Meal Planning

Normally I am not a big planner.  I also officially began to refuse to be a list maker when I turned forty professing that I refuse to live by my own rules anymore.  Not sure where this meal planning agenda fits in to that plan.  It started when I was at the day care today making a new lunch planning menu for the weeks ahead.  Sometimes I do this but most of the time I do not.  I just make sure I have enough and fix what I have each day.  When my little menu was done for the week I felt better knowing what we would have the next few days, so I went further and planned the next few weeks.  I realize that people do this all the time, I am just normally not one of them.  I will get a few ideas for lunches and suppers and take it to the grocery and call it done. 

 

I started out by writing down (not an official list) main dishes, side dishes and fruit for the DC.  Then picked one off each... um... list... and wrote them down for each day.  It wound up looking like this.

 

Yes, I have only part time kids and no kids on Fridays!  I try to feed them as healthy as I know how.  The hot dogs are turkey dogs, the jello is sugar free and I throw veggies in to the paddies that they don't know they are eating sometimes.  I try to make sure there is a meat, vegetable, fruit and a bargaining chip to get the plates cleaned off.

 

Then... are you ready for this... I went a little crazy and did the same thing for suppers at home.  I obviously cook a lot and no, we don't go out to eat much.  Although I will alter any of these evening plans for the occasional supper out.  I will also plan my grocery lists accordingly. 

 I really figured this planning would help get me started in the Holiday season and take a bit of stress off what's for supper. 

 

 

AND... I made a blank one for you.  Just in case you want to get in on the fun.  Just copy and paste it or right click and print... however your fancy pc lets you do it.

 

 

By the way, I am on an "eat what's in the freezer" kick, so I told Shaun this morning.  So the majority of the meals are planned around what we have on hand.  We have four deep freezers and three refrigerators and could probably eat for two months without going to the grocery except for bread and milk.  We keep deer meat in one, our pork in another, garden vegetables in the third freezer and the rest in the upright.  You would think we fed a huge family.  But, we like to eat what we grow and raise and it's time to stop buying anything but fish and chicken and who knows, we might just become fisherman to avoid buying fish!

 

 



Planning a Garden with Kids

I consider myself lucky that I have two gardens to plan.  We have a rather large garden at home and a smaller one at the day care.  I have showed you plans for our garden at home, so here's what we are doing at the DC.

Several months ago, I purchased chalk board contact paper from Amazon.com.  For some reason I didn't think I would like it and didn't do anything with it right away.  I was lucky to have it when this project came to mind.  I found a spot of wall space in the kitchen, measured it and cut out the appropriate size of the contact paper.  I then stuck it right on the wall.  It is utterly fantastic!  It takes chalk writing really well and once more when I am finished I can peel it off and no harm done to my wall! 

So, after the back drop for our plans was in place, the kids and I got out the Burpee seed catalogue.  This is the one I get in the mail, mostly because it is where I have wound up ordering garlic seed for the last two years.  I have been asking the kids what they wanted to grow in our garden this year for weeks.  So it wasn't to tough to look through and find pictures to cut out.  We taped them on to the contact paper and I wrote what each of them were next to the picture. 

Next, all we have to do is the layout of our garden and then on to actual planting! 

 

 

 

 

Now this puts me in the market for kid sized tools for the garden!

Garden Planning

I love spending Winter thoughts planning a Summer garden.  Dreaming about it's outcome.  Not knowing what the following Summer may hold for us.  This past year was very dry and we had to water yet our yield of some was higher than the year before. 

Sometimes I plant things that I don't use.  Things that go to waste and make me feel like I shouldn't have planted so much.  Or sometimes the weeds take over and I loose interest in what I once thought I would enjoy, mainly because I can't find it.  Even though we both do our fair share of hoeing and weeding.  It still gets away from us at some point and time.

Another snafu that I harbor is seeing seedlings come up from the previous year's seed drops and not having the ability to pluck them.  Therefore areas of our garden grow wild.  Especially through my herb and flower section.  It is a beautiful sight and wild and unruly is definitely a part of me and my garden will probably always grow this way... but.

This year, my list of plants to grow from seed, includes my intentions.  While making my list of vegetables and herbs, I noted where they are needed.  Mostly what our freezer is low on already and will need to be replenished.  I have not listed a few of our garden staples like green beans and corn.

 This is from my journal.  2013 Garden Plans.

 

This is from the next page and what I would like to make for my eggplant plants which are experimental in our garden this year so why not experiment with keeping them under control?

I got this idea/picture from the etsy sight that I ordered the seeds from, myvictorygarden. 

 

Over the last several years, I have become a journal person.  I keep notes on books, quotes I like, gardening, recipes and jot things down just to get them off my chest.  I have looked back on my journals on many occasions just for memory's sake!  If you aren't a journal keeping person, consider it.  It is a valuable possession to have.

 

What are your current garden plans?