Meal Planning for the Drive-Through Addicts

As I'm sure you could tell, I've been much too busy for blogging lately.  May is the craziest month in the Buckley House - last year we were gearing up for our first baby and the year before that, May was a busy wedding planning month.  This year we have an adventurous (almost)toddler, two wild puppies, a house, yard, etc.

When every weekend is full, we have to make a special effort to be productive during weekdays.  This has always been difficult for me - I love my downtime, especially when Little J is napping and the whole house is quiet for once.  But because the Babe is so much more mobile these days, I have to provide him almost constant supervision (plus, I really love playing with him!) so I have to utilize naptimes more efficiently.

Today, I put my 45 minutes of morning nap/quiet time to good use.

Jared and I have always struggled (for the past 4 years) with meal planning.  Every night we play the "what do you want for dinner?.... I don't care, what do you want?" game.  This game always lands us in the same place:  Taco Bell.  Or Panda Express.  Or Chick Fil-A.  Regardless of the restaurant, we always seem to find excuses to forget any pre-planned meals at home and go through a drive-through.  "This needs to end!" we say every week.  Our wallets (and thighs) are suffering, but mostly I just can't handle the guilt of being such bad Eating Role Models for our child.  So, for reals this time, it ends now!

Here is the first part of my brilliant solution:

Weekly meal planning made easy.  It's just a start - to get us back into the habit of eating most of our meals at home.  I decided we would be more likely to succeed if I kept things simple and easy for now.  Instead of planning exactly what I'll cook each weeknight, I will plan for certain genres of meals.  "Pasta" could mean spaghetti, or mac and cheese, or casserole, or Top Ramen.  I'm hoping this will ease us into a lifestyle of successful meal planning.

 

I used some scrap paper I had on hand and cut strips for my weekly calendar, as well as some little squares for the meals

 

I had an old magnet that I cut up into pieces and stuck to the backs of my squares with double-sided tape.

I also attached magnets to the backs of my week strips.

And hung them in plain sight on the fridge! The meal squares can be moved around depending on our moods any particular week.  Or I can add new ideas if I choose. 

I also made a weekly calendar for chores (because I'm a procrastinator and I always put off cleaning the bathrooms).  This way I can hold myself accountable.  Do the chores on their assigned days!