Meal calendar

The other night I was out with a bunch of friends.  As we were talking about our grocery budgets, I shared how we keep our expenses on the low end.  The biggest thing we do, is use a meal calendar.  I plan each month's menu, and when I do this, I try to keep in mind my actual life.  There are certain days I don't get home until 6 pm, that means I either need a crockpot meal, or a quick meal.  There are some days my kids get home and leave at different times, meaning we need a meal that can be eaten at various times.  I take all these things into account, and make the plan accordingly.  

One thing that has made planning easier, is picking a day of the week for certain foods.  For example,  Monday is soup, Tuesday is Pasta, Wednesday is Mexican, Thursday is Chicken, Friday is Easy Foods..etc...  Think of what works best for you, and your family, and your situation.

I try to make all my meals healthy.   But, honestly, I am just trying to keep my family fed in the best way I know how.  That means somedays we serve fish and brown rice.  Other days it means Spaghetti.  I am not professing to be a gourmet cook.  I am not. I am like every other person, doing the best I can, with what I have been given.

Some of the women asked that I put my menu online, so they could see what we were up to, and maybe use the calendar themselves.  So, here it is.

I notice the writing is not particularly clear in the picture.  So here is a list:

Turkey Burgers

Pasta

Crockpot Tacos

Chicken Pitas

Eat Out (birthday)

White Chicken Chili

Lemon Pasta

Coconut Curry

Chicken Apple Sausages

Fish tacos

Steak

Pork Roast

Taco Soup

Pasta Carbonara

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Chili and Potatoes

Flautas

Grilled Chicken 

Creamy Chicken and Rice

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Spicy Chicken Pasta

Swedish Meatballs

Apricot Chicken

Tomato Soup and Sandwich

Steak

Pasta Salad

BBQ Sandwiches

I hope this helps.