I have never been one to enjoy cooking/baking. I would rather clean and organize! I guess it takes me more TIME to STUDY the recipe to make sure I get it right, and I prefer SIMPLE and FASTER meals!
My husband found MakingFrugalFun.com and printed The Frugal Meal Planner for me, to motivate me. It eventually did! Her suggestions really helped me form my own schedule and we’ve kept some of her recipes! Now that I know her website name, I can go back to see what else she has! Check it out!
Now I schedule my DINNER meals like this:
Sun – Leftovers
Mon – Cooking
Tues – Leftovers
Weds – Cooking
Thurs – Leftovers (this is also Line Dance day in our area, so it works out!)
Fri – Pizza Night/Eating Out
Sat – Cooking
Side Note: especially when kids get older and eat more, the meals will need to be doubled in order to have enough leftovers.
I have little to no cookbooks! I just have cards with recipes written on them. I have been trying to get all the recipe papers I have, written down, so I can keep them in my recipe box. THEN I can tackle all those recipes my husband sends me on Instagram! My problem is the lack of meals, but I have a few more now then what I started with.
BREAKFAST and LUNCH MEALS:
I keep these very simple, and after pregnancy and dealing with gestational diabetes, I now know I need to eat healthier and balanced.
Breakfast:
I used to eat CEREAL everyday, and eggs with potatoes and bacon once on the weekend. Then with my first pregnancy, I began having 2 scrambled eggs with onions and peppers, in a wrap with cheese or bacon. I couldn’t believe how delicious it was/is! I have been eating that ever since! Now I want to have some days with a strawberry, banana, yogurt, and ice smoothie to reduce some weight and slow my egg consumption a little. IF I wanted muffins, pancakes, donuts…I would always have a side of eggs, to balance the carb with protein!
Lunch:
I used to eat SANDWICHES from tuna, chicken, PB&J, Italians…but that’s a lot of bread. Since the first pregnancy, I began eating salads more. I LOVE salads. I would eat some chips with it, as chips don’t have an extreme amount of carbs (unless we eat the entire bag). I will have sandwiches once in a while. I even found a red-pepper melt recipe! Cut a red pepper in half, fill it with tuna or chicken mixed with mayo and onions (and celery), top with cheese, broil till cheese browns a little, take it out and garnish with chives! YUM!
In conclusion: simplifying breakfast and lunch gives me less stress and I am always eating my favorite healthy foods! The only thing I really need to worry about is figuring out dinners!
Now that I have been cooking most everyday since we had the first child, I am happier cooking meals at home, and even baking! We save money by NOT eating out, not having a supersized meal set in front of us, and we know exactly what is in our food. It’s really nice.
