7 Days to Successful Meal Planning: Day 4

Day 4: Keeping a list of your favorites. 

We all have our favorite recipes, the tried and true.  If you always have tacos on Tuesdays, there is no reason not to...put it on Tuesdays, heck...one less day you have to "really" plan a week.  We have favorites at our house as well.  Those that have the stamp of approval from the littles and those that have been asked to please not be made again.  For your convenience I will put a star on each recipe that my kids beg for...you will be shocked...and trust me I am too sometimes. So when you see the little *, it will equal kid friendly.

Now, while we are talking about what to put on your menu, you will notice that most of the items that are listed on my meal plan are not going to contain any of the following:

• grains
• gluten
• legumes
• refined sugar
• and only very occasionally will you find dairy

This being said will come to no surprise to those who know me well, but my family eats a diet known as "Paleo Nutrition".  We will ocassationally eat a "Primal Diet" and that being only different from Paleo based on that Primal Nutrition includes dairy and Paleo does not.  To learn more about Paleo Nutrition please click on the Paleo tab located at the top of your screen.  To learn more about the reasons behind my choices to eat this way please click on the tab About Me.

So let's get down and dirty...hee hee...let's make a plan for the week.  Refer to day 3 to see your mapped out schedule and let's begin.  My meal plan will consist of a maximum of two nights in a week of red meat.  Red meat sits in your belly and takes quite a while to digest.  It also isn't very friendly on the waist line.  The meals that I create focus on the maximum amount of veggies that I can cram into a meal without my children noticing and plenty of lean meats.  (Generally Turkey or Chicken.)  Don't be afraid to try new things either!  So for starters put the meals that take the longest on the nights that you have the most time to spend in the kitchen.  For the nights that life doesn't seem to have enough time to do a thing, a roast with loads of veggies in the crockpot will do!  Trust me, there is nothing better than coming home to the aroma of food being cooked in the crockpot, let alone hot and ready when you walk in the door!  So hop to it...see if you can come up with 7 full meals...

Before you do that, don't forget what we did on day 1!!!  Remember all of those items that are in your fridge and cupboards that need to be used up before they expire...try to come up with as many recipes that use up those ingredients first.

This will become easier as time passes and you have more experience.  If you like, use my weekly meal plan post for your family!