Scattered Sundays and Meal Plan
I have questions for you all, and I’m hoping you have some answers! Those answers will inform my next steps in a way that I hope will be of benefit to you.
I’m batting around the idea of separating my meal plan from my normal Sunday posts. The way I think of it, if anyone is looking for ideas for what to have for dinner, Sunday is probably too late at that point. If I were to post a weekly meal plan on Friday, it would give you the weekend to grocery shop and prep. But I realize that is making a lot of assumptions about how you meal plan (or don’t), grocery shop (or don’t), and prep (or don’t). Hence the poll. Could you please help me out and leave the answers to these questions in the comments?
a) When do you do the bulk of your grocery shopping?
- Weekend
- Weekday
- Who plans that ish? I go when I need stuff.
b) Where do you do the bulk of your grocery shopping?
- Traditional grocery store (including Costco, Sams Club, Super Target)
- More specialized grocery stores (including Whole Foods, Trader Joes)
- Online delivery service (including Amazon)
- Co-op or health food store
c) Do you meal prep?
- Yes!
- B, you’re crazy
d) When do you meal prep?
- Saturday or Sunday
- During the week
- B, you’re crazy
e) Would you be interested if I posted weekly meal plans on Fridays, and included a printable menu AND shopping list? For free of course.
- Yes!
- Nah, keep your Sunday posts as is. And the pass the Nutella.
I appreciate your answers in advance! My goal and hope is to make this blog user-friendly for ya’ll, and I think this may be a way to serve a need.
Jack is out of school this Wednesday, and I am borderline freaking out. Currently, I work on blog stuff while Bennett is down for his afternoon nap. He dropped his morning nap (whaaaaaaaa), so I now crunch hard for 90 minutes when he is sleeping. I am always working once B is asleep, and the afternoon work time is vital to me. I feel like I am finally getting traction on taking this space to where I want it to go, and having Jack home is going to put a damper in the routine. He’s signed up for a few activities and camps this summer, and we plan to be at the public library summer program almost every other day. But day in and day out, I am still faced with having him around and bored during my critical work time. He is a wonderful independent reader, but I feel like if I want to work without interruption, he’s going to be watching more television than I am comfortable with this summer.
I have already reworked my early mornings to hopefully accommodate an extra hour of work time. Currently, I get up between 4:30 and 5 am to help my mom. I then shower, eat breakfast, and try to do some blog work. Bennett is now waking up by 6 am most days, which further compresses my ability to get computer work done. For the summer, when Troy is home, my plan is to get up at the same time, but instead of the doing rest of the stuff, I’ll just do computer/blog work. Having Troy around in the mornings means I can shower and get ready when everyone is awake. When Troy is at work, I’ll do my normal routine, and just try to add extra time at the end of the day. We’ll see how it goes.
Oh hey, happy Father’s Day all the dads out there! Hoping your day brings some sleep in time, a great breakfast, wonderful hugs, and thoughtful gifts. We are headed to Troy’s parent’s house today, along with my parents and Troy’s sister. We’ll be giving my dad his gift this afternoon. I’ll post a photo of it on Facebook and Instagram later if you want a good laugh. It cracks me up any time I think of it. Troy found the inspiration for it months ago, and my sis and I had it made for him recently.
Hey, for any podcast fans with kids out there, did you know NPR now has a podcast just for kids? It is called Wow in the World. Frankly, it makes me roll my eyes in the way that those horrid Disney channel situational comedies make me cringe, but I am not the target audience. Jack loves it and looks forward to new episodes each week. Guy Raz is one of the hosts of Wow in the World, and I just love another podcast he does called How I Built This.
My feet are healing nicely(ish), and I hit 10k steps almost every day in the past week. There is no more crawling on the floor, and I can wear normal shoes again. Still no bare feet around the house and flip flops are a no go for now, but I am happy to feel like I am headed towards normal. When I saw the foot doc for the second time, I asked him for new walking shoe recommendations. My current pair is almost shot after a year of walks with Bennett. He gave me a list of a few, and most of them were not really in my price range. However, these Asics that he recommended were super reasonably priced and were Amazon Prime eligible. I ordered a pair, but need to wait until my feet are totally 100% before deciding if they have found their forever home.
I rarely wear running shoes with jeans. I feel very Seinfeldian all of the sudden.
A few months ago, my friend Angela sent me a small bottle of Plant Therapy essential oils. I think she was sick of listening to me talk about not being able to sleep, and thought the Sleep Aid blend might help. I have been using it, and I really like it. I put one drop on a cotton ball at bedtime and put it on the little nightstand next to my bed. I don’t sell oils, I’m not part of any oil referral program or anything, but I wanted to share it for all the other crappy sleepers out there. If you sell oils from another brand (that may or may not rhyme with toDerra or LoungYiving), please don’t feel the need to link your shop and tell everyone that your sleep blend is better. I have next to zero energy for tolerating the single silliest battle around – essential oil wars.
As you may have seen on Facebook, we made these burritos on Thursday for dinner, and they were a big hit for everyone. Bennett will eat anything that contains black beans, and even picky Jack enjoyed them after turning his nose up at first. I didn’t include the peppers it called for (Jack is always on the alert for things that look remotely spicy), didn’t use any chili powder, but did add smoked paprika. I used fresh garlic and minced onion and cooked it with the beef. And the end of cooking the beef, I added a bit of cream cheese to make the filling kind of creamy (I can’t stand sour cream). I really wish I had flavored the rice I used it in, as plain white rice wasn’t too exciting. I topped each burrito – except Jack’s – with my Homemade Smoky Avocado Dip. I will definitely make them again, but I think I would prefer it with shredded pork or chicken. I tend to just not be a huge ground beef fan.
(Click here to copy and navigate the meal plan below) I tried to make the links on this document open in a new window on desktop, but alas it wasn’t in the cards.
Smith Brother’s Farms – $19.84
Local grocery store – $16.65. The rice was on the clearance table for $1 each, and it doesn’t expire until 2019! The Noosa Yoghurt (our absolute favorite) was free with the store app, and the YoBaby yogurt was on clearance for $2, and eligible for a $.75 rebate through Ibotta! The lemon and bananas were free, because there was a $2 off coupon on the store app. 
Costco – 69.12. I was so excited to see organic grapes at Costco this week. They’re called Cotton Candy grapes, and holy snikeys, they DO taste like cotton candy. We went through all three pounds in five days.
What are you having this week?
Answers:
A – 1 & 2 – depends on the store I go to. I try to avoid crowds whenever possible
B – 1 & 2 – most groceries come from Costco & a small fruit & veggie market that also has great imported products (imported pasta\’s and tomato products for cheaper than store brand at chain store)
C – 1- but I need to do more, especially pre-cutting & washing veggies
D- 1 – would like to be more organized & do a bit on weekdays
E – 2
I really like reading your blog. My ONLY improvement suggestion is to change the color of the font you use. Light gray on a white background just doesn\’t work for my old eyes. When I receive the email, the font is black which is much easier to read. When I click through to read direct from your blog, the font changes to this light gray which is hard for me to see. I WANT to click through to your blog because I have a feeling you get more $ if readers do that, but many times I just read the email because the font is easier to read.
Hi Jean, I actually changed my font color over a week ago due to feedback from another reader (and my dad). When I initially changed it, I couldn’t see any difference on my computer. The tech person I was working with had me clear my cache in my browser and then it showed the changes. The new font is easily twice as dark as the old one.
All browsers (IE, Firefox, and Chrome) have a “clear cache” option. I’d be curious to see if the font is improved for you if you reset yours. If it doesn’t please let me know, and I’ll spend some more time talking with teen tech support in Balkan states. 🙂
Better, thanks Sarah!
Phew!!!
A) 1
B) all. 1 more than the others though
C) 2. I only plan protein, sides are in the moment
d) 1
e) 1
a) When do you do the bulk of your grocery shopping?
Weekday – when it works between work commitments as I work freelance/contract
b) Where do you do the bulk of your grocery shopping?
Traditional grocery store – I flyer shop for the best deals and try to hit the store that has the most of what I want n sale. If its a really good sale on something I might make a trip to a second store that week
c) Do you meal prep?
sort of ;). I have an idea of what I have on hand and what I might need as well as what activities are on for the week. For instance, if my daughter has a 5 pm practice, I know that she’ll have to have supper right when she gets home from school so I plan accordingly. However, I am not as planned as you are 🙂
d) When do you meal prep?
It depends, but I try to be on top of things as I can. When peppers or celery or ground beef (things that freeze well) are on sale, I buy more than I need, chop and freeze them in 1/2 to 1 cup portions so that I can quickly throw them into in a pot if I’m making something like spaghetti sauce or chili. I cook up the ground beef and can.
e) Sure, I use your meal plan to get ideas. It doesn’t really matter to me when you post your plan,
I am scoping out Instant Pots as well. I also have 2 crockpots of different sizes and I want a third. You may want to check out this blog https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/going-first-person-hate-instant-pot/
She’s really funny and puts the instant pot through its paces in a few blog posts.
Hi! I am lazy and disorganized and a terrible cook, in spite of having read your blog for a few years now (love it, in all iterations so far! I probably should comment more often…).
A – 3
B – 1
C – 2
D – 3
E – 1 or 2 – either is good, as long as you pass the Nutella.
Most of my meal planning comes from Blue Apron these days, or deciding what restaurant to hit when I’m traveling. I once in a while go through a meal planning phase, but it doesn’t usually stick. I live with a roommate, and we used to do a lot of meals together, but we’re pretty much never home at the same time anymore – so I’m responsible for feeding myself, which doesn’t always work out in a healthy manner…
A – 1 Sunday, if I miss my trip for some reason it throws me off for the whole week and we end up eating like crap or eating out!
B – 1 Kroger or Publix, I live in the southeast. Publix is the most amazing grocery store, but is definitely more expensive so I try to stick to Kroger when possible.
C – 1
D – 2, or if my son takes a long nap in the afternoon I will try to do some on Sunday
E – 1, of course, any resources are a plus!
a) When do you do the bulk of your grocery shopping?
I go when I need stuff. I like to keep a variety of things available, so that I can make whatever I’m in the mood for.
b) Where do you do the bulk of your grocery shopping?
Traditional grocery store
c) Do you meal prep?
Sometimes– depends on how busy the upcoming week appears it will be
d) When do you meal prep? My work week runs Saturday – Wednesday, so for me, it’s usually on Friday.
e) Would you be interested if I posted weekly meal plans on Fridays, and included a printable menu AND shopping list? For free of course.
Yes– but I read your posts as much for what is happening in your life as for the menus.
Hi
For when your feet are completely better or for use in other places.
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2013/10/make-your-own-sleep-salve-for-sweet-dreams-and-soft-feet.html (Not my recipe/site)
I make buckets of this(well ok quite large jars). It smells great, slightly spicy, keeps your feet smooth if you use it there and is good for the sleeplessness (I’m relying on the testimony of reliable others here as I am very lucky to not suffer that way). You could just make up the oil and use it on a cotton ball as well I guess. DIY version of the various sleep blends out there.
As for the questionnaire I am hugely disorganised but try to do meal prep for work lunches at least. Usually on Sunday.
TG
a) 1 and 3; b) 1; c) 2 very occasionally 1; d) 3; e 2.
I am not going to scroll back up to the questions, sorry!!! I meal plan once every 2 weeks. Then I do a “big shop” at Aldi, another shop at a store for things Aldi doesn’t have and usually a small restock of essentials (milk/bread) one week in. If I go more often, funny thing, I spend more! 🙂 And my meal plan is a list of “options” for the 2 weeks that I make sure I have all the supplies for and then I fix what I’m in the mood for/have time for each day. But just having a list of ideas on the fridge is exactly what I need. During the summer, I usually do the planning on the weekend and hit the store Monday. During the school year, we have our one day of co-op school on Mondays and Monday night is spent planning the week of homeschool…so often I do the planning Tuesday or Wednesday but still hit Aldi up on Tuesday because by then we’re low on E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. How they manage to eat everything on the weekends, I never know!