Make a Menu!

In my ongoing quest to be organized and provide my family with good food I have discovered that one cheap little tool makes this a lot easier....

A weekly planner.
This little magnetic calendar is available in the $1 bin at Michael's craft store all year long. Each weekend I write the menu for the week, check recipes that I'd like to try, check food supplies in my home, and then create my grocery list. I love to get up and go grocery shopping on Sunday mornings when the stores are dead quiet and before my family even wakes up. Then I am free to come back home, slip back into my pj's and act like I never had to leave in the first place. This Sunday shopping is a life-saver in that our cabinets and fridge are stocked for the week, there is no scrambling to fill a lunch bag on Monday morning, or a discovery that we are out of creamer for the coffee (not a good way to start a work week).

My goal for each week is to try a new recipe or make something a little more labor-intensive on Tuesday or Friday afternoons-my days off. I am also a stickler for cooking a real breakfast for my kids-you will find no pop tarts or Eggo waffles in my house. I am also against putting what I call "filler foods" in their lunchboxes everyday. This isn't to say they never have Goldfish or pretzels, just not on a daily basis. By making a menu and grocery shopping on the weekend, I feel organized. The whole family can reap the benefits of good nutrition.