Meal Planning Monday for January 5, 2009

Aaaaand we're back! With the meal planning I mean. I love the bomb-in-the-meal-planning-schedule that the holidays bring, but I don't miss the gut-busting meals (okay, maybe I miss one or two of them) or wondering when the last time I ate a vegetable was. I don't know about you, but our holidays always seem to revolve around meat and cheese.

I am ready to get back to our normal way of eating with a special emphasis on following my 2009 intentions. I still want to make tasty, healthful meals for my family, but I also want to make sure our choices are just as budget-friendly as ever (without sacrificing my commitment to eat and shop local) and I want to try and reduce the amount of energy I use to prepare meals.

Speaking of which, did you know that replacing one meal with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can save the world? Looks like this week marks the return of sandwich night. I knew there was a reason we used to do that.

Budgetwise, I got into the habit of keeping myself honest last year by sharing what I normally spend on groceries per week. I do this also to show that you can shop local without breaking the bank (mainly I need to show myself this). I would almost rather spend money on food than anything else because this is the fuel that is going into my children's bodies and I love to cook, but I can't realistically shop just at farmer's markets or even buy everything organic. I am thrilled, however, that my local Korean market has an ever expanding organic section so I can now find organic soy sauce, teas, rice, noodles, and sesame oil.

This week I spent $91 at my local natural foods store to get all the items for this week's meals plus the fruit (8 apples, 4 pears, a bunch of bananas) and yogurt that will get us through lunches and snacks this week. I didn't buy any meat because we have so much leftover in the freezer and I am making a conscious effort to reduce even our moderate meat consumption, but I did get beans, canned tomatoes, and bulk bin items like barley, polenta, and peas. Tea was half off so I got 3 boxes--we go through a lot of it. All four of us drink it. I also bought a bag of gingersnaps, a bottle of ketchup, a box of veggie burgers, and some ice cream sandwiches for dessert night (Friday nights).

As I type up this week's menu, I have Smitten Kitchen's Beef Barley and Leek soup simmering on the stove. Thanks to @posthipchick who Twittered about its deliciousness the other night, I have had practically nothing else on the brain since. I used about 2 pounds of leftover brisket instead of the shortribs (next time) and I used four gorgeous leeks instead of three and 1 onion instead of two. I don't have to defat the soup since I already defatted the brisket once it was cooked. I just checked on it and it's pretty thick already after an hour so if you like a brothier soup, I'd have a couple cups of broth in reserve to add as necessary. (I used Imagine Low Sodium Organic Beef Broth.) Can't wait to dive into this soup tonight!

Now that you know what we're having for dinner tonight, on to this week's menu!

• Monday--Smitten Kitchen's Beef, Leek, and Barley soup
• Tuesday--Baked potato bar (toppings: steamed broccoli, crispy bacon, plain yogurt, blue cheese)
• Wednesday Sandwich Night: Grilled salmon sandwiches with herby greens and dill dressing
• Thursday--C.O.R.N. (Clean Out Refrigerator Night) perhaps into a big, veg-ful taco salad? Yes, I think so.
• Friday--Date night
• Saturday--hoping for vegetarian Indian dosas with raita and sambal. At $5 a pop they are far better and just as cheap as "fast food." Dinner for four for about $20!
• Sunday--Leftover leg of lamb and creamy polenta, veg TBD pending Farmer's market trip

What are you cooking up this week, and has your menu planning been influenced by New Year's resolutions or intentions?

Comments

[kayris]

We had chicken made with bread crumbs, curry, mango chutney and coconut tonight, with steamed corn, salads and brown rice.

The new year has affected my menu planning, but mostly with regards to breakfast. I need to eat more substantial foods in the morning (and not at noon), so I've been buying things that are healthy and fast, to encourage me to actually eat them.

[Karen]

mmm...baked potato bar. we haven't done that for a while, I think I will finagle that into our meal planning. that soup sounds great - I love SmittenKitchen - and a good way to repurpose leftovers. I have some holiday turkey in the freezer waiting to be reincarnated into a Persian baked rice dish (tachin). we are trying to eat more produce - fruit for snacks and desserts, more vegetable based meals. we also got a juicer at christmas that is seeing a lot of action. to that end we are buying more produce at Costco to save money but it also "inspires" me to eat/serve more fruits & veggies before they go bad.

[Hillary]

Love Smitten Kitten. I think my husband fell in love with me again when I baked her cranberry scones.

Anyway, meals:
We had beef tacos last night, though I am trying to reduce our meat consumption. Tonight is black bean soup. Wednesday, I'm thinking we'll unfreeze the leftover cabbage rolls from Christmas Eve, and Thursday we'll do spinach and artichoke calzones. My mom is in town this weekend, and it's The Boy's birthday, so we're still not completely on track, but we're getting better.

[Tara]

Clean Out Refrigerator Night - what a brilliant idea.
After Christmas we had a clean out the goodie cupboard day (which was very very bad) so I need to find some new improved ways in the kitchen!

Just visiting from, actually I have no idea how I stumbled here, but I did!

[Naomi]

Love the menu plan.

I too am SO excited to be back on track. I'll be posting my menu plans this year a week late ... so as to post pics and my adapted recipes after I actually MADE the stuff.

Good for you for making an intention to not only eat healthier but more cost-friendly too! (same here in this house!)

[Asianmommy]

Your grilled salmon sandwiches sound delicious!

[ann]

My meal plan for the week:
Monday: Lemon chicken over angel hair pasta, peas, salad with walnuts

Tuesday: Ropa Vieja from the crock pot, tortillas, beans

Wednesday: Spinach Feta Quiche and a big crunchy salad with romaine, cucumbers, carrots and peppers

Thursday: Red Curry Chicken and veggies over rice

Friday: Pizza!

[Emily]

I need to get sorted. Have some remnants in the fridge but need to get menu planning and grocery shopping!

Could you please post your salmon sandwich recipe? Sounds like a perfect dinner!

[Kari]

I love CORN nights, but in our house we call it "Mustgo" as in "Everything Must Go!"

[Susan]

Which is your local Korean market? I would love to be able to get organic ethnic food (i.e. Ranch99) to cook at home, but assumed it was impossible!

As for meal planning, hubby was out of town for a long weekend, so it has been four days of CORN for us, since the fridge was full to bursting after the holidays: leftover holiday turkey, stuffing, gravy, turkey tetrazzini, turkey salad/sandwiches, salmon burgers, Chinese food (New Year's Day banquet), Thai takeout (early New Year's Eve dinner).

Also, it is long gone now (I made it before Christmas) but I have to tell you that I tried your garlic-rosemary-dijon roast pork tenderloin and it was a HUGE hit! Thanks for the recipe.

[LizP]

Your potato bar sounds great!

I did a modified CORN night last night and put a bunch of stuff into a quiche. It was really good!

Tonight the oldest teenager is making spaghetti, salad and bread.

We're having hamburgers on ciabatta rolls sometime this week. And that potato bar may be a great choice for another day. I bought a jar of Thai curry sauce at Trader Joe's that I want to use with chicken and jasmine rice too. And we're still eating leftover turkey soup.

[Jessica]

I'm menu planning this week for a vegan cleanse - why did I do this to myself?

I'm hoping my recipes will inspire others to try it once they see that eating vegan doesn't have to be about what you can't eat, but what you can!

I wish I could keep my grocery bill down to $91. I think I will have spent about $150 by the end of this week. Grr.

[Tami]

Your menu sounds great!! Here's ours:

Monday: Taco Soup, Corn Chips, Fresh Fruit

Tuesday: Spicy Chicken & Basil Stirfry served over Rice

Wednesday: Oven Braised Short Ribs with Fennel, Roasted Potatoes with Mushrooms and Red Bell Pepper

Thursday: Orzo with Feta & Avocado, Green Salad, Crusty Bread

Friday: Thai Beef Salad with Mango

Saturday: Bistro-Style Roast Chicken, Cauliflower with Garlic Bread Crumbs

Sunday: Pork Tenderloin with Glazed Onion

[Stephanie]

I love reading other people's weekly menus. It's always inspiring...and yours is especially mouth watering. Yum.

[Kim S.]

How old were the kids before they started to like potatoes? I have tried just about every possible way to cook just about every kind of variety and I just can't get my 3 year old to like them (aside from french fries). She managed to eat a couple bites of mashed potatoes last night but only because it was mixed in with her cottage pie. Once she found out it was potato, though, she avoided eating it.