Menu plan, Week of March 19-March 25
Happy Monday everyone! So sorry I haven’t posted a menu in a couple of weeks. Having my hubby home really threw all semblance of routine out the window. He’s such a bad influence! 
Not really, it’s really all my fault. I am interested to see how all of this plays out once we get to Florida as our routines and schedule will be changing drastically.
Family meal time has always been really important to me. We have always eaten dinner together as a family every night, no matter what The Chick Magnet’s work schedule was. We got some criticism from family members a few times because there was a time when it meant we were eating late and our kids were staying up later than the average kid because he worked so late in the evening. But it was just that important to us.
Now, though, for the first time in our marriage he is working a second shift. He will not be home from work until about 11 pm most nights, so I am not sure how we are going to work our meal schedule. A big breakfast all together every day? Making lunch into our “dinner” and having more simple dinners while he is working? Keeping things as they are and re-heating a plate for Daddy when he gets home?
Anyway, lots of major changes coming up VERY soon for us. I can still hardly believe it. But at least for now, and the next few weeks, I can try to build some semblance of routine and order in our lives before it gets all shook up again. I’m a creature of habit so any sort of change is hard for me. A change like this? May as well cart me off to the looney bin right now!
Here is this week’s menu-hopefully it reflects that still a bit of my sanity remains!
Monday:
- Breakfast: Crockpot Apple Oatmeal
- Lunch: Crock pot potato soup (leftover from Sunday), fruit
- Dinner: Limehouse chicken (on request from my daughter), steamed broccoli, salad
Tuesday:
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, green smoothies
- Lunch: grilled cheese, fruit, sliced carrots
- Dinner: Roasted Salmon with Strawberry-Balsamic Reduction (are you drooling yet?), Super Salad (This salad was so simple and yummy when I made it a few weeks ago)
Wednesday:
- Breakfast: Healthy, Hearty, Whole Grain and Nut Pancakes (last week I made these with banana, mini chocolate chips and natural peanut butter mixed in-the kids said they tasted like heaven!)
- Snack: almonds, green smoothies
- Dinner: Taco Salad (Shh! Don’t tell The Chick Magnet, this is one of his favorites! He’ll be so jealous!)
Thursday:
- Breakfast: Homemade granola with milk/yogurt
- Lunch: Egg McMuffins, fruit
- Dinner: Ranch House Crock Pot pork chops (without the mashed potatoes, WITH homemade ranch seasoning), baked sweet potatoes, quinoa
Friday:
- Breakfast: Homemade granola with milk or yogurt
- Lunch: Zucchini boats, cottage cheese, fruit
- Dinner: Pizza night! Homemade, of course.
Saturday:
- Breakfast: Green Monster Muffins
- Lunch: Out
- Dinner: Leftover pizza
Sunday:
- Breakfast: Green Monster Muffins
- Lunch: Out (We traditionally go out after church on Sunday-lately Chipotle has been a favorite because they just opened up a new location close to our church and they have plenty of healthy options. I LOVE Chipotle!)
- Dinner: Burgers, salad, Italian risotto
Snacks:
This is a new feature I am wanting to add so I can have a better plan for easy grab-and-go snacks. I don’t buy processed snacks like chips, cookies, crackers or fruit snacks. But I have to admit, those things are nice for convenience sake when we are in a hurry or when the kids are hungry and I’m otherwise occupied. I also like to keep a few of these types of things on hand in my diaper bag in case of a hunger emergency.
- Granola Energy Balls
- Five Ingredient Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- Baked Apple Rings (Slice apples, sprinkle with cinnamon, bake)
- Kale Chips
What’s on your menu this week?
Do any of you work second shift or have a hubby who does? How do YOU handle mealtimes at your house?
I am joining the Menu-Plan Monday link-up at Orgjunkie.com this week. Head on over to get some more great inspiration for your meal-time madness.
And as always, I am happy to post recipes for anything I have not already linked to, just let me know in the comments!
The Chick
I tried the crockpot apple oatmeal and YUM!!! My daughter is 15, nearly 16, and she liked it too!! I will finish it up for breakfast this morning and will be making it again very soon!!
I also tried the green monster muffins…we didn’t really care for those although mine were VERY green, much more so than the ones in the picture when I link for the recipe. Think I put too much spinach? Anyway, thanks for your menu. I am always up for trying something new!
Amy-so glad you liked the oatmeal-my kids love it too and I love that there is no added sugar! Sorry you didn’t care for the muffins. I wouldn’t think extra spinach would change the flavor all that much as spinach is very mild flavored, but you never know. Was it the taste or texture you didn’t like? The texture is a bit different from a regular muffin since there is no flour in them, but we like the flavor well enough.
I’m not sure what it was about the muffins and I like the green monster smoothie so I really thought I would like these too. It wasn’t that they weren’t edible, they definitely were. I’m glad I tried them as I used to be so up tight on trying anything new in the kitchen but with this weight loss journey, I am trying to incorporate healthier foods – spinach being one of them, so thank you for opening my eyes to trying new things!
Good for you Amy! I’ve been doing the same thing in the last year or so-I’ve tried lots of new foods and I usually end up liking them! I have a recipe for spinach casserole that is really yummy and packed with protein. It’s under the recipe page in my right sidebar if you want to try that out. It is one of my kids’ favorite dishes so I promise not too spinach-y. My daughter even requested it for her birthday dinner!
Another blog I follow, thefrugalgirl.com, does their meal times different due to her husband working second shift. They have their main family meal at lunch time. She also homeschools her kids Tues-Sat. Since her husband is off on Sunday and Monday. That’s a definite benefit to homeschooling, you can do what works best for your family!
Someone mentioned that blog on my FB page today too-guess it’s a sign I better check it out! We have always done Tuesday-Saturday homeschooling too because my hubby has had Mondays off for the past 4-plus years, and his new job is that way too! The flexibility is one of my favorite things about homeschooling. I’m looking forward to having him home during the day so he can be more involved in our school day. I think second shift has to be so hard for those whose kids are in traditional school-they probably hardly ever see Dad but on weekends. It’s not our ideal schedule but I’m thankful we have a little more flexibility and the kids will still get plenty of time with Daddy!
I work 3rd shift and Big Bear works until 1-4am so unfortunately there is no dinner time for us. No idea how we will make it work when baby bears are in the picture. Apart from breakfast at 4-5pm for me, all my meals are at work. Will take some juggling and adjustments eventually. I want to start meal planning but not sure where to start. Thanks for the links to the recipes.
<3
Oh what a crazy schedule! I’m not sure I’d be able to figure out menu planning with that either. Have you thought of freezer cooking? Maybe you could cook several meals on your day off and the have them through out the week. Or at least pre-cook some meat/rice/beans/noodles so that you can just throw it all together when you need it. I love the concept of freezer cooking but just haven’t quite figured out how to work it into my schedule much yet.
When we visited relatives in Europe, it took a few days to adjust to their routine: really light breakfast, huge lunch that’s several courses long, light dinner around 9 p.m.
I’m not sure what that would mean for my beloved slow cooker, but I’d be willing to give that a try if my husband worked second shift.
Oh, my slow cooker! I’ve thought of that too-I love using it! I guess it could work if I made something right before bed and had it for lunch, but I am so exhausted that time of day, it’s hard to think of actually cooking for the next day that late! But it’s also hard to think of cooking a big meal in the morning to have ready by lunchtime because our mornings can be so crazy! I’m sure we’ll figure it out eventually.
My husband often works late so we try to have 1 meal together. Sometimes it’s just breakfast. Sometimes it’s just dinner. Sometimes it’s both and occasionally it’s no meals at all. I don’t feel bad about it. We try to make the most of the time we have- especially on his days off.
I made pancakes for the boys on Saturday and they asked me if I was going to put peanut butter on them. You have started something. (-:
Lol Jenny! It’s the only way too eat them! Just like my mama used to make
Thanks for linking me up! You are so organized-planning your meals ahead of time! Awesome! Very inspired!
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