Food Glorious Food !

One of my New Year's resolutions this year (and for the past 12 years, ahem!) has been to get a better handle on our family budget. And one of the biggest things that I want to change is how much money we spend on groceries. The main culprits of overspent food money in our home - waste!!

It is usually me that does the grocery shopping, and unfortunately sometimes my pack rat self takes over. After all, you never know when you will be snowed in and need 12 jars of peanut butter, right? It isn't really the 'pantry' things that are the issue. I do love to have a stocked cold cellar. It becomes a problem, though, when I stock up on too many perishables that then end up being tossed because they have rotted before we get to eat them. I also come from a long line of women who feel it is far better to have enough food to feed an army than to run out of something at the dinner table. Not a very sustainable approach to meals, but what can I say?

So, I am tackling this little issue of mine by trying to plan out the meals and snacks for our family each week. It should help me to purchase the foods that we need, but not over-buy the things that won't last. Here is what is on the menu for this week:

Breakfast: mornings on our family are a fairly relaxed affair, and breakfast is, too. Most mornings we all grab what we want of: pancakes, English muffins, yogurt and fruit, cereal, smoothies, toast and jam, eggs and toast, or oatmeal and applesauce, plus juice or milk.

Monday
Lunch: Snack lunch - crackers, cheese, sliced apples, dried cranberries, cashews, grapes and turkey / ham slices
Supper: Spaghetti with tomato sauce, tossed salad and garlic bread with cheese
Snack: Pretzels and peanut butter, sliced oranges

Tuesday
Lunch: Homemade macaroni and cheese with ham, mixed veggies
Supper: Rotisserie chicken, home made french fries, gravy and peas.
Snack:Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf

Wednesday
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches, apple slices and juice
Supper: Cauliflower and potato bake, mixed salad, and chocolate chip cookies (at my sister's home)
Snack: Pretzels, fruit bars and yogurt on the way to swim lessons

Thursday
Lunch: Tomato soup, sliced carrots, cucumbers, and pita chips with red pepper dip
Supper: Chicken fajitas (with leftover rotisserie chicken) made with peppers, onions, tomatoes and cheese
Snack: Pear slices and Valentines day cookies

Friday
Lunch: Bacon, eggs and toast, baked beans, sliced tomatoes
Supper: Meatball subs (with leftover spaghetti sauce) and Caesar salad
Snack: Crackers and cheese, applesauce

Saturday
Lunch: Peanut butter and jam sandwiches, apple slices and milk
Supper: Homemade pizza with tossed salad
Snack: Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread

Sunday
Lunch: Bagels and cream cheese, bananas and grapes, milk or juice
Supper: Roast beef with mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots and turnip
Snack: Applesauce cake with brown sugar topping

Yum!!