Every mom I know is busy busy busy! And I’m no exception.  Ideally I would love to wake up on Monday morning to a clean and tidy house, fully stocked fridge and pantry, dishes done, laundry caught up, and have more time left than chores undone at the end of the day.  But the IDEAL world and REALITY  are never the same here.  With the arrival of the new year comes a time to rethink our lives and how to make the most of our time and talents.  This year, instead of making resolutions, I am vowing to improve situations that suck up my joy and energy – or even elminate them if possible! How does this relate to a cooking blog you might ask?  Here’s how.

My goal this year is to consistently plan a menu for our family on Sunday.  I am not really a list oriented person so this is a challenge for me.  I like to open the cupboards and know the ingredients are stocked to make whatever I’ve got a “hankering” for.  But I often fail to take 15 mintues of time to inventory the fridge and freezer or the pantry and formulate a plan.

Reasons for planning a menu:

• It will save me time in the long run because I can make a list of groceries to purchase before heading to the store and avoid return trips for items.
• The kids actually enjoy having a visual menu to look at.  I guess they can anticipate dinner if a favorite dish is on the menu perhaps?
• Planning a menu saves us MONEY!  I spent HALF my usual weekly amount this week simply by planning a menu around what I had in the freezer and pantry. I am not expecting to see a 50% decrease in our monthly grocery expense, but I do expect the cost to decrease with menu planning.
• My day goes so much smoother if I wake up with a plan. I know we’ve heard it time and time again, but I need to be reminded, “FAIL TO PLAN, PLAN TO FAIL.”
• We can eat healthier food if I have planned the meals.  If we have healthy items in the pantry and fridge then it certainly is easier to cook healthy.
• It is easier to try new recipes if I’ve planned ahead and have all the items needed on hand. My family appreciates the effort I go through to bring new dishes to the table.  Variety is the “spice” of life right?

This week my menu is simply scrawled on the back side of some paper that was going to be recycled.  But I love the FREE planners available to print from www.thehomeschoolmom.com.  Menu planners, chore charts, and home school planners are available to down load from this site.  If you have a favorite free planner, please share  a link in the comments section here.  And Happy Planning!

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