I am thinking about making a weekly meal menu. I am curious to know who of you out there use a weekly meal menu for your family. Especially for lunches for the kiddos? I am also wanting to know what are some of the meals that you have on your kiddos lunch menu?
My son is 3 1/2 year old and he loves oatmeal and hot dogs, however, I would like to add a little more variety and nutrition into his lunch and help him move away from just those two foods. Does it guarantee he'll eat lunch, yes, but i feel like it's time to move on... ya know? Is that crazy thinking with a child so young? Or is it way beyond time? I have no idea myself. All I know, is that I am tired of feeding him the SAME dang thing and having a 3 year old argument of what to eat for lunch each day. Hence the reason behind thinking more on this menu thing!
So, I want to hear from you. Your for or against a menu and what you feed your kids that are a hit and are easy and nutritional. This first time mom is needing help!!!
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7 comments:
Hey Hollie, when my kids were young, I made weekly or monthly menus. It really did help. I sometimes cooked all the food on Sundays and put it in the freezer in divided individual serving bowls. This way every one in the family had 14 meals in the freezer and were able to choose one for lunch and one for dinner daily. We not always ate the same food for dinner, but each could pick what they wanted for that day. I would cook spaghetti, corn dogs with mac n cheese, fish sticks with fries, homeade pizza using biscuits, chicken strips with mashed potatoes and carrots, hot dogs with fries, hamburger pattie with corn and green beans, etc. I would make a list on the fridge of the list of food. When they ate one, I would mark it off the list. That way, they knew what they had left on there list. When I pulled lunch out of the freezer and popped in the microwave, I would fix a salad, fix a bowl of grapes, apple slices, fruit cup, pudding cup, etc to go along with it. This puts the child in control of their meal to an extent and made life easier for all. At his age, you can let him help decide what food goes in what compartments of the bowl and then make pictures of the bowls to put on the fridge. That way, he is in charge and shoul be happier. This should also make life easier for you since all your cooking is done in one day. Leaving more time to spend with family during the week. Hope this helps.
Hollie,
I am not home but I do do it for our dinners, It cuts back on the food i wast when I go to the store and it cuts back on my grocray bill!! it really helps.
When I am faithful do make them, menu's have been a blessing! It takes the stress of decision making out of each day. If I need I occasionaly shuffle within the week so there is some flexibility. My kids love quesadillas for lunches. cheese + leftover chicken, taco meat, beans, rice whatever! Add a little salsa or light ranch for dipping and its a hit! Mac & cheese with some leftover chili makes a yummy chili mac for lunch too. (Or a can of turkey chili or just chili beans works too). They also LOVE those Tyson breaded chicken patties for sandwhiches. Don't buy them a lot cause they are high calorie but for once in a while I buy them with a coupon and I am a hero!
Here's one of my new fav's: Chicken Paprikash
2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed rosemary leaves
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 lbs of chicken thighs, skin removed
1. Heat your oven to 425, and line and spray a non stick pan (or pyrex - which I love - it's clear and you can see the food as it cooks).
2. Mix all of the spices and oil with the chicken in a large bowl. I usually put a plate on top of the bowl and shake it up. I hate getting my hands in there. I know, not very MOM of me.
Dump the chicken in your sprayed pan and roast for 35 minutes and DONE!
xoxo
Cristina
I have done really well with planning menus for a long time and then I've abandoned it completely for a long time and I can definitely say:
Things definitely go better with a menu plan!
I've never been one to stick to a rigid plan, I'm willing to swap spaghetti on Monday with hamburgers on Thursday if I don't feel like spaghetti that day. But as long as I at least have 7 options for breakfast, lunch & supper already laid out, all I have to do is shop for that and then pick one at meal time and go with it. It helps.
On my blog favorites there is a link to weight watchers recipes. I've had her blog on there for a long time, but have just recently started looking at some of the recipes & am going to start trying them. My sister (you met Pam at the BM taping) started WW and has done SO well. These recipes look really good too. They have to taste good. :)
Hope this helps you a little.
Here's another one dollface!
SO easy and SO good! We ate the whole thing in one sitting! Did I just admit to that?!
Ingredients
3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained (I bought hash brown patties and crubmled them up)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 cup shredded Cheddar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.
Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.
Here's the link http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/hash-brown-quiche-recipe/index.html. If you check out the reviews looks like you can swap with anything and eat for any meal! I would love to hear what you and your family think of it. My husband LOVED it and even the kids ate two pieces!
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