A common theme is going to emerge throughout this blog. Losing weight and maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle all take a lot of time and planning. Planning what you are going to eat throughout the week will help you avoid unhealthy options like fast food.
Due to my husband’s pay schedule, I make a two-week menu. Since I am currently in school, we also have to stick to a strict food budget of $150 for every two weeks. We buy the majority of our groceries at Walmart due to the low cost. We buy things that are on sale (or that are regularly inexpensive and higher quality) at Lowes Foods and Food Lion.
| Lowes Foods | Food Lion | ||
| Cinnamon rolls | BOGO | FL tuna | 2/$1 |
| LF pinto beans | $0.65 ea | Salami | $4.99/lb |
| Hot Pockets | $1.69 ea | Raw shrimp | BOGO |
| Picnic pork | $1.19/lb | 3lb gala apples | $2.99 ea |
| 10lb chicken leg quarters | $5.50 ea | Green grapes | $0.99/lb |
| Sweet onions | $0.99/lb | | |
| Charmin | $4.49 ea | | |
I make a menu for just the dinners that I am going to cook throughout the week. I also keep easy breakfast foods on hand like homemade bread for toast, yogurt, cereal and oatmeal. I also keep things on hand for healthy, easy lunches like tuna, carrots, celery, bread for sandwiches, etc. Then I don’t have to actually plan what we are all eating for those days, but I know that I am prepared.
My menu is based off what proteins (meats or beans) are on sale at the two grocery stores that I shop at. I like to buy protein that I can cook once and then turn in to the majority of my meals for the week. This helps with the cost of groceries and with limiting the portion size of meat. Things that I love to see in the weekly circular are: roasts, Boston butt, pork picnic, whole fryer chickens or large quantities of chicken on the bone. This week, 10 pounds of chicken leg quarters are on sale and this is a great buy. It will feed a family of 3 like mine for at least 5 meals. Plus, you can use the bones to make chicken stock for future uses. Other inexpensive protein sources that we use a lot: dried beans, canned beans, ground pork, and frozen edamame.
Now that I know that I will base a lot of my meals around chicken, I will look through my collection of recipes. I am a foodie so I have a lot of recipes both in cookbooks and stored on my computer. I try to stick to one cookbook and the recipes on my computer to make sure I don’t overwhelm myself with options. It can be annoying to eat the same protein every day for a week so it is good to add some diversity to the meals that you are planning.
After I know what meals we will be eating, I make a grocery list based on these items. I directly copy the ingredients from a recipe (or my brain if it is something I commonly cook) into my grocery list spreadsheet. I can then go through and edit this to remove items I already have on hand. When you have a very good grocery list, it is easier to avoid the unhealthy foods. Just stick to what you have on the list.
A side note: I get kidney and salivary gland stones. I have to limit my oxalate intake, so I can’t have the following in my diet: tea, spinach, tahini, miso, sesame seeds, and beets. If you want to use my menus and recipes, you will see that we eat kale instead of spinach. Feel free to replace the kale with spinach or try something new!
| Biweekly Meal Planner | |
| Saturday 03/26/11 | Sushi for anniversary |
| Sunday 03/27/11 | Bibimbap ("Japanese dirty rice") |
| Monday 03/28/11 | Creole black beans and rice |
| Tuesday 03/29/11 | Sausage and egg pizza |
| Kale caesar salad | |
| Wednesday 03/30/11 | Taco Wednesday |
| Thursday 03/31/11 | Creamy Mexican corn soup |
| Corn fritters | |
| Friday 04/01/11 | BBQ chicken tenders |
| Baked french fries, fruit | |
| Cut up chicken | |
| Saturday 04/02/11 | Braised chicken and garlicy kale |
| Homemade bread | |
| Cook the rest of the chicken, make broth | |
| Sunday 04/03/11 | Braised chicken with saffron cream sauce over pasta |
| Homemade bread | |
| Monday 04/04/11 | Texas stew |
| Tuesday 04/05/11 | Chicken pot pie soup |
| Wednesday 04/06/11 | Taco Wednesday |
| Thursday 04/07/11 | Leftovers |
| Friday 04/08/11 | Chili lime chicken tacos |
| Spanish rice | |
| Need | pancake mix | polska kielbasa | From Oriental Market |
| shampoo | cereal | chicken | Hoisin |
| razors | cornmeal | tortillas (3) | Rice wine vinegar |
| litter | toffee bits | frozen green peppers | Shaoxing |
| water bottle | shake em ups | frozen corn | |
| velcro | cannellini beans | frozen green beans | |
| socks - Matt | tuna | pot pies | |
| eggs | crushed tomatoes | onions | |
| yogurt | diced tomatoes | kale | |
| crackers | stewed tomatoes | lemons | |
| coffee creamer | rigatoni | red onion | |
| milk | pizza crust | green onions | |
| parmesan cheese | dried ancho chile | jalapenos | |
| soda | canned baby corn | parsley | |
| laundry detergent | picante sauce | limes | |
| toilet paper | taco shells | celery | |
| ziplocs | coffee | carrots | |
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