, deodorant, travel size items ect. I have never seen a store so empty! I went to get some supplies to make some healthy muffins, and oatmeal bake today.

Today will consist of some cleaning up around the house and some baking to put in the freezer for the next few weeks/months as well as some food planning over the next few days. 

I still want to reach my goal of 25 more pounds down by March 1 - it might be tough now given I have stayed the same the past few weeks but I am going to keep working hard at it and re-assess later if need be. There is nothing wrong with changing your goals as you go along. I am going to be making my list of 2014 goals over the next few days as well!

Have a happy and healthy Christmas everyone!

Meal planning and grocery shopping

I am writing this post even though it may provoke some intense teasing from people, however, if you know me you really shouldn't be surprised.

When I first started doing meal planning it took me A LONG time to do each one. Honestly, over an hour. But each week it got quicker and quicker to the point where it now takes me just a few minutes. I do two week rotations because I find that groceries are cheaper than doing it once a week and I don't really want to be bothered to grocery shop every week. I do however get fruits and veggies once a week.

I like to be very organized and I like things simple. Especially now that I am grocery shopping with a baby in tow (most times) I like to be efficient. I don't like to go to more than two stores -- I go to a cheaper store like Wal-Mart, No Frills, or Food Basics for the regular stuff and then I go to Superstore or Remark to get my produce as the produce from the other stores doesn't last very long and is not high quality. I don't get everything from Superstore or Remark because it would double my grocery bill. 

So to start I skim the weekly flyers to see what is on sale. If there are items I like then I build them into my menu plan and I also go through my freezer to see what items I already have on hand. The great thing these days is most places ad match so if there is something that I like in one store I can still get it at other stores for the same price. For example, last week I bought a box of chicken burgers at Wal-mart for $4 something even though Wal-mart's price was $10 because they were on sale in the No Frills flyer. When I plan on ad matching something I note the price first and also which flyer it was in so at the store I can check the price there. Sometimes it is just cheaper to buy it without ad matching. I know this sounds like a lot of work but honestly it is very simple -- remember I don't like complicated things!

So once I note what is in the flyers I go through my calendar to check what is on the schedule for each day before I make my menu plan from a template that I have in Excel (I love that program and use it whenever possible). By adding events from the calendar I can plan the meal around what we are doing. If I don't have time to make a full meal I will make a quick one or make a crockpot meal. If I have more time I might make a more in depth dinner. Once I make my meal plan I print out two copies, one for the fridge and one to make my grocery list from. 

When I make my list I have it broken down into sections so that I don't get to the other side of the store and realize that I forgot a produce item that was hiding at the bottom of my list. I cross off each meal one at a time on my spare copy once I have added what I need to my list so I never miss anything. If I don't know if I already have something I put a ? next to it and check before I leave. 

Then when I am at the grocery store I can focus on getting my items and getting out of the store. I have tried using my phone for a grocery list to reduce carrying extra paper but honestly I really like the paper. I have had it happen more than a few times where I have accidentally erased half my list on my phone then have no idea what I needed. By having the paper there is no way to erase part of my list!

I also leave some wiggle room so that I can buy things that are on sale (not necessarily in the flyer) to put in the freezer for a later date. You can also see that on my menu plan Thursday nights are listed as Flex nights. Since I don't always feel like eating what is on the menu that night I can pick a different nights dinner and make it that night instead. Or if we end up eating out on a night that I had already bought the groceries for then they don't go to waste because I will have it Thursday night (hopefully that makes sense).

The other thing I keep (also in excel) is a meal data base. I have different categories of meals and I can mix and match especially when we are looking for some new ideas. I also use a board on Pinterest (can't get enough of that site) so that I can keep new recipe ideas handy. I try to add in one every two weeks. 

Maybe this all makes me a nerd, but hey, I'm okay with that. This makes my life much simpler and it helps me to save a lot of $ that is often wasted at the grocery store. What makes it even more simple is that my breakfast is delivered right to my door, no grocery store needed! If you are going to give it a try remember that it will take some time at the beginning. 

If you want a copy of my menu plans send me an e-mail or inbox message with your e-mail address so I can forward it on to you.  

Until next time!