Meal Plan ~ February 2013 week 1

French Toast to start our meal plan off right!For me, nesting instincts tend to hit rather late in my pregnancy, staying true to my natural tendency for procrastination. Some people clean like crazy, some people decorate the nursery... my call is to the kitchen. I want to put away healthy and delicious food for me and my family. With my first son I made extra meals to have on hand for the first few weeks, I was glad I did, but I really would have liked more. When my second was born I had a freezer full of homemade food and a couple quick fix meal plans to last me 12 weeks, however it just wasn't enough variety. With baby number three on the way I am trying to set aside 25 different meals (giving me about 50 meals), without over using casseroles. I find that I am not a once a month cooking type of gal, I prefer to make double or triple batches of something when we are eating it. So February is my month of doubling or tripling most of our recipes to make sure I have a freezer full of yummy food once baby arrives. Here is what the first week of February looks like:

February 1 – February 7, 2013

	Fri 1	Sat 2	Sun 3	Mon 4	Tues 5	Wed 6	Thur 7
reakfast	Leftover French Toast	Cinnamon Rolls Scrambled Eggs	Grapes, cheese, boiled eggs	Banana Muffins (X2)	Ham & Egg Cups	Apple Sauce Pancakes	Fried Potatoes & Eggs
Lunch	Cauliflower & Egg Drop Soup, toast	Cream cheese and Liver Pate (X2) on homemade bread, Tomato slices	Slow-Cooker Lentil Stew With Kraut and yogurt	Egg Sandwiches With pickles	Dinner Leftovers	Bean, Spinach, and Quinoa Burritos (X2)	Hot Dogs Kraut
Snack/ Treat	Chick-peas	Milk Shake Using homemade ice cream	Peppers & Ranch	Smoothie	Carrot Sticks & PB	Smoothie	Chick-peas
Dinner	Pizza (x2)	Sausage Manicotti (X3) Salad with Ranch	Fish Veracruz (X3) Steamed Broccoli	Slow Cooked Pig Cheeks Rice (make extra) Kraut	Vegetable Soup (X2) Artisan Bread Breaded Beef Heart	Church	Mozzarella Meat Pie (X3) Salad with Ranch
Notes:	Grind Flour Start Sourdough Bake Sandwich Brd Make Yogurt Cure Bacon Defrost liver	Stir Sourdough Manicotti Liver Pate Boil Eggs Chop Veggies for Lentils Soak Lentils Sprout Flour	Start Artisan Bread Defrost Cheeks Freeze/ Seal Lentils Stir Sourdough	Soak Pinto Beans Stir Sourdough	Make Pinto Beans Bake Sandwich Brd Ferment Ketchup Stir Sourdough	Make Ranch Stir Sourdough Make "hot pockets" Make Kraut Defrost Beef	Stir Sourdough Crock-Pot Pumpkin Puree

As you can see I plan out all of our meals; breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. It doesn't always happen the way it is planned, but I love having something set up. I will switch things around as different events happen, or as my energy allows. I have been menu planning for at least the last five years (that is as far back as the files go on my computer), I occasionally miss planning for a week or two due to life circumstances, but I often feel like life is too chaotic without a plan so I happily settle back into writing out my meals. I have used various start days for my menu plans; Mondays were the traditional stand-bys (and I hope to head back that way eventually), but my shopping day is now at the end of the week so I have shifted over to Friday as my start day, which also happened to be the first of the month this time around. I have a busy week in the kitchen this week, but I know it'll be well worth it in the end!

Please note that I have linked up to some recipes that are not "Real Food" recipes, however when I make them I substitute unprocessed food, or I use the recipe as a base for our meals. You may notice some odd cuts of meat on our menu plan this week. My parents and I split a grassfed cow, pastured pig, and pastured lamb and when we do we ask for everything, so we eat all of the bits and pieces.

With this being my first post on meal planning I am linking up at I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. Where you can see meal plans from all kinds of great people.  

I am also linking up to Menu Monday: What's for Dinner